While disruption might have been the buzzword of past ITC conferences, insurtechs are now focused on harmonization with incumbents to enable digital advances across the insurance ecosystems. Driving some of this shift is the sheer complexity of insurance issues and the industry's conservative approach, according to Cihan Biyikoglu, executive vice president of products for Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS). "If you look at the more successful examples of insurtechs there is more of a collaborative approach, as opposed to 'well, I'll single-handedly disrupt this industry," Biyikoglu told PropertyCasualty360.com. "Risk, by its nature, is too complex and super connected for a single entity to know everything about it." On top of this, insurtech companies have a longer take-off period when compared to other fields, such as fintech, according to Biyikoglu, who added that other tech fields have easier to predict lifecycles. More from ITC: Busting the tech hype curve to uncover lasting innovations This is because insurance deals with analog-world problems, and while more robust datasets can drive innovations, the space still requires a deep understanding of those analog problems. Of course, it is a two-way street, and incumbents in the space must have a willingness to embrace new ways of doing things, according to Bill Brower, vice president of industry relations for Solera, Inc. "We have the tools, we have the software and we have the ability to automate the claims process today. The issue is more about the willingness of the parties to take advantage of it," Brower said. "Do we need more technology? Yes, I would never turn that down. The thing that moves the needle the most though is when carriers take advantage of these new solutions that are available." Do these companies that failed to collaborate or otherwise gain traction in the market serve as the point of separation between "insurtech 1.0" and "insurtech 2.0" worlds? Sources at ITC were divided and the above slideshow unpacks the insurtech 2.0 matter, as well as some of the other major trends that were discussed during ITC Vegas 2022. Related: |

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