It’s no longer about “Why” innovate in insurance, but “how”

The opportunities and threats facing the insurance industry are forcing a change in the conversation around innovation in the sector. Celent has been tracking innovation in financial services for the last 18 months and we have detected a recent shift in interest. In 2014, insurers were exploring why they might need to invest in disciplined innovation practices. What is the next disruption that will change the industry? What can new technology offer regarding improved risk selection and pricing? Now the conversation is moving on to how to execute on innovation. How exactly are firms which are finding success in innovation executing their initiatives? What processes have they put in place that enable them to move beyond the theoretical and carry them into the realm of practical benefit? To respond to our clients’ needs, Celent is facilitating an innovation event in London on February 25, 2015: Making Innovation Happen in Insurance: Hedging Against the Future. The programme will focus on how to deliver innovation in an established insurance franchise. Our design team has developed an agenda which combines research and experience and will provide attendees with practical advice on how to make progress with innovation. The programme includes a mix of first-hand accounts from firms who have achieved success as well as hands-on activities that simulate typical decisions innovative firms face. In this and subsequent blogs, we will give you a look at the agenda in detail. The first portion of the day will provide a look at the current state of innovation in the UK market. This will include data from a survey to benchmark how insurers in the UK market are structuring their innovation initiatives. Celent research finds that success in innovation often entails establishing new types of partnerships that link emerging technologies with traditional insurance products. Sometimes, but not always, this involves direct investment in spin-off firms. In all cases, it involves a dynamic that extends beyond the usual vendor-customer relationship as companies co-develop new approaches to their markets. The second portion of the programme includes presentations from three start-up companies to explain how they are working with insurers to deliver successful innovation. In the final section of the day, we are very pleased to welcome Oliver Werneyer, the Head of Innovation at Swiss Re, to present a Practitioner's Perspective. He will outline the journey his company has taken so far as they combine their company’s valuable experience with new operating practices. Oliver joined Swiss Re in 2012 and focuses on commercialising traditional life insurance concepts in the modern world of apps, social media and digital connections. His comments will detail how Swiss Re uses data analytics and consumer experience techniques to change the way people experience life insurance. More details are forthcoming on the sessions on measuring innovation and barriers to change, so stay tuned. Click here for more information and to register.