The role of collaboration in the insurance industry
Bryan Falchuk of Insurance Evolution Partners discusses the importance of partnership between legacy insurers and insurtechs based on research from his latest book.
The insurance industry has changed significantly over the last several years with new risks emerging due to factors like cyberattacks, the sharing economy and the pandemic. Add in the constant technological evolution as carriers streamline their processes to better serve policyholders, and there have been a wide variety of changes. While insurers understand the importance of working with customers to identify and mitigate risks, sometimes it’s easy to forget how important it is to collaborate in other areas, especially when it comes to implementing new technology.
Accenture says, “Overall, the consumers who reported not being fully satisfied could represent up to $34 billion in premiums annually, or up to $170 billion over the next five years.”
Claims is the beating heart of insurance service providers. It is the moment when insurers convert a policy into the financial help needed following a calamity, and it’s the point at which the sector proves its worth and makes good on the customer’s trust.
With such high stakes, you’d think insurers would do everything in their power to ensure a smooth, frictionless and stress-free claims experience. Yet, according to PwC’s Insurance Brand Sentiment Index 2022, something is going terribly wrong.
Many consumers prefer working with an agent or broker for insurance, despite direct-to-consumer platforms that offer an alternative.
It’s a new era for independent insurance agents and brokers. There are challenges with the continued economic turmoil, rising premium costs and changing customer needs. They’re also facing increased competition. The estimated total number of independent insurance agencies in the U.S. grew from 36,000 in 2020 to more than 40,000 in 2022 — a 9% increase. Many independent insurance agents and brokers have needed to adapt and do things differently to maintain their success. It has been a wake-up call. They can no longer avoid disruption or change.
However, there are also exciting new opportunities and paths for independent insurance agents and brokers to grow their businesses and earn revenue by taking a fresh look at how technology can help.
The sustained increase in demand for office space across the nation since late 2022 suggests that the market has moved past its lowest point, according to insights from the real estate technology platform, VTS. Demand for office space began to rise in late 2022 and continued into early 2023. Since then, the office market has experienced a period of stability and growth, supported by favorable economic factors, indicating a market rebound. This conclusion is drawn from the VTS Office Demand Index (VODI), which tracks unique new tenant tour requests for office properties in key U.S. markets. The VODI serves as an early indicator of future office leasing activity. According to the index, demand for office space has grown consistently over the past 12 months, closing the second quarter with a 17% year-over-year increase and a 34% rise from the VODI’s lowest point in December 2022. A significant shift in office-based employment patterns further supports the belief that demand for office space has stabilized. After reaching its peak in August 2022, office-based employment declined by 3.9% in early 2024. However, this trend has since stabilized, and employment growth has remained steady. Additionally, a recent decrease in work-from-home rates has fueled the renewed demand for office space. “They say you can only recognize a market bottom after it has passed, and the office space market is no exception. Following what we now see as the bottom, the national demand has gradually increased, though it remains susceptible to economic challenges,” said Nick Romito, CEO of VTS. “However, the growth observed in VODI over the past 18 months, coupled with positive trends in the office-using workforce, suggests that the market has reset, and the worst is behind us.” It’s important to note that this national trend does not impact all local markets equally. Cities like Los Angeles and New York City have seen healthy growth in office space demand, while markets such as San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have experienced prolonged stagnation. In Los Angeles, office space demand surged in the second quarter, briefly surpassing pre-COVID levels, driven by an increase in the average size of office spaces sought by tenants. New York City followed a similar overall pattern, though with some softness in the second quarter. Conversely, San Francisco’s demand for office space remains unpredictable, largely due to its tech-focused workforce, which continues to favor remote work more than other industries. “Markets heavily dependent on the tech sector, like San Francisco and Seattle, are on a markedly different post-COVID recovery path compared to more diversified markets like Los Angeles and New York City. It may take some time before we see office demand in San Francisco and Seattle return to pre-COVID levels,” added Ryan Masiello, Chief Strategy Officer at VTS.
In July, a global IT outage had a significant impact on business interruption insurance policies, overshadowing the effects on cyber insurance coverages. “This incident wasn’t a result of a malicious attack, which is why typical cyber insurance policies may not have been activated,” explained Peter McMurtrie, a partner in West Monroe’s insurance sector, in an interview with PropertyCasualty360.com. “Where coverage was applicable, factors like deductible amounts, waiting periods, and coverage limits played a critical role in determining the extent of exposure,” McMurtrie noted. “Standard policies for small businesses were less likely to offer coverage, while more complex policies for mid-sized companies and Fortune 500 corporations may have included broader triggers for non-malicious outages caused by third-party software issues.” The outage was triggered by a software update on July 19, 2024, by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which affected organizations worldwide using Microsoft Windows. This interruption had far-reaching consequences, including disrupting hospital systems, media outlets, financial institutions, delaying thousands of flights, and halting daily business operations. McMurtrie emphasized that while the initial impact of the outage was similar for both large and small businesses, the ability to recover operations and whether insurance covered the loss of business income varied. “Larger companies are more likely to have advanced disaster recovery plans that ensure service redundancy following unexpected outages,” he added. “Their insurance programs also tend to cover a wider range of incidents.” According to Microsoft, the CrowdStrike update error affected over 8.5 million Windows devices globally. The incident highlighted the interconnected nature of our global ecosystem, including cloud providers, software platforms, security services, and their clients. “It’s a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing safe deployment and disaster recovery across the tech industry,” the company said in a blog post. McMurtrie pointed out that the outage’s widespread impact was largely due to its effect on organizations that are critical to societal infrastructure—sectors like agriculture, airlines, banking, energy, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail. “Insurance companies base their risk appetite on their ability to understand and price risks appropriately. This becomes increasingly challenging with emerging threats,” he said. “However, I anticipate that insurers will respond by clarifying policy language, refining risk selection criteria, and possibly developing new products specifically designed for this evolving exposure.”