Pivoting The Insurance Industry With Digital Interventions

The Indian Insurance sector is steadily growing as consumers realize the importance of various types of Insurance, and they are seeing it as a means of managing adversity and risk better rather than purely an income tax saving initiative. The insurance industry has undergone several transformations with regulatory reforms to bring transparency and trust. It is coming out of the shadows of the BFS sector, insurance has spotlighted how to overcome the challenges and the role of digital and tech in making the entire industry more competitive, efficient, and dynamic. 

Interestingly, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority India (IRDA) has given an ambitious target to achieve ‘Insurance for all’ by 2047’.

In the new Season 2 of Masterstrokes edition by BUSINESSWORLD in collaboration with IBM India, decoded the digital adoption dynamics in this vibrant and growing sector.

We had the opportunity to speak Suhail Ghai, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Maxlife Insurance, and Reena Khemani, Associate Partner, Insurance Cluster, India & South Asia, IBM Consulting, walked through the various challenges, opportunities, and how a collaborative partnership approach is reimaging the digital adoption in this sector.

RIDING ON DATA AND DIGITAL

Says Suhail Ghai, “Gone are the days when Insurance used to be paper-driven. Digital has reimagined the industry, and a massive technology transformation has happened in this space. It has also made the industry extremely competitive, so technology is bringing in the key differentiators to gain market share and provide unique customer experiences. Thanks also to the regulatory authorities for constantly streamlining the industry and enabling us to operate in a responsible and trusted environment. And what technology has done in tandem is, it has given the speed and agility to react to the consumers’ needs, wants and aspirations.”

“The insurance industry has been transforming for almost a decade, says Reena Khemani. “The acceleration of innovation this sector has seen is mind-boggling, and we see a cohesive digital template has evolved for the industry, and this is helping us to seed more innovative technologies and address the domain-specific needs,” adds Reena.

With digital acceleration in the insurance space, data has become the pivot. Says Suhail, “We are essentially looking at ways to action data for defined business outcomes. The key questions like how we can better understand the customers and how we can provide unique and differentiated services tops our agenda. And, with disruptions like Generative AI, we are trying to leverage that to our advantage to leap to the next level of technology maturity. Today, we use a lot of AI and ML models to slice and dice the data and provide best-in-class customer experience by sensing their sentiments.”

Says Reena, “I agree that Gen AI is going to play a major role. With greater emphasis on data, cybersecurity is also gaining utmost importance. I would rather look at the current tech landscape liberating the industry of legacy technologies and take it toward a very progressive direction.”

“Yes, Cybersecurity and managing the threat landscape is pivotal for our business,” says Suhail. “To this end, we are fostering a threat management ecosystem that factors all the risks and threats and makes for a robust and reliable leverage to provide trust and transparency to our consumers and help us manage data privacy issues.”

In addition to technologies, one of the critical areas that help organizations mitigate cyber threats is conducting routine cyber audits that expose the areas of risk and course corrections needed. Reflecting on this, Suhail says, “The security audits are constantly happening. For instance, when we deploy a new code, it comes with security embedded. In addition, we have a routine security audit cadence spanning all through the year and take comprehensive due diligence of response to threat and how well prepared we are at any given point in time.”

LEVERAGING A PARTNER ECOSYSTEM

Suhail believes that given the complexities of core and tech operations in the insurance space, it is vital to have a technology partner who is well invested in giving end-to-end services. He says, “The tech partners help us build agility and the ability to scale and simultaneously help us address the range of technology disruptions.”

Adds Reena, “As a technology partner, we typically provide a range of key operating models. Technology providers are no longer just service providers; they play a much more significant role and are problem solvers and co-creating solutions with the clients. So clearly, we play an enabling role in achieving greater operational efficiency for our clients.”

UP AHEAD

Despite the growth in the insurance sector, Suhail believes that this industry has the potential to reach a broader universe in the days ahead. He says that using tech, his organization is looking at ways to decode the various consumer personas to launch tailor-made products for greater connection and traction. He observes, “I see insurance also being sold as a portfolio and not just as a standalone product, but as a part of the larger financial portfolio of the consumers who see that as a means for securing safety.”

Says Reena, “The key drivers of the insurance industry in the next three to five years will revolve around security and sustainability. We will see greater emphasis on security, cutting across data privacy and managing risks, and at the same time, sustainability will bring more emphasis on factors like ESG. I see the insurance industry in India is on an aggressive growth path in the next five years.”