Interest in technology to ‘speed up in next five years’

An acceleration in the take-up of technology can be expected “in the next five years” as more insurance industry executives recognise the value it can provide, said Steve Cloutman, managing director at advanced analytics company Ventiv Technology.

He said that having worked in the sector for three decades he knows that insurance is a relationship-driven business and that is one of the reasons it has not been as quick as banking, for example, to embrace technological change.

Cloutman said that while interest in tech had been sedate in the past 20 years or so, there’s a lot more interest now, particularly in the reporting and analysis aspects.

“That’s the bit that’s driving more interest,” he said. “People look and think ‘that would make my life easier’, although getting them to go through and invest is another thing. But there’s more take-up now.

“In the last two years, year on year, we have seen our best-ever sales growth. We’ve invested $20 million in the product in the last three to four years, to make it even more compelling.”

Another reason for the accelerated take-up is pressure from board level to get data that will give them the edge at the press of a button.

“People want to know what is happening in real time—the Boston Marathon bomb was an example of this. One of our clients wanted to know which of their shops along the route were exposed.

“Businesses with international supply chains want to know about hurricanes or tsunamis, and they want that information very quickly.”

Existing mobile technology, such as connected tablets, can be leveraged to a greater extent to provide value, he added.

“Clients can use tablets to conduct factory audits. Employees can take a picture of the issue and submit it immediately with the relevant form.

“This kind of application of tech makes the most of what we already have; with geocoding it will record where the issue is. The benefit is that it can be reported to senior management much more quickly than before.”

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