Category Research Brief

Pilots are just one of the more visible examples of the effect of breaks and reduced hours during COVID. The workplace and experience changes triggered by the pandemic are a problem for all kinds of employees, from truck drivers and forklift operators to surgeons and accountants. There’s a high likelihood that human error will be greater as we return to normal.

In McKinsey’s latest report on insurance, they explore the 5 trends that will have an industry-shifting impact on insurance. These advances represent a significant opportunity—as we’ve seen with recent insurtech funding—but the changes also pose an existential threat for insurers that are slow to adapt.

According to a recent survey by Celent, carriers are viewing agency portals (and the agency experience overall) as key growth drivers. 94% of carriers surveyed aim to have an above-average or world-class agency experience, and 65% rate their current experience as average.

With around 50% of customers willing to consider coverage from new insurers, the recent influx of capital for insurtech startups represents a real challenge for traditional insurers...

A great example of innovation outpacing insurance offerings: how does insurance adapt to a world in which people self-experiment? If use of this technology becomes mainstream it could have an interesting impact on loss-control for workers comp, as learning for proper lifting/moving techniques and other such trainings could be accelerated.

Many apps have built trust with their user base. Insurance is a natural extension of what those apps can offer. It is a huge opportunity for insurers and the companies with which they partner to leverage that customer trust to move horizontally into insurance upsales.

Accurately rating risks has become much more difficult, but insurers that have quality data and precision underwriting will have a considerable advantage when it comes to pricing properly.

One key area of growth is embedded insurance, an opportunity of which consumers are overall in favor. Building connections that enable insurance sales and servicing within other products—property insurance as part of the loan process, for example—is a growing trend that we’re watching closely.

Liability insurers view this trend as the beginning of a wave of discrimination lawsuits as employees return to offices. Many insurers are limiting their exposure through additional restrictions and higher premiums.

There is a general lack of product innovation, forcing insurers to increase rates, which in turn has negative consequences for everybody. Product innovation is a powerful lever to manage risk proactively when trends are changing...