Is this insurance practice stuck in the ‘dark ages?’

Lloyd’s of London CEO Inga Beale shared her thoughts on industry roadblocks at the latest “Meet the Market” in Vancouver

Risk Management News

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While the insurance industry may have taken enormous strides to adapt to meet consumer demands, it can still learn some valuable lessons from organizations such as Amazon and UPS, according to Lloyd’s of London CEO Inga Beale.
 
“I do look at something like Amazon and see how far advanced they are compared with us, or even a shipping company such as UPS where I can order something online and get text messages all the way through the delivery process and know exactly when it’ll arrive at my doorstop,” Beale said at the recent “Meet the Market” event in Vancouver.
 
She feels that client expectations around insurance, however, meet a much lower threshold.
 
“We’re talking about consumers here, humans, and the services we provide them sometimes feels poor,” she continued. “The fact that they can’t go online and track where they are in the claims process seems a bit like the dark ages, doesn’t it?”
 
Beale notes that even commercial clients aren’t able to see where their risk lies in the placing process, and for that reason, industry professionals “have a lot to learn” from more technically adapt businesses.
 
In addition, an executive with the general insurance group Brit mentioned that forward-thinking can bring countless opportunities for new revenue streams as well.
 
“There’s also this idea that if you’re going to enter some of these new markets, you have to think differently,” said Mark Cloutier, CEO, Brit.
 
Whereas Buenos Aires was once amongst the most populous cities in South America, several metropolitan areas, including Bogota, Rio and Sao Paolo have recently surpassed it. Developing economies there, as well as other industrializing global regions, present countless untapped markets for insurers.  
 
“Some places such as Africa don’t use cash, but conduct transactions on a mobile device,” Cloutier said. “If you want to go into a market like that, you have to think differently about how people will buy insurance and what sort of insurance they want.”
 
While the panel was exceedingly optimistic about the industry’s future, most speakers did note that technological advancement will be necessary in order for brokers and other insurance professionals to capitalize upon it.
 
“We’re being disrupted already – if you look at auto and personal lines insurance, if you’re not hooked, you’re finished,” said Mark Wheeler, CEO, Ironshore International. “We need to find a solution, especially to Inga’s observation about how we service the customer. The service experience is appalling,” he said.

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