Data is king—but unstructured data will reach another level: Aon Inpoint

“Data is king, and how businesses tap into unstructured data is the next era of harnessing the power of data.”

That is the view of John Wang, digital expert and partner in Aon’s Inpoint team, describing how he expects an accelerating digital evolution in the industry to continue to develop.

Wang was speaking in advance of a special virtual webinar hosted by Intelligent Insurer “ Digital Evolution and Industry 4.0: Re/insurers must adapt or die”, which will take place at 3:00pm GMT on December 7, in association with DLA Piper and featuring speakers from Mapfre, Aon and Swiss Re.

Wang said that the ability to keep pace with technology-led change has become a competitive advantage in the industry—but he adds nuance to that statement. “One needs to measure and understand how technology is being implemented to distinguish oneself. I believe the insurance industry is slow to evolve, but one should take cues from other industries, such as banking, where technology has made significant progress in the last 20 years leading to innovation.”

Aon takes its own advice on this front, ensuring that it is learning constantly from the wider landscape. The company keeps up by understanding the ever-evolving landscape from clients’ as well as industry perspectives, Wang said.

“While focused on re/insurance, it’s important to understand change from many different lenses—client, client customer, industry and even non-industry trends—as it relates to digitising the business,” he said.

Wang’s views will be expanded on in the webinar, which will cover the continued evolution of technology in commercial insurance, reinsurance and the Lloyd’s Market, where it has already revolutionised many aspects of the risk transfer chain as well as the operations side of companies, including claims.

While some companies are leading the way in innovating towards a better future, others are dragging their feet—and becoming left behind as a result. It’s now clear that organisations with Industry 4.0-aligned cultures, skillsets, and mindsets will have the greatest success.

Digital evolution has become the new key battleground for success and market share. In this session, panellists on the front line of the digital revolution will explore the different strategic approaches of companies in this space.

Slower progress

For all the discussion of change, however, Wang believes that “digital evolution” will be slower in insurance—until insurance becomes a micro-service or usage-based event.

“While this change is starting to be seen on the buy side, from a claims perspective, the evolution will be slow, especially on high-complex claim events,” he said.

Other parts of the sector could develop more quickly, however. “Parts of the business that affect customer experience will be most impactful,” he said.

“This spans multiple touch-points within insurance: buying a policy more quickly, reporting and resolving claims more conveniently and, ultimately, receiving payment on claims.”

It may not all be plain sailing. There could be some unintended consequences of this digital evolution, Wang suggests, arguing that the industry must take care to not lose its empathy as a result of digitisation.

“There might be a mission to digitise too much, to not recognise that the customer’s experience is what matters and that not every customer will be equal. Knowing when to exit a digital experience for a customer is equally important,” he said.

For the future, Wang believes that buying insurance will become simpler, with leveraging the minimal amount of upfront data from the customer.

“Insurers will need access to internal/external data sources to ensure success while making the customer experience delightful,” he said.

Wang was speaking ahead of “ Digital Evolution and Industry 4.0: Re/insurers must adapt or die”, which will take place at 3:00pm GMT on December 7.

The session will also feature “digital revolutionaries” from Swiss Re, Mapfre, and DLA Piper—leaders who are responsible within their respective organisations for driving digital transformation and change.

The full line-up of speakers at the event will be: Pravina Ladva, group digital transformation officer, Swiss Re; Joan Cusco, global head of transformation, Mapfre; Anthony Day, partner, international head of insurtech, DLA Piper; and John Wang, digital expert and partner, Aon’s Inpoint team. It will be moderated by Wyn Jenkins, managing editor, Intelligent Insurer.