Online insurance, also known as direct insurance, involves selling policies remotely via the Internet or call center. There is no involvement of insurance agents. Over the past year, the market for online insurance sales increased by 17%. According to experts, will continue to grow in the next two years.
In countries where markets for financial services are most developed, this method of selling insurance technology makes up 30% of the turnover. According to some estimates, in the UK, remote policy issuance accounts for about 80% of contributions. While in the US this share is 50%.
The advantages of direct insurance for clients are obvious. It’s the need to physically be in the office and fill out paperwork disappears. It’s the insurance agent is excluded from the chain. It leads to a decrease in costs and the cost of policies.
But this statement is not completely true. Most consumers have the misconception that they are overpaying by using the services of insurance agents. A number of insurance companies immediately played on this. They offer the mass consumer a “market without intermediaries”.
Consultations, assistance in filling out an accident notification, the procedure for contacting an insurance company. This is just a part of the bonuses that a client receives when working with an agent. By concluding a contract on the network, the user of the service will bypass the stage of communication with the representative of the insurer. Thereby completely taking on the responsibility for understanding the terms of insurance.
Predictive Analysis of Data
This is due to one major advantage of such systems. They enable the insurer to keep its portfolio where it is unable to keep the client from switching to another insurance company.
There should be such a direction in the company. But you should not throw all your efforts on it. If an organization decides to go too far, it’s its right. But it doesn’t have to wait for overwhelming growth. Good agents still often remain more effective and more profitable than direct insurance. It’s both for the insurer and the end consumer of the insurance service. There are certain insurance technology trends 2021.
Billing Efficiency
In this case, the staff of agents of the insurance company does not have to be too large. Insurers just need to closely monitor their employees. It creates comfortable working conditions for them, and train them. They do not have to be 30-40 people per office. Ten is quite enough. You just need to teach everyone to competently perform their functions. In this case, clients will only benefit from a combination of different insurance services and the market.
Mobile Phone Insurance
To issue a policy, it is enough to dial a certain combination on the phone and press the call button. Then should be selected the insurance program from the menu, fill in the information about the trip and pay for the policy from the cell phone account. Insurance and technology is sent to the specified email address. Then you just have to print it. These insurtech trends are rather useful.
To Peer or Not to Peer
P2P insurance companies are already emerging whose customers can directly influence the services they use. Such organizations do not have offices and intermediaries. And clients give money for policies to a general fund, the funds from which are withdrawn when insured events occur. At the end of the year, part of the money is returned to policyholders. And part is taken by the P2P company.
However, this system has one major drawback. Such companies require a wide client base to work successfully. So this scheme will not work in countries with small populations. The viability of such an initiative in the domestic insurance environment is questionable.
Other Technologies
Other technologies will also have a significant impact on the insurance market, including self-driving cars and car sharing services.
As for car rental services, the issue of insurance when using the new service also remains open. This area is associated with quite high costs. It’s car-sharing car insurance is a complex, non-standard and expensive insurance product. For this reason, the insurance of “delimobiles” continues to face a number of contradictions.
Paying from Gadget
This is a rather original form of payment for a TCD contract (traveling abroad). But there are no special advantages over the electronic registration of an insurance contract. Paying for an insurance policy from a mobile phone account is inconvenient. Many set aside a fixed monthly fee for telephony and Internet services. So it is unlikely that there will be enough funds on the client’s mobile phone account to cover the insurance costs. For these purposes, it is much easier to use a bank card.
Conclusion
But the trouble is, insurance companies are not always ready to adopt positive experience and make changes. Of course, positive shifts are outlined in this area. And today an increasing number of companies are beginning to realize the need for technical improvements. However, this trend cannot be blindly followed. Since new technologies will not become a panacea for all the problems and difficulties that arise in the insurance market.
Upgrading equipment and software is a must, as for the introduction of fundamentally new technologies and business models – to adopt the methods that work abroad. It introduces them in our country “as a blueprint” usually simply does not work. We have to additionally assess the consequences of such decisions and adapt new solutions in accordance with the realities of our country. Otherwise it may negatively affect all participants in the insurance market.
