Changes in the Insurance Industry Demand Use of New Technologies

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

When you think innovation, does the insurance industry immediately come to mind? While the two may not always appear to exist in harmony, the former can definitely contribute to the enhancement of the latter.

When that innovation is focused on operational improvements, there are specific game-changers insurance companies are considering that could help in the process.

This recent Insurance Tech report highlighted that next-gen technologies are slated to play a big role in the innovation within the insurance space. These technologies include mobile technologies, social media and collaboration. The key to driving success is found in expanding creativity and infusing it with information, especially when that information is borrowed from new insights gathered from sophisticated analytics.

In fact, as many an organization operating today have come to learn, collaboration, mobile, analytics, big data, social media and cloud computing have all become a part of the innovation process itself. For the insurance company seeking to survive and thrive, these technology innovations must be embraced and used according to market trends.

Over the next three years, according to SMA (News - Alert) research, more than 75 percent of insurance companies plan to increase IT spending for mobile technologies. Projections also show that analytics and big data investments won’t be far behind. Roughly 50 percent of insurance companies plan to increase their cloud computing spending, as well as their social media investments.

The highest potential for changing the game, they believe, is found in collaboration, analytics, big data and mobile technologies.

To that end, the time is right for the insurer to take a closer look at how their IT investments will include and nurture innovation. Next-gen technologies taken seriously will open up new opportunities, providing the portal to allow small actions to influence the bigger strategy for the best return on investment.

At the same time, the average insurance subscriber is changing. According to this TMC (News - Alert) article, insurance companies are creating policies for individuals that tend to be less educated and poorer than current policy holders.

In fact, many of these companies are expecting a very different shift in the demographic of its targeted base.

Much of this shift, of course, is due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), where 30 million Americans will receive insurance through regulated exchanges. Of those benefiting from this Act, 45 percent are expected to purchase health insurance coverage through state exchanges, yet not all states offer exchanges – at least not yet.

The point is the industry is changing, government led or not. This demands a new approach to targeting the desired customer, one that can flourish with new technologies. 

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