A 2017 IASCA survey assessed how professionals judged their organization’s leadership in terms of digital literacy and receptiveness to emerging technologies. Just over half gave their leadership credit for digital literacy, but only one in four considered them “very receptive” to emerging technology. These are interesting results, and leads me to a more important question: Is being very receptive to emerging technology a good quality for an insurance industry leader? Does it result in an effective digital strategy?
Many insurers I talk to like to call themselves “fast followers” when it comes to new tech, recognizing that their company prefers to watch how others in the marketplace adopt new innovations before investing in it themselves. But the reality is many of those self-described fast followers are really moderate followers or even slow followers, putting time and resources into a technology only after it becomes a necessary cost of doing business. I don’t say that with any negative judgment. Many of those leaders would probably quietly admit that this is the case, but also recognize that the public embrace of a slow follower approach to technology sounds bad, even if it’s believed to be the correct strategy for an individual company.
For insurers who are digital leaders or true fast followers (and insurance leaders who are very receptive to emerging technology), what does that mean when looking across all technology? No company can embrace every innovation at once, and an insurer who chooses to dive into IoT and drones might choose to hold back on blockchain and AI. The key is for insurers to be aware of their digital strategy—whether it’s leading, fast, or slow—and to make technology investment decisions consciously rather than through inertia and lack of proper review. What potential benefits does investing in a new technology provide? What risks does ignoring it raise, especially if a competitor invests in it first? Which of the many emerging technologies are most relevant to an insurer’s business? Is this new technology critical or tangential to an insurer’s core competencies and values? These are the questions that must be asked and answered, even when the general approach is to sit back and wait.
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