New Study of More than 100 Insurers Finds Success Among Early Adopters of Emerging Technologies

Drones and RPA already delivering real business value; increasing pilot activity in AI, big data, chatbots, and telematics: Novarica

Boston, MA (Jan. 15, 2019) – In its latest report, Emerging Technology in Insurance: AI, Big Data, Chatbots, IoT, RPA, and More, research and advisory firm Novarica analyzes the results of a study of more than 100 insurer CIOs and tracks deployment and pilot plans across a dozen technology areas classified as “emerging”: artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data, blockchain, chatbots, drones, mobile, predictive analytics, robotic process automation, sensors and telematics, smart home automation, and wearables.

“Emerging technologies can enable important new capabilities, but many insurers are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking ‘What can we do with this technology?’ insurers should be asking ‘What do we need to do, and how might new technologies help?’” said Matthew Josefowicz, President and CEO of Novarica, and lead author of the report. “Starting from the need can help insurers avoid technology-led business cases that result in a lack of business interest, failure to operationalize new capabilities, and no return on investment.”

Among the key findings of the report are:

• Early adopters are finding success. Fewer than one in four insurers has experience with these technologies, but early adopters report positive ROI, especially in analytics, drones, and RPA.
• Emphasis on analytics. About half of insurers have deployed predictive analytics in multiple areas, and pilot activity in big data and machine learning remains high.
• No huge spike in activity in the last 12 months. Rates of deployment and pilot activity are broadly consistent with survey data from last year. Investment is steady but not dramatic.

A preview of the brief is available online.

Summary

Artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data, blockchain, chatbots, drones, robotic process automation, sensors and telematics, smart home automation, and wearables are not yet widely used in the insurance industry, but many of these areas show early positive results and potential for growth. Mobile and predictive analytics, often still classed by insurers as emerging technology, are widely deployed, and investment in both areas continues.

This report analyzes the results of a study of 104 insurer CIO members of the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council.

Click here for the table of contents or to access the report.

About Novarica

Novarica helps more than 100 insurers make better decisions about technology projects and strategy through retained advisory services, published research, and strategy consulting. Its knowledge base covers trends, benchmarks, best practices, case studies, and vendor solutions. Leveraging the expertise of its senior team and more than 300 CIO Research Council members, Novarica provides clients with the ability to make faster, better, more informed decisions. Its consulting services focus on vendor selection, custom benchmarking, project checkpoints, and IT strategy. For more information, visit www.novarica.com.

Source: Novarica