As technology changes and more competition enters the market, new types of insurance risk emerge. Here are several emerging risks for 2018 that carriers in the property and casualty insurance industry needs to be aware of:
Although the insurance industry has been slower to adopt the use of technology than other industries, we’re seeing carriers begin to depend on drones to conduct property inspections. An advantage that a drone offers is the ability to access areas within a property that inspectors would not otherwise be able to see. However, a drone is not able to get up close and personal with the building materials in the way that a property inspector can, which may mean that some risks go undetected if relying solely on a drone to complete a property inspection.
2. Cyber attacks.
Are you aware the cyber theft is the fastest growing crime in our country? Alarmingly, cyber attacks are increasing in size, cost, and sophistication. From an insurance perspective, many business owners aren’t adequately covered for cyber theft. Insurance carriers that ask about cyber security during property inspections can add a lot of value to insureds, mitigate risk, and strengthen relationships.
3. Lack of thoroughness in underwriting.
Today’s consumers, particularly Millennials, value convenience when selecting an insurance partner. A growing number of companies now provide insurance solutions within seconds using an app. Instead of conducting a property inspection and thoroughly underwriting insurance risk, these companies are basing their decisions on data. Relying solely on data to make underwriting decisions opens up insurance carriers for increased loss exposure.
4. The pressure for businesses to speed up delivery.
In order to compete with Amazon, many small businesses are feeling the pressure to speed up their delivery times. As a result, they’re utilizing ride-and-delivery sharing services or are levering their existing employees to make deliveries. While these may seem like simple solutions at first glance, they end up creating a myriad of new insurance risk exposure for retailers.
Building relationships with insureds is an effective way for insurance carriers to mitigate these emerging insurance risks for 2018. Partnering with Insurance Risk Services for your property inspection needs will provide you with an opportunity to have face-to-face conversations with insureds about these risks and deepen relationships.
Contact us to learn how we help our insurance carrier partners to accurately underwrite risk and identify additional opportunities to serve insureds.
