More than 400 attendees from across the insurance industry, including regulators, startups and established insurance companies were in Omaha for Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie. The annual conference is focused on how technology and innovation are changing the insurance industry. The event is organized by the Nebraska Department of Insurance and the Nebraska Insurance Federation.
Here are a few takeaways from this year’s conference:
1. Innovation can happen incrementally. But it has to happen in order for insurance companies to not die out and become obsolete in the wake of a changing industry. Cleaning up legacy data is one place to start for organizations that take a more reluctant approach to digital transformation.
2. New technology requires a new approach. This applies to how traditional, established insurance companies operate internally, and also to the regulatory bodies that govern them. Insurance commissioners from multiple states attended the conference, with several of them participating in panel discussions.
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3. The customer is king. Increasing customer satisfaction is a primary motivation for adopting technology and innovation in the insurance industry. Many companies are focused on process improvements that result in more efficiency to help control costs while improving customer satisfaction.
4. Big data and artificial intelligence present big opportunities. Insurance companies collect a ton of data that can be leveraged by AI to create new solutions. Technological advances coupled with wider industry adoption of these emerging technologies will result in further innovation.
5. IoT (Internet of Things) devices are becoming more common. Examples mentioned include, a device that plugs into your phone to assess the potential risk that the wiring in your home will start a fire for a homeowners policy, and a device in your vehicle that tracks your driving habits for your auto insurer.
