Technology vendors need to innovate, align solutions with carrier needs

Technology vendors must do a better job of aligning their solutions with the needs of property and casualty insurance carriers, notes a new report from Boston-based Aite Group.

Data/analytics and operations were the two top categories selected based on interviews with, and surveys of 23 P&C industry vendors in May and June, notes a new impact note by Aite Group senior analyst Stephen Applebaum, entitled Insurance Technology Vendors and P&C Carriers: Alignments and Disconnects.

“As carriers attempt to balance multiple competing priorities, some insurance technology vendors are focused more on selling and describing what they already provide than on offering what the market really needs,” the abstract states. “Vendors must pay less lip service and more attention to delivering real innovation to their P&C insurance clients,” it adds.

Companies were asked how much impact certain areas were expected to have on their business, products and services relative to meeting the needs of their P&C insurance customers over the next two to three years, notes Aite Group, an independent research and advisory firm focused on business, technology and regulatory issues and their impact on the financial services industry.

In all, 79% of respondents reported data and analytics were expected to have “a lot” of impact over the next two to three years, 17% said “a little” and 4% said none. With regard to what factors were identified by respondents as having “a lot” of impact over the next two to three years, data and analytics was followed by operations, 78%; next-gentechnology (telematics/UBI), 74; customer experience management, 74%; innovation, 61%; cloud (private, public or hybrid), 44%; risk and compliance, 43%; straight-through processing, 35%; fraud, 30%; and architecture, 22%.