12 Gifts of Celent
Here we on the twelfth day of the twelfth month of twenty twelve. (A friend helpfully pointed out we're 800 years late for 12 12 1212). A quick look at Wikipedia shows the importance that 12 has had in our history, almost regardless of place of birth or religion it seems. It seemed a good time to reflect on the year past using 12 gifts, one for each month of the year past. (That's right, a vaguely holiday period themed blog post reviewing the last year...)
The first gift of Celent - Model Insurer 2012 January saw our Innovation and Insight day in Boston along with the Model Insurer awards which were covered in our blog post here and the report is available here and the Model Insurer Asia report here. In addition we hosted webinars on SOA and introduced Creative Disruption. January also saw a range of reports and webinars (like this one and this one) regarding policy administration systems and billing systems. Meanwhile, Celent was asking: Telematics-Based Insurance: Has Its Time Finally Arrived? and The big unanswered social media question – where’s the money?
The second gift of Celent - Deal trends and the state of the financial services
In February we published the life and pensions reports on deal trends in North America and in EMEA. We also share The State of the Financial Services Industry 2012 to our clients as well. Donald Light's report on the New Normal while not from this month is worth revisiting here.
On the blog we asked in Technology, innovation and insight in insurance if 2012 would see an absence of innovation from the technology side, certainly plenty of updates and patent squabbles but perhaps little game-changing. We're still waiting on Google Glasses and Augmented reality and motor insurance – one step too far?
The third gift of Celent - The views of the CIO If you wanted views from the CIO the you could ask for more with 2012 US Insurance CIO Survey: Pressures, Priorities—and Innovation, Insurance in France 2012: The CIO Perspective and Insurance in the United Kingdom 2012: The CIO Perspective published in March 2012. There were also reports on illustration systems and collaboration in insurance this month too. On the blog we warned of The Impending Insurance Architect Crisis and the dangers of social data - If only we could trust data available on social networks…
The fourth gift of Celent - A view to the future For our life and pensions customers April saw a report looking at the future trends in policy administration systems and also the release of our emerging technology report (the general insurance / P&C version is here). Celent also took some time to look at the digital customer and trends uk motor insurance with Google. Blog posts this month continued the theme with 2022: The coming of age for Generation Y and What is the true price of technological progress?
The fifth gift of Celent - The end of auto insurance (and on a lighter note, software deal trends) Beware the ides of March perhaps, but it was in May that Celent provided a scenario for the end of auto insurance based on technologies that mitigated the need for this cover. Of course May also saw the annual Acord Loma conference and our reports on software deal trends here, here and here. On the blog we were discussing Straight Through Processing and Product Development: Lessons Learned and (who could forget) The State of Europe. Of course regarding the latter the Euro-zone's issues are clearly fixed and no longer of concern.
The sixth gift of Celent - Pragmatism in Claims Management In June Celent published the results of a consumer survey examining the reality of attitudes in claims management and what customers really wanted. In addition, Celent examined the opportunities around modern distribution management systems and at the vendors offering solutions regarding Solvency II. Celent was also present at IASA in June along with other events. On the blog in June Celent observed that Customers are the Disruptive Force in Insurance and (some of us) were watching Apple, When a developer conference catches the worlds attention…
The seventh gift of Celent - Data Mastery In July Celent published it's Data Mastery Spectrum Overview 2012 providing insight into how to deal with data and also looking at the vendors that support insurers with tools. Also in July Celent looked at Strategies and Options for Managing Closed Blocks - a key issue in the life industry as so eloquently phrased by Karen in the blog post, Are closed blocks life insurers’ nuclear trash? The Asia team had a busy month with The Advent of Social Media in the Japanese Financial Industry, 2012 Asia-Pacific Insurance CIO Survey: The Year Ahead and Deal Trends in Property and Casualty Policy Administration Solutions: 2012 Asia-Pacific Edition. Blog posts this month were varied including - Insurance Innovation?? Michael Raynor to Speak at Celent Event, Apple still does laptops, Microsoft does tablets and Google does iOS Apps and Data … Outside In.
The eighth gift of Celent - Lessons in successful PAS replacement Two case studies published this month held key insights into successful PAS replacements - as well as possible some pitfalls to avoid. While both are life and pension system examples the lessons from Leveraging SaaS to Tackle the Legacy Challenge and Seven Lessons from a Successful Platform Transformation will hold import for all. The blog posts this month looked to the future and disruption with Creative Disruption in Action: Changing the insurance outlook for young drivers and Changing the rules in online insurance.
The ninth gift of Celent - Events galore! September 2012 saw events such as A Celent Insurance Symposium-Creative Disruption: Technology and the Future of Insurance and Celent, in association with Google, presents Digital Insurance and the Customer: Mind the Gap along with Webinars and other events. The blog posts at Creative Disruption in Action – 2012 Event and Digital Insurance and the Customer: Mind the Gap! provide insight into the days. In addition we published reports on claims systems in Europe, e-business solutions and annuities. Blog posts included the quirky Printing Body Parts: Frankenjet??, the tech-related What the insurance industry can learn from the iPhone 5: A study in frictionless upgrades and the architecture related New Challenges require a New Mindset for Insurance.
The tenth gift of Celent - Insight into the French auto insurance market Many would say that the UK car insurance market is the most advanced although as noted in the UK focused report earlier in the year it is a little bit broken. Nicolas Michellod's look into and insights on The French Market for Online Car Insurance provide an alternative view on how car insurance markets can evolve with the adoption of the Internet and e-commerce. I could also have picked out Celent's first Latin American Policy Administration Systems 2012: Life, Annuities, and Health ABCD Vendor View as the key gift here - certainly a territory of increasing interest. Blog posts this month were varied including Agoraphobia and Insurance Cloud Models: Don’t Be Afraid to Play Outside, EU wins Nobel Prize but it’s a tough time for European insurers and Why Billing Matters.
The eleventh gift of Celent - Perceptions on Innovation and a hint of sarcasm Celent's consumer research on Innovation in Insurance: A North American Consumer View and Innovation in Insurance: A UK Consumer View provide insights into how the insurance industry is perceived by their customers. The hit of sarcasm comes from long suffering analysts writing How to Give a Really Bad Demo: Ten Worst Practices from Actual Experience. There were plenty of other reports in November including ones on fraud, claims system deals, how AXA used technology during the England riots, electronic applications and issue and e-signatures in South Korea.
The twelfth gift of Celent - Vaguely holiday related wrap up blog post(s) And some other blog posts including Self-Service or Self-Serving? and Why the customer experience matters - and December isn't even finished yet. So there it is, a twelve gifts for you. We did look at repeating the top 10 searches theme or the Christmas carol one but who could pass on 12 gifts on 12/12/12? It’s been a phenomenal year once again - still full of challenges, change and interesting times. Have a great season as the year comes to a close.
We look forward to working with you in the new year and beyond.