Bain on the day of digital reckoning for insurance companies

Bain published a very informative article, titled “For insurance companies, the day of digital reckoning”, that captures many of the strategic issues that insurers are facing when looking at digital opportunities.  Parts of the article I particularly liked are:

Do you agree that the day of digital reckoning is approaching for insurers?

• Crisp summary of the digital opportunity : “… most executives recognize that they’re on the threshold of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to both reduce costs and foster new streams of profitable revenue growth.”
• Identification of most of the key issues around digital insurance : including the need for multi-channel services (Bain call it “omnichannel”), the “outside-in” focus, the need for speed, the need to invest in middle ware to overcome the shortcomings of legacy system, the importance of mobile and the need to look at the people and organisational issues around transition
• The correct call to action at the end : “In this conservative industry, companies that are willing to move quickly and take calculated risks stand to gain a competitive advantage over more sluggish rivals.”

In my view one area that deserves more attention is the need to explicitly think through how insurers can move faster to implement a digital agenda. Insurers who are serious about digital will need new skills, new ways of working and more streamlined decision-making processes.

The full article is available here