We recently caught up with few experts from the Insurance Industry and discussed their thoughts on ‘Is Insurtech a game-changer or just a hype?’
Read exclusive insights by RM Vishaka (MD & CEO, India First Life Insurance), Rakesh Jain (MD & CEO, Reliance General Insurance) and Warendra Sinha (MD & CEO, IFFCO TOKIO):
RM Vishaka: It is definitely a game-changer. If you study the impact of InsureTech in business processes, which is largely positive, then it all makes sense. Right from funnelling your customer needs to optimizing your business sourcing processes to “Real-Time processing” and having innovative customer service; InsureTech continues to play a key role. It has helped to enhance processes with technological precision. It has also helped in reducing the cost of service. In the current environment, the option of not adopting InsureTech does not exist.
Rakesh Jain: I do not think InsurTech is a hype. It is a real and successful model of innovation that has worked in several economies of the world. Through initiatives such as IRDAI’s Regulatory Sandbox in India, technology will pave the future of the insurance sector. The aim is to strike a balance between systematic development of the sector on one side while protecting the interests of policyholders on the other. After all, among other myriad benefits, InsurTech has brought in the promise of enhanced anti-fraud protection measures, reduced operational costs, and reduction in claims settlement time.
For policyholders, this translates to lower prices, tailored insurance plans and of course, a resilient financial life. For stakeholders, it means better reach, diverse innovations, better consumer relationships, and new lines of revenues.
Warendra Sinha: We have seen tech-related disruption in certain sectors with the advent of Uber, Airbnb, Ola, OYO, etc. where GPS, Data Analytics, AI etc. have played a major role. The insurance industry cannot be immune to such disruptive technologies. InsurTech will be a game-changer and become a reality in insurance technology, in the days to come. Over the years, the consumer’s buying behaviour and usage pattern have changed drastically. As the consumer adopts new technologies that are being served by a host of service providers, eg. Amazon, Flipkart, etc. it is obvious that they will demand the same level of offerings from the insurance sector also. Insurance companies will be expected to act as technology firms selling insurance.