Insurers have under-invested in technology - but that is changing

The insurance industry has under-invested in technology and failed to embrace technological advances. But that is starting to change, according to one insurtech start-up aiming to help the industry catch-up.

Turnkey IS, one of more than 20 start-ups attending the annual Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London, provides “IT as a service” products and solutions for the whole underwriting cycle. Click here to find out more about the conference.

“Since forming Turnkey IS, I have already started to see attitudes change and insurers are starting to see the value of investing in technology and wanting to be seen as innovative, which is very positive,” said Stuart Taylor, founder of Turnkey IS.

And, up until recently, Taylor would have said that the industry isn’t making enough use of cloud-based technology.

But, over the last six months, he’s started to see a change—the cloud is being utilised in an increasing number of solutions being offered to the marketplace.

Taylor founded Turnkey IS for two reasons.

“Firstly, my experience of technology providers in the marketplace has been poor to-date and I felt the insurance industry needed a provider that actually understands the business and wants to add value to its customers and to provide them with the service they need to be successful,” he said.

Secondly, it’s always been important to Taylor to work within a company where its employees are “encouraged to make positive steps towards getting things done”.

Interestingly, Turnkey IS focuses on the entire underwriting cycle rather than one that just one part of the process.

Its risk acquisition cloud-based platform helps clients in the acquisition of new business, while Turnkey Is’s portfolio risk management toolkit is targeted at the management of business portfolios.

Last but not least, the start-up’s risk transference platform supports the placement of outwards facultative reinsurance contracts.

The platform has been designed to “improve a client’s efficiency, decrease their costs and reduce the time of processing by reducing the number of handshakes involved in the overall underwriting process”.

Many of the problems Taylor has seen with insurers is that their systems are segregated and are implemented for a particular focus, without “necessarily taking into consideration the needs of the downstream business processes”.

He added that inconsistent and incomplete data also creates issues.

The Turnkey IS team has identified that, by focusing on the entire life cycle, they’re able to negate some of these challenges and add greater value to customers.

Taylor recognises the risks—a large number of start-ups don’t survive the first year. But he firmly believes in the business and the value contained within its products and services.

“The team is made up of individuals who have hands-on experience and understanding of the challenges faced by modern day insurers. In short, we are passionate about making a positive difference and helping our customers overcome their challenges,” he said.

With this in mind, the target for the first two years is to work alongside a handful of insurers to drive the business benefit. At the same time, Turnkey IS will be working to enhance its product offerings for the marketplace.

Turnkey IS is one of more than 20 insurtech startups attending Intelligent Insurer’s Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London. Click here to find out more.

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