Most insurance marketing professionals believe that their companies are too slow at taking new products or services to market and are struggling to keep pace with ever-changing consumer demands.
The findings revealed that more than three quarters (76%) of insurance companies feel they may be missing the boat and 78% of respondents believe their insurance products should be more dynamic at adapting to changing consumer behaviour.
Software provider Target Group launched its
Four D’s of Insurance whitepaper this week which surveyed top insurance professionals from the UK, Australia and New Zealand to investigate how successful insurers are in dealing with the challenges of developing products within the rapidly evolving insurance landscape.
The survey results also suggested that larger organisations are less likely to be able to get new offerings to market consistently and quickly. Just 13% of large organisations surveyed felt they do this well enough compared to 23% of SMEs.
A combination of the volume of launches, legacy product lines, legacy systems, complex structures and multiple sites are all major factors cited.
Target Group’s business development manager Simon Burgoyne said for an industry focused on future risks, insurance companies can be too slow to adapt to future challenges.
“We are in the midst of an innovation wave driven by the four d’s of insurance – dynamic products, changing distribution patterns, the use of data and disruptive new technologies,” he said.
“For insurers, underwriters and distributors it brings the promise of both threats and opportunities. It offers the potential for new products and growth, aligned with greater customer insight, the ability to tailor products and pricing, as well as the prospect of radically transforming interactions between market participants.”
This was complicated further by changing customer loyalties, he said.
“Due to a number of prevailing factors, customers are showing signs of becoming ever more brand agnostic in respect of their purchasing behaviour and are demonstrating an increasing willingness to purchase cover from other large recognisable and customer-centric organisations like Google, Amazon and Tesco rather than just traditional insurers.
“Clearly this poses a threat to current business models and illustrates the need for new strategies. Innovation and agility will determine the insurers who will win the new race. Slow adopters will inevitably fall behind.”
However Burgoyne said those insurers that remain innovative and who develop products that consumers want in the way they want them and at a time they want will have a brighter future.
“Our whitepaper demonstrates that many insurers are only at the start of that journey and we hope offers some strong insight for successfully navigating the road ahead.”
Read the whitepaper
here.
