Insurtech providers need to take strategic approach

Insurtech companies need to move from a tactical approach to problems to a more strategic view, according to Alastair Speare-Cole, president of insurance division Fractal Industries.

Speaking at the Intelligent Insurtech Europe 2018 conference in London today, Speare-Cole said that there was a tension between short term and long term views, with too many companies focussed on the former and not enough on the latter.

According to Speare-Cole, history remembers innovation with a survivors bias and that a lot of businesses in this space might not survive, but will have an influence.

One problem that he identified was that a lot of solutions are being created by many companies at the same time. This is leading to different data standards and models being created and is a big challenge for the industry as a result.

Speare-Cole warned that too many piecemeal solutions will end up with architecture that is tactical and not strategic, with short term solutions, not long term. Too many people are writing small pieces of AI, ignoring existing systems etc that are already out there.

He also cautioned that there is a deficit of experience with what’s happening right now at the cutting edge and that too many insurtech business are built around silos.

He urged companies to challenge the advice that they are getting and that it’s important to look beyond the hype, adding that just because some companies are big and well known, that does not mean that they are going to get good advice about what to do.

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