What if... the insurance industry didn't innovate?
As a techy with long hair and a beard when I stand up and speak on technology an audience generally expects a futuristic view of the world and a call to action. Of late I've been more tempered in my view. Having talking about IoT, telematics and drones for five years now Armageddon hasn't come, the sky above the insurance industry has not fallen and to be honest, many insurers are still running as they did five years ago with little challenge to their bottom line. In short, in many parts of the globe, insurance hasn't changed. Have I changed my mind?
Only regarding the timescales. For those that are looking - the proverbial canaries are falling. The signs can be seen in multiple countries globally that real change is coming, whether it's the rise of price comparison websites, the rise of data aggregators, the rising population of connected sensors - whilst the industry hasn't changed, the world it is sitting in is gently coming to a boil. Whilst the timescale of change to the industry itself is uncertain the possible impacts to the insurance industry won't be random. That is the driver behind our What if event in February.
A key part of event is to inform the audience about the possible scenarios that might befall the industry, to offer tools to consider the impact of these scenarios on their business and current investments. Our hope is to invite the attendees to consider how they would respond and if their current investments are preparing them adequately. Back to the title of the blog - what if an insurer didn't innovate? An innovation agenda is one response to change and opportunity - whether that's a change in competitor activity, customer expectations or change in distribution. Other responses could be to increase the agility of the organisation, finally address those legacy niggles or to simply improve the companies research capability to better keep an eye on what changes are coming. What if isn't solely about innovation, but rather a look at likely scenarios and ensuring your organisation is prepared. If you haven't registered yet, the event is in February in London and you can view the agenda and register here. For a list of other benefits have a look at Mike's blog from earlier in the year, along with a reveal of the magical venue.