This time, Mark Breading is sharing his point of view on trends and the insurtech market. Mark is a Partner at Strategy Meets Action, an insurance and tech expert with extensive global experience in strategy, marketing, industry studies, and thought leadership. He’s also known for his insights on the future of the insurance industry and innovative uses of technology.
Mark says that for distribution, underwriting, and claims, the data and interactions are complex for more sophisticated commercial lines segments, which is why they lend themselves to solutions for automation and insight, especially AI-based solutions. View the rest of Mark’s thoughts below as we ask a series of questions about the industry.
1. Please name three of the most promising fields of insurtech in 2021. Why exactly these?
The three most promising areas I see today are:
- commercial lines distribution;
- underwriting;
- claims
The opportunities span all lines, but there are really interesting new opportunities for more complex commercial lines – middle and large market, specialty lines and excess and surplus segments. For distribution, underwriting, and claims, the data and interactions are complex for these segments and lend themselves to solutions for automation and insight, especially AI-based solutions aimed at tackling unstructured data and building models to gain more insight.
2. What is the biggest obstacle for insurance start-ups that holds back market disruption and meaningful change?
The biggest obstacle is actually thinking about it as market disruption. Insurtechs can be great catalysts for change, great partners to the industry, and have great success. They are vital in enabling the transformation of the industry. But very, very few are actually disrupting the industry.
3. If you were to establish your own insurance start-up, which problem would you solve and why?
I would go after complex commercial lines risks with a platform to augment underwriters and manage exception processing. Or after a similar solution for claims.
4. Which insurtech field will be the most impactful and attract funding in 2021?
The big funding continues to go to the insurtech carriers. This makes sense, because they need capital to scale. Otherwise, it is the AI players with purpose-built solutions for P&C.
5. The future of insurance: what makes you hopeful, what worries you?
I’m very optimistic. There is tremendous potential for the industry to leverage new real-time data sources to collaborate with customers to reduce risks. There are still plenty of new, emerging risks that will enable continued premium growth.
About
Mark Breading, Partner, Strategy Meets Action (SMA), A ReSource Pro Company is known for his insights on the future of the insurance industry and innovative uses of technology. Before joining SMA in 2009, Mark spent 25 years with IBM in roles including Global Insurance Strategist, Global Insurance Marketing Leader, and Director of Global Financial Services Executive Conferences. Mark leverages his background in strategy, marketing, and technology to consult with insurers and technology companies on forward-thinking strategies for success in the digital age, where his ability to incorporate insurtech and transformational tech in business strategies is unparalleled.
Mark leads in the development and publishing of industry research reports and conducting custom research projects for insurer and tech company clients. His thought leadership in the areas of distribution strategies, insurtech transformational technologies, and digital strategies has earned him a ranking as a “Top Global Influencer in InsurTech” by InsurTech News.
Follow Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Don’t forget to check out our other influencer stories with Steve Tunstall, Spiros Margaris, Jan Kastory, Sabine VanderLinden, Ed Halsey, Rick Huckstep, Paolo Cuomo, and Robin Kiera!
