For a long time, the legacy insurance business model had proved to be astonishingly resistant to any change in the sector. However, the paradigm is now shifting, and it is shifting fast. Rising incomes and expanding populations have benefited life insurers across the APAC region, while non-life sectors have grown in parallel with GDP growth. Asia-Pacific markets in general and China, in particular, will also influence the future of insurance because they are hotbeds of innovation. From product design to distribution to technology adoption—insurers in the region are experimenting widely and boldly to capitalize on near-term opportunities and drive the industry’s long-term evolution. New consulting companies are coming in the insurance space to manage the evolving regulation and changing market conditions and playing an increasingly critical role in reshaping the industry.
Insurance technology services are increasingly changing the existing solutions and deliverables, thereby transforming the business model of the insurance industry altogether. Rapidly evolving customer behaviors and digitalization of customer access have led several insurers to go digital at a much faster pace than in other regions. The recent technological advancements in the insurance industry have set the stage to embrace the opportunities available for incumbent insurance companies in this new world. In several Asia-Pacific markets, particularly the developing ones, insurers that reach a certain level of maturity are shifting their focus from a single-minded pursuit of growth to establishing cost efficiencies across the business. For many insurers, large-scale transformation programs (particularly in back-office operations) and the adoption of integrated digital platforms are the answer to this cost conundrum. One vital aspect of the technology-enabled Insurance sector is customer relationship. Earlier, customer relationships used to be managed solely through an agent, but moving forward, relationship management is leaning toward digitalization.
In a bid to strike a symbiotic relationship between digitalization trend and customer relation, insurance companies are turning toward blockchain, augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline business processes and operations. To sift through these various technologies and implement them at their optimum capability, insurance companies also require consultancy services from the technology experts. This digitalization trend is driving a change in the operating and business models of insurers, creating new InsurTech partnerships through disaggregation in the insurance value chain. Going forward, the focus will shift toward enhancing reach through digital platforms, leveraging AI to improve acquisition costs, and partnering with technology and niche players to gain further efficiencies.
To help companies navigate through the best-breed insurance technology services provider, APAC CIO Outlook has compiled this edition on top 10 techs consulting/services for life insurance. Through a distinguished panel comprised of CIOs, VCs, industry analysts, APAC CIO Outlook’s editorial group, we have evaluated and shortlisted 10 consulting/services organizations that have significantly stood out as some of the most prominent players in the insurance technology arena for the year 2019. The organizations featured in this issue through their business knowledge and industry prowess have established their eminence in the insurance technology sector. We present to you APAC CIO Outlook’s “Top 10 Insurance Tech Consulting/Services Companies – 2019.”
