Trends that are reshaping the insurance market
Agentero shares their four major predictions for how new tech will shape insurance in 2022.
It’s no secret that advances in technology have pushed those in the insurance industry to make major changes. A recent 2022 analysis released by Agentero explores four major trends insurers may see as we enter the new year.
Digital carriers will become household names
The days where customers had to visit a brick-and-mortar agency and meet face-to-face with an agent to purchase and manage their policies are over, and consumers are becoming more comfortable exploring new, digital carriers and more willing to purchase insurance products online. According to a November 2021 report from S&P Global, digital carriers Lemonade and Hippo saw the highest year-over-year growth in the industry for companies with at least $50 million in quarterly premiums.
New technologies, Agentero’s analysis says, are allowing these digital insurers to quickly get more attention for their products from agents, which can help them quickly and conveniently access newer products.
Big gains are on the horizon for supplementary products
According to Agentero, data analytics is helping agents identify opportunities to sell supplementary products to customers by more easily pinpointing their needs. The examples they use are car owners who rent, homeowners with pets and businesses without cyber protection, which are all growing categories. New technologies can save insurers a significant amount of time in selling these lower revenue policies in higher volumes compared to handling the process manually.
Fewer barriers will stand in the way of start-up agencies
The pandemic has created opportunities for the creation of new agencies that are not bound by a physical location and can operate across a larger area. Technological advances have also created quicker and easier opportunities for agents to work with new carriers.
The independent agent model will advance
According to Foundation Capital, the number of captive agents has decreased by nearly a third, and Agentero predicts we will see record growth among independent agents in 2022. Despite the increasing number of digital carriers using direct-to-consumer models, they believe more carriers will realize the benefits of agent distribution. Companies like Nationwide and Liberty Mutual, Agentero’s release explains, have already set the example for these changes by enabling their agents to sell coverage from other insurers.
“Insurance markets are changing,” Agentero CEO Luis Pino said in the release. “For years, the discussion about technology adoption has been focused internally on improving manual processes. While that’s still important, we’re seeing so much more. Technology is a key factor in agents’ growth strategies, including how they uncover new opportunities, expand into new markets, and interact effectively with carriers.”