Several weeks ago, more than 400 professionals from all over the insurance industry gathered for the 2023 Global Insurance Symposium to share thoughts and ideas on some of the potential opportunities as well as potential pitfalls that the industry currently faces.
The theme of this year’s event was “Thriving In A Changing World” and perhaps unsurprisingly given this change-centric focus, issues involving emerging technologies popped up in a number of the main symposium topics, such as the role artificial intelligence will play in shaping the industry going forward, how data can better inform the regulatory environment, and the nature of the symbiotic relationship between insurtech companies and insurance carriers.
Still, although tech was certainly a hot topic, some other main areas of discussion and focus were considerably more analog and included the important role that people still play and will continue to play in the insurance business as well as how crucial it is for companies to build resilient portfolios, especially in times of financial and economic uncertainty.
In terms of AI, the need for comprehensive regulation was often the bottom line to which speakers and attendees alike kept returning. While many state insurance commissioners that were present acknowledged the amazing potential for artificial intelligence to increase efficiency and expand fairness in the insurance market, they also repeatedly stressed the need for transparency and accountability when it comes to managing compliance and ensuring bias doesn’t become even more formalized via AI processing.
The apparent wide-ranging willingness to allow more and better data to drive changes in regulation was another common idea that emerged from the event. This sentiment was shared by panelists from insurance regulatory bodies as well as others who recognize the potential that greater incorporation of data into regulatory decision-making has, which panelists believe will should ultimately yield easily digestible rules that both protect consumers and also enable innovation and fair competition among insurers.
The importance of collaboration was probably the main message conveyed by insurtech executives, who underscored the mutually beneficial partnership that exists between insurtech companies and carriers, which they stressed must be strengthened and expanded upon in order to optimize innovation and the implementation of the resulting technological advancements.
Beyond the important role of tech throughout the industry going forward, however, one message that insurance professionals repeatedly emphasized is that people remain the most important asset in the insurance business and that any company not investing significant time and resources into providing opportunities for employee growth and development are missing the bigger picture. Upskilling and creating an environment that encourages innovation and knowledge dissemination among and between employee ranks were some of the specific means discussed for companies to maximize the value they have in their staff’s abilities and experience.
Proper preparation for turbulent economic conditions was another running theme, with panelists reminding attendees that insurance remains an effective hedge against destabilized markets, and that maintaining healthy balance sheets and resilient portfolios is all the more important in the event of economic downturn. At the same time, however, periods of turmoil also represent prime opportunities for innovation and for carriers to expand upon their product offerings to better suit the needs of customers as they evolve to the changing circumstances, as well.
While change may be inevitable, and the insurance industry is no exception of course, how one approaches that change can vary quite widely. When it comes to thriving in the face of that inevitable change, the consensus coming out of the Global Insurance Symposium this year seems to be pretty strongly in favor of anticipating the coming challenges to whatever degree possible and embracing them.
You can read more about these topics and the 2023 Global Insurance Symposium here.
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