Entering a new digital era

These are the questions to explore — Why change? Why all the investment and resources devoted to rethinking and reshaping the company? The answers are straightforward — many recognize that we are entering a new digital era, with technology rapidly advancing and in the hands of customers and competitors. Emerging trends such as the sharing economy, along with the rapid adoption of technologies such as cloud and mobile are creating new opportunities (and risks) for insurers. In fact, SMA predicts that the introduction of new products, business models, and business optimization will accelerate as insurers leverage maturing technologies and capitalize on emerging technologies such as wearables, the "Internet of Things," drones, and others. Technology really is driving a lot of the conversation and action at senior levels these days.

Ultimately, many insurers have a vision of building a company that is agile and able to respond rapidly to market opportunities and threats. The common threads running through the strategic initiatives are the need to be digital and the key role of innovation. Although not the end games in and of themselves, digital and innovation are the enablers that form the foundation for future success. SMA has created the Next-Gen Insurer Model to describe what the future insurance company and what future success will look like. The twelve initiatives that many insurers are pursuing are the mechanisms that insurers are using to become Next-Gen Insurers. There may be choppy waters under the visible tip of the iceberg, but the activity is very focused and taking individual companies and the industry as a whole in a new direction. In the not too distant future — within five years by our estimate — the visible part of that iceberg will change as well, and a new industry will emerge.

For more information on the insurers' strategic initiatives and the industry transformation underway, contact Deb Smallwood at [email protected]. 

Editor's note: This article first appeared on StrategyMeetsAction.com and is reprinted here with their permission. Click here for the original post.

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