Are We at the End of the InsurTech Cycle?

With a desire to maximize efficiency, squeeze out savings, and provide convenience to insureds, a number of InsurTech companies have been making their way into the market. The influx of InsurTech companies in the property and casualty space started about five years ago, and some of the more popular InsurTech startups include Trov, Goji, and Lemonade. These companies streamline the insurance process and allow consumers to quickly receive insurance quotes, acquire policies, and file claims all by using their mobile devices.

It’s no wonder that the ease of doing business with InsurTech companies has caused some of the traditional insurance carriers to question their own business models. However, given their heavy reliance on data to make swift underwriting decisions, will we look back on the InsurTech days as just being a short-lived fad?

The State of InsurTech Companies in 2018
As of 2018, there are approximately 1,200 InsurTech companies in the market. While most of these companies originally focused on personal lines and health insurance, the latest research reveals that 39 percent of InsurTech companies specialize in property and casualty insurance.

However, instead of trying to directly compete with some of the larger insurance carriers, a trend that we’re seeing is that many of the startup InsurTech companies are directing their efforts towards providing insurance carriers with InsurTech technology. They’re identifying problems with the traditional insurance process and are providing solutions through technology to streamline workflows and make it more seamless for people to procure insurance.

Some examples of ways that we’re seeing InsurTech companies partner with traditional insurance carriers to minimize insurance risk, enhance the underwriting process, and provide a better customer experience is through drone usage, smart home devices, and connected vehicle initiatives. It’s not unusual to visit an InsurTech company’s website and see several larger insurance carriers listed as customers on the bottom of the page.

Are InsurTech Companies Here to Stay?
To best address the answer to the question that the title of this article asks, while the influx of InsurTech companies initially created direct competition for traditional insurance carriers, the way that the InsurTech industry is evolving is now creating a different type of competition for the property and casualty insurance industry. In order for carriers to stay on top of insurance risk and demonstrate that they’re with the times, it’s become more and more important that they integrate technology into their business models. Therefore, we’re not at the end of the InsurTech cycle; instead, we can expect to see more carriers continue to partner with InsurTech providers going forward to mitigate insurance risk, streamline processes, and provide a better customer experience.

Our team at Insurance Risk Services has been partner with property and casualty insurance carriers for more than 35 years to provide them with accurate underwriting support. Contact us to learn how we’re using the latest technology to help our insurance carrier partners best determine which risks are worth taking.