Page 22 - The Insurance Times May 2021

Moreover, the adoption of technologies has also simplified Access to capital
the otherwise complicated insurance products and services; There has been a mushrooming of incubators and start-
thereby helping customers in making smart choices. The up accelerators, which provide financial, marketing and
world is changing at a fast pace and understanding ever- networking support to insurers. In the forefront are large
evolving customer needs is imperative in serving effectively organizations such as Swiss Re, Oracle and IBM who
and efficiently. are aggressively funding and supporting InsurTech start-
ups, with the objective of benefiting from new solutions
Reasons for InsurTech in India and fresh perspectives.

Rising Customer Expectations
The Revolution of e-commerce has forced insurers to think Types of Technology used in Different
differently in order to meet the rising expectations of Segments of Insurance
consumers who are demanding better, faster and more
relevant services. Motor Insurance
Telematics technology is getting used in
Government Initiative of Digital India Motor Insurance. Afer the entry of Jio and
Strong digital initiatives by the Indian government and Airtel low cost telematics devices are
regulatory authorities, such as Aadhar-based available in India.
identification, eKYC, digital lockers, Unified Payments
Interface, and more recently, the mandate for e- Health Insurance
insurance accounts, are creating enabling systems for Wearable devices are helping insurers to
simplification of transactions coupled with an increasing better underwrite, price and manage
smartphone penetration, huge markets that were not health claims.
cost-effective to service earlier due to lack of reach Crop Insurance
and distributor interest in pursuing small-ticket premiums,
are now becoming accessible to insurers. Helping the Crop underwriters with Crop
Cutting Experiments (CCE) and giving
Competitive Pressure more comprehensive data by capturing
high-resolution visuals from a unique
As competition intensifies, margin pressures are pushing
companies to look at more efficient ways of doing vantage point. Drones has also helped the
business - whether by reducing costs or improving surveyors to do risk inspection of property
efficiency. Especially in non-life insurance where contracts claims.
are of a much shorter duration than in life insurance, Livestock Insurance
there is a constant need to create differentiators that
For reducing moral hazard and fraud,
will enable insurance companies to attract and retain
insurers are using RFID technology for
customers.
accurate identification of animal for
livestock insurance.
Home Insurance
With the rise of personal smart connected
home devices, there is an opportunity for
insurers to increase insurance penetration
in this segment.
Travel Insurance

Bajaj Allianz recently launched a
blockchain-based travel insurance app
Travel Ezee, which pays out claims
automatically when there are flight
delays.

22 The Insurance Times, May 2021