5 Things You Need to Know About the Future of Insurance

Ryan Deeds explains the future of insurance on our latest podcast episode

Electronic sensors that stop floods, fire retardant systems that put out fires before they spread, and haptic belts that teach workers how to do their jobs without getting hurt.

This isn’t science fiction. This is the state of the insurance industry in 2019.

However, most businesses don’t like to talk about insurance. You’re familiar with the conversation: confusing premiums, annual fees, and long explanations regarding which benefits are necessary for your industry.

Now that technology is a central figure in the insurance world, companies are getting smarter.

Insurance is Becoming More Innovative

Ryan Deeds is the VP of Technology and Data at Assurex Global, a company that is the largest privately held corporate insurance, risk management, and employee benefits brokerage group. 

Assurex is a conglomerate of insurance agents that are the best of the breed. When companies buy in, they become share owners and help direct where they are headed as a combined force.

Ryan works with CEOs and CIOs to help them with strategy to collaborate more effectively to manage all the quick moving parts of the emerging insurance industry. Recently, he sat down with us on our podcast, the Continuity Forecast, for a chat about the future of insurance.

Traditionally, you file a claim and you get money when something goes wrong. The agency has someone in place to help them when this happens, but there isn’t someone helping the agency learn how to reduce these claims.

Until now. Companies like Assurex help their clients to make better decisions and to think long term. Risk Mitigation is a collaborative process that aims to reduce one critical number.

It’s called the TCOR: total cost of risk. This drives the bottom line for the clients of the agencies that Assurex works with. 

Why insurance sometimes falls short

No one likes to submit a claim.

However, it is a necessary part of the industry. 

The carrier is trying to make sure that the claim is correct and that the company has purchased the right coverage.

However, enforcing this can be difficult, and costly.

Instead of putting money into claims, companies are smarter and started putting it into better tech to prevent the accident from happening.

This is just the beginning

We are just seeing the very beginning of this technology hit the market. 

Agencies are hyperniching out to find their customers better technological solutions. Technology has completely changed how insurance works. 

When a new company needs help, an agency can pinpoint a technology and definitively say this is what we’ve seen with other companies, try this technology to help this problem. 

The future of insurance is even more technology.

What types of technology are coming onto the market?

Fleets use this technology heavily to record exactly what happens to make sure that they are safe at every point from departure to destination. 

Sensors in pipes automatically shut off water if a pipe breaks, or shows signs of wear. 

Fire retardant systems now have an articulating nozzle that can sense the fire, aim towards the fire, suppress the fire, and alert firefighters. 

Some insurers are even providing a belt (chest strap and waist strap) that builds a user profile based on how workers move for two to three weeks in manual labor jobs. 

Then, after that is over, it will give them haptic reminders to stand up straight, to use their legs not their back, and it will reduce overall worker’s compensation payments. 

Is there a benefit to this next wave of tech?

Using this technology is a great way to reduce the cost of your annual insurance premium. Typically, it can reduce your cost by 5-10%.

If your agent isn’t bringing this stuff up, take a hard look at your insurance. Then, ask questions.

Companies want customers to have this. Where carriers and clients get caught up, is when there is a loss and both parties are unclear of the terms. This is why insurance gets a bad reputation. 

As you look at your renewals, you need to ask questions your insurance provider questions. This will help you discover programs or platforms that help mitigate risk.

This blog post was taken from The Continuity Forecast podcast. We know business never stops. Check us out, and leave a review!