For insurers who have put time and money into building out policyholder portals, the return on investment is unclear. Unlike agent portals which involve daily interaction, the usage of policyholder portals remains low, with a tiny percentage of policyholders ever logging in, and those who do only logging in once or twice a year. With numbers like that, resetting lost passwords is likely the number one interaction policyholders have with the portal.

Consumer expectations for self-service increasing

So what is the role of the policyholder portals in 2015 and beyond? Consumer expectations for self-service continue to rise, increasing the minimum bar for insurers. Currently, consumers compare their insurer not to competitors but to other industries where almost all business is done online. At the same time, insurers are looking to communicate more with their policyholders without disrupting the agent channel and are increasingly worried about being pushed into world where only price matters.

We can look to Specialty and Workers' Compensation insurers for inspiration, who— due to the nature of their business—often use their expertise in an area to try and educate their policyholders about best practices for keeping their equipment or people safe. Many of them provide tools and calculators for estimating ROI on safety measures in order to encourage better behavior, provide printing or ordering of safety signs that can be hung up at work sites, or even allow scheduling of inspections. Though these features are still underutilized by policyholders, they are a great starting point.

This desire to educate and protect will be impacted by the next set of emerging technologies, including Big Data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and a vast wealth of sensor data such as automotive telematics, smart watches, and fitness trackers. What happens when all new vehicles in the marketplace capture driving data, not just those where customers have plugged in insurer-provided dongles? And what happens when a maturing IoT means that all customer homes and businesses are gathering data about safety and security? And what about when a significant percentage of people are wearing devices that monitor their health and well-being?

Policyholder portal needs to evolve

In 2015 it's likely that the industry as a whole will take some small steps (and maybe a few big ones) towards capturing this plethora of data and applying it towards better underwriting decisions and risk management. But there's more at stake than just incremental improvements to the existing business model and the underutilized policyholder portal is actually central to where these changes will happen. The policyholder portal needs to evolve in insurer minds from a place to put up some infrequently used submission and status forms such as billing history, first notice of loss, and policy documents, but instead as a central place to handle the kind of data-driven education and risk prevention that these emerging technologies will make available.

Right now many consumers seem to be willing to share personal data with a host of third-party companies in return for convenience and cool features. But will consumers be as open to sharing this data with their insurance company? In terms of true goal alignment, the insurance industry is actually much better positioned than many tech companies that currently control so much of the current personal data flow. The main goal of these tech companies is to use personal data to monetize the consumer. Companies like Google and many other less-trustworthy third parties want access to the customer's data in order to properly position advertisements. Companies like Apple and high-tech device makers want access to the customer's data in order to sell them ever more gadgets. But insurance companies want access to the customer's data to manage a customer's risk, not to advertise or continually sell more to them.

But how does an insurer convince a consumer that they will use their data to help them rather than to sell or advertise to them (or to penalize them with higher rates)? With automotive telematics we've learned that the first step is monetary: provide discounts. But the second step is making use of that data for more than just underwriting and risk management.

As the amount of real-time customer data expands and an insurer's ability to process and understand that data grows, insurers will find themselves able to make informed insights about a customer earlier in the process. Instead of responding to a burst pipe after a winter freeze, an insurer monitoring home sensors will be able to alert a customer before weather damage occurs, saving both the customer and the insurer time and money. Instead of paying claims after an auto accident, an insurer will be able to make recommendations to a customer about patterns that will help them avoid accidents altogether. A workers' comp insurer tracking RFID badges will be able to help reduce worksite mishaps and liability.

Looking out for customers' well-being

Insurers will be in the unique position of looking out for the customer's well-being, helping to prevent accidents, theft, and loss. Unlike most industries, the insurer wants exactly what the consumer wants, and both are happier when claims never need to be filed.

While some insurance companies might lead this charge, it's unlikely that all insurers will develop the technology to capture and analyze the full range of data. Instead, third party companies will probably emerge that serve as consumer data hubs and begin to monitor and make suggestions to their clients. Insurers who don't build this technology themselves will have the opportunity to partner with these third-party companies, offering discounts and possibly covering the cost of the services for their customers.

Related: 3 tech changes to affect the independent agent in 2015

This is forward thinking, and if history tells us anything the adoption of these technologies will be slow. But all of this starts with a rethinking of how the policyholder portal plays a role in the insurer/consumer relationship. Instead of utilizing it as a place to automate a few behaviors typically handled by the agent, it needs to be a place where the insurer offers distinct values that agents can't provide, something that makes insurers, agents, and insureds all work together better. It starts with advice and review, but will eventually move to a true risk prevention model that blends an insurer's experience with ever increasing Big Data that policyholders will be able to provide.

Jeff Goldberg is a Vice President of Research & Consulting at Novarica and can be reached at [email protected].