We had a chat with Andreas Nemeth, CEO and Managing Partner at UNIQA Ventures.
Andreas is convinced that the biggest impact of technology on the insurance industry will be the disintermediation and proliferation of online sales channels, as well as advancing data-driven pricing, risk assessment, and product innovation. He also believes that claims management will experience a dramatic change through automation, and data-based claims settlement will become the new normal.
Find out more to see how Andreas answered our questions.
What are the top 3 trends in the insurance industry next year?
From my understanding, based on recent evaluation of the market, we can identify the following as the top 3 trends in the insurance industry:
- embedded insurance in context with connected ecosystems
- SME insurance
- cybersecurity.
What are the main challenges the insurance industry will face next year?
I believe that due to the circumstances, there are definitely some challenges the insurance industry has to face. I think the major ones are:
- rate increases and high inflation
- re-platforming of outdated legacy IT systems
- finding solutions to cover the mounting risk of cyber attacks.
Of course, a lot of it also depends on the immediate geopolitical developments, which determine market sentiments.
What is the biggest impact technology will have on the insurance industry?
Innovations in the insurance industry are mainly driven by technology – usually related to digitisation. From my point of view, the biggest impact technology will have on the insurance industry will be the disintermediation and proliferation of online sales channels, as well as new models of data-driven pricing and risk assessment.
Last but not least, claims management as we know it will experience a dramatic change as we will see a high level of automation and data-based claims settlement to become the new normal.
Which business models will create the best revenue streams for insurers and MGAs?
You can argue that traditional insurance is based on what is nowadays referred to as a subscription model. Unlike transactional models, there is more value to be captured from relationship or subscription-based models. At UNIQA Ventures, we like MGAs and fee- based business models, whereas risk-taking models and risk-carrier business models seem less attractive.
What will be the main innovation in terms of product offerings?
Besides a wide range of new cybersecurity offerings and SME product innovation, we could see a rise in pay-as-you-drive offerings in the automotive space. So far, they have not yet gained critical traction, which I think could change drastically. Pay-as-you-drive offerings are calculated based on the actual use of the insured vehicle.
Again, here we see the pattern that availability of data allows for new innovative approaches. Therefore, new products will emerge where new sources of live or usage-based data allow for new covers or improved offerings, such as parametric insurance products.
About
Andreas Nemeth is a venture capital investor and Founding Partner at UNIQA Ventures, one of the leading venture capital funds in Central and Eastern Europe. Andreas has over 25 years of professional experience in financial services and insurance, having launched start-ups already before the 2000s. He is one of the most active fintech investors in Europe according to Atomico and Dealroom.
Stay tuned for more insurance influencer stories! Don’t forget to check out interviews with Marco Del Carlo and Hedi Mardisoo.
