Where Will Technology Improvements in Insurance Leave Insurance Brokers?

There’s a growing focus on improving technology in insurance. Though it’s worth noting that this focus is not achieving dramatic results as demonstrated by the rant from Mark Wilson of Aviva this week which compared insurance tech in the UK to the Stone Age. However, despite slow progress there are clear efforts to improve the relationship between insurers and clients using technology.

Over in the US they’ve been developing online relationship management software that will let clients purchase insurance direct (using any device to do so), expand their policies and even make claims without having to interact with anyone. So where will this leave the insurance broker?

The Future Looks Bright

It may be that the most simple of insurance policies may fall below the radar of brokerages as time goes forward. Those brokers focused solely on car insurance, for example, might want to expand their product range. But in general we think the future looks bright for brokers.

The truth is that people’s insurance needs are going to become ever more complex. Businesses are going to find that doubly so. With increasing levels of technological sophistication combined with global warming and globalization trends – the complexity of risk and coverage is guaranteed to grow.

It’s all well and good asking for a simple quotation for car insurance without speaking to someone about the nitty-gritty of the policy but it’s not going to leave people reassured when they start discussing their data (either personal or business) or the risks of their jobs being outsourced or that a freak hurricane destroys their office or home.

In fact, we suspect that more and more people are going to be turning to brokers to put a human face on insurance. This will be done in order to ensure that they are getting the best advice from people that they can trust to support their needs.

Even simple technology advances in simple insurance fields may bring the broker closer to the customer. Insurers might be able to cut the car insurance broker out of the loop but at what cost? Brokers often provide administrative support, customer services, etc. for policies. It may well be that the broker finds themselves at the heart of these insurance technology changes where the technology enables instant access to a broker to provide impartial advice and ensure that customer satisfaction remains paramount in the sales process.

Insurance Technology - Riskheads