Smart carriers use the innovation tools of cloud services to improve their digital ecosystems.
Carriers that recognize and leverage the innovation capabilities of cloud services will outperform their competitors in the race to build expansive ecosystems. With increased mobility and range, they will take advantage of many of the lucrative opportunities that ecosystems will bring in the years to come.
Some far-sighted insurers are already using cloud services to accelerate innovation and strengthen their digital ecosystems. They use powerful cloud-based technologies to introduce a range of new ecosystem offerings.
Our research shows that insurers who combine cloud-based ecosystems with analytics systems, for example, can cut the time it takes to develop business solutions by up to 70 percent. For example, you can use advanced risk models and price analysis to open up new marketing and sales opportunities. Such ecosystem innovations enable insurers to seize business opportunities much faster. They also help freight forwarders improve the efficiency of operations such as customer management and claims handling.
Technology leaders see the cloud as a catalyst for innovation.
We found that companies with a proven record of the potential of new technologies were quick to see the innovation capabilities of cloud computing. You see cloud services as a catalyst for innovation. Around 95 percent of these “technology leaders” have introduced sophisticated cloud technologies. This includes serverless computing, FaaS (Function-as-a-Service) functions and event-driven architectures.
Technology leaders are way ahead of more cautious users. Only 30 percent of the “technology latecomers” recognize the cloud as a motor for innovation. Most still see the cloud as an inexpensive data center.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has put the innovation opportunities in cloud computing in the spotlight. Insurers like AIA in Hong Kong, Polish PZU and San Cristóbal in Argentina quickly developed their cloud platforms and developed and launched innovative customer support services. They quickly introduced these important services into their ecosystems.
Several insurers have also looked to cloud services to transform their business processes.
- Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance in Japan has developed a cloud-based sales support system that combines human expertise with artificial intelligence (AI). The MS1 Brain platform helps the company’s agents better understand customers’ needs and direct them to the most appropriate products and services.
- In Spain, Mutua Madrilen͂a has improved its customer service by developing an intelligent cloud-based solution to help the support staff. The virtual EME assistant answers many different combinations of queries on almost a thousand topics via text or voice messages.
- VIG in Poland uses cloud-based technologies to revise its claims processes and improve the customer experience. The AI-enhanced claims solution uses advanced data analysis to automatically process claims from the first claim report to intelligent claim segmentation, forwarding, assessment, processing and adjustment of the loss reserves.
By leveraging the speed and flexibility of cloud services, insurers can quickly build engaging customer services that improve their ecosystems. Ideally, these services should offer rich and interactive experiences. This will strengthen customer relationships. The intelligent use of cloud services also enables carriers to go beyond their traditional sales channels to reach a large number of new customers.
By using cloud platforms to rapidly deliver services and drive innovation in all businesses, progressive insurers are emulating large digital technology companies. They are providing more enticing and rewarding services to their customers while pushing into new areas of business.
Consumers are hungry for ecosystem services.
Some smart insurers are already using their cloud services to strengthen and expand their ecosystems. For example, by partnering with Uber, AXA has expanded its reach into the mobility sector. Similarly, AG Insurance in Belgium got into the smart home business by using its ecosystem to open its ‘Phil at Home’ facility. The cloud-based offering protects single elderly people by providing them with a range of monitoring and support services. In China, Alibaba company Ant Group (formerly Ant Financial Services) is leveraging the reach of the retail group’s cloud-based ecosystem to provide credit to consumers who did not have access to financial services. Ant customers can also use the group’s ecosystem to file accident claims for motor vehicles and support digital photos.
Consumers are hungry for ecosystem services. More than half of the consumers we surveyed showed interest in ecosystem-based health or wellness services. A similar proportion was enthusiastic about home care offers, which insurance companies bundle with building maintenance and utility services, for example. Many are also interested in using personal financial services that they can access through ecosystems.
But consumers have a choice of what they pay for. For example, only a third of consumers would like to pay for wellness or home care offers. Even fewer are happy to part with money in order to get help with their finances.
Smart ecosystem strategies that leverage cloud services to drive innovation enable insurers to deliver services and experiences that better reach, delight, and retain customers. Carriers will be able to accelerate new business growth while protecting their traditional markets from increased competition.
In my next blog post, I’ll discuss how insurers can leverage their move to cloud computing and create closer relationships with innovative insurtech companies. In the meantime, check out the links below. They provide a lot of useful information on effective cloud strategies. Otherwise send me a message. I am excited to hear from you.
The cloud imperative for insurance (PDF)
Considerations for an Effective Cloud Strategy (blog post)
Cloud services and solutions
Cloud migration services and strategy
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