Insurtech solutions shouldn’t be one size fits all. It’s time to discuss a new approach – one that will revolutionize the insurance industry, creating a more custom, agile platform.
We’re talking about digital transformation and the opportunity for traditional insurers to embrace a multi-channel approach in their digital customer journey.
IT’S TIME FOR DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Let’s start by talking about digital distribution. We’re talking about the evolution of technology and the importance of integrations. We’re also talking about how consumers have changed and how that impacts the insurance industry. Traditional channels are having a tough time keeping up with the modern digital insurer. This requires a shift towards platforms that can be built in dynamic fashion.
Consumers want demand-responsive supply chains now more than ever. It’s been happening in other industries for years. Take the apparel industry for example, with quick-to market clothing based on demand, perceptions, and influencers impacting demand and fulfillment. It’s really happening everywhere; even in insurance. This mindset is permeating the insurance world with straight-to-consumer products. But, that doesn’t mean traditional insurers are in peril, it just means they need to embrace digital distribution. Insurers must consider technology improvements from both the agency and customer perspective. How will communications and transactions transform to become more efficient and improve the end-user experience?
Digital distribution does not replace the traditional insurance model; it simply adds more value. People are not being replaced. Consumers are receiving better products, timely offerings, convenient options, and more engagement. On the technology side, it is not about creating and offering more, it’s about offering the right connection points that an agency or brokers needs and allowing them to build the solutions required to make them more efficient, productive and successful. It’s about a movement from monolithic systems to a modular, flexible future.
However, it’s important to remember that it is complicated to sell and evolve. Why?
- Insurance product development is tedious and expensive. Take the example of cybersecurity. The risk is growing exponentially and there is no time to wait to catch up. Agility is imperative to meet demand and create organic growth.
- New market opportunities are difficult to model and forecast, e.g. the cannabis industry. Knowing where this product coverage is heading can be paralyzing.
- Regulation enforces standardization and consumer transparency. New laws can immediately impact how coverage is priced.
This is where responsive digital distribution comes into play with the ability to move quickly. And that’s why you will want to assemble the right mix of solutions and tools for your organization.
EMBRACING DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
There are key benefits to adopting a digital distribution including:
Responsiveness
- To customers by creating tailored or personalized coverage
- To market trends – allowing you to do things like adjusting underwriting rules or adapting rating algorithms
- To new types of risk
Agility
- Your front-line distribution supports the policyholder need as it relates to finalizing coverage, servicing policyholders when claims arise, renewal resources, and more.
- Your back-end distribution supports brokerages through quoting, comparing coverages.
- Data will help you create new products quicker, and determine how best to market, rate and sell.
How can you build your digital infrastructure to better connect, innovate, enhance, and automate your product for greater sales? Partner with a provider that brings it all together with one, cloud-based platform and an open API infrastructure. You will want to work to create the solution that will optimize your business. Fill in the components you need. Don’t settle for one piece of technology that doesn’t check all your boxes. Look for modular solutions to meet specific needs without investing in things that you don’t need or already have. Once you figure out the pieces you need, you can quickly assemble them and deliver a superior digital-first experience, which will improve the customer experience, where speed is vital and the stakes are huge.
Of course, the technology alone is not the complete answer. Your digital solutions need to be reinforced through your processes and ongoing commitment to value. True innovation and advancement can only happen when all systems, goals, processes and more are in alignment. It’s the way to pave your path to a future ripe with relevance.
Zywave is leading the way in digital distribution through modular solutions.
“While many solutions focus on back-office workflows and modernizing agency management systems, Zywave has a modular approach to many front-office workflows and tasks that allows greater integration into back-office systems.”
– The Forrester Wave: Digital Insurance Agency Platforms, Q1 2022
