M&A and other forms of corporate restructuring are constant in the insurance industry, and legacy data architecture poses a huge threat to post-merger data architecture consolidation. Like other industries, cloud adoption is also becoming more attractive to insurers. (Credit: valerybrozhinsky/Adobe Stock) M&A and other forms of corporate restructuring are constant in the insurance industry, and legacy data architecture poses a huge threat to post-merger data architecture consolidation. Like other industries, cloud adoption is also becoming more attractive to insurers. (Credit: valerybrozhinsky/Adobe Stock)

As insurers entered 2020, they seemed well-positioned for growth in most markets, according to Accenture. Global premiums had just reached their all-time high of $5 trillion, and U.S. GDP was expected to rise 1.6%.

However, the industry continued to face the classic pressures of "compressive disruption" with low growth, slowly declining earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and increasing barriers to entry. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, insurers have suffered a severe financial hit, with aggregate valuations dropping on average 20%-30% across global markets.

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