INSURTECH: DIGITISATION
Why insurers should stop fearing technology Insurtech has the potential to offer new revenue streams and to even help restore the public perception of the insurance industry, as Stephanie Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Allianz, explains to financial data experts FinTech Global
Protecting against the future: $13.5billion has been invested in insurtechs
The insurance industry is no stranger to using the latest technologies, giving rise to an entire new sector dubbed insurtech. The innovators in this industry are utilising blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP) and other new solutions to provide better services. By doing so, they are not only able to help consumers find more personalised coverage, but to also empower insurers to
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TheInsurtechMagazine | Issue 3
streamline and accelerate claims processing as well as, in some cases, even reunite clients with lost property. Clearly, technology has provided a wealth of opportunities for the industry. One of the people who has had first-hand experience of this technology revolution is Stephanie Smith, chief operating officer at Allianz, the financial services firm and insurance provider. “Much more exciting is what we’re getting off the back of data and connected data, because it’s opening up
new avenues for the industry,” she says. As an example, she points to how insurers can leverage geospatial data to identify land areas that are at high risk of flooding and how this enables personalised cover and better risk control. Several insurtechs are already utilising this geospatial data in their offering. Tensorflight is one of them. The company provides an AI-powered platform combining geospatial imagery with machine learning algorithms to help insurers better understand their risks.
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