How does technological and digital progress contribute to evolution (or revolution) in the insurance sector? How are big data and artificial intelligence shaping business models, organisational structures and relations with clients, particularly tech-savvy millennials? What factors should be considered when deciding whether to keep research and innovation in-house or outsource them to start-ups? These were some of the topics discussed yesterday evening at the Embassy of Italy in London at a seminar on insurtech, organised in collaboration with Oliver James Associates and the Italian Trade Agency in London.
The event was opened by the ambassador, Raffaele Trombetta, and by Marina Collauti of Generali, who gave an introduction to the topic. Two very productive panel discussions were then held, moderated by Pamela Barbaglia, the chief correspondent for EMEA deals at Thomson Reuters.
In the first session, David Cervellin (PayPal), Roberto Nard (AIG Group), Tomaso Aste (UCL) and Alberto Busetto (Generali) discussed the transformations in organisation and processes that are required in order to improve the value proposition of insurance products, taking into account the fact that the client base is increasingly demanding and open to change. The panellists looked at how technological advances such as machine learning and big data can be harnessed to improve risk assessment and pricing of insurance products. They also discussed the protection and use of personal data and the regulations governing this data, notably EU Regulation 2016/679.
In the second session, Davide Consiglio (Generali), Matteo Berlucchi (Your.MD), Adrien Cohen (Tractable), Elena Lavezzi (Circle) and Richard Hartley (Cytora) looked at concrete examples and success stories illustrating the value of technical advances in the insurance sector, such as artificial intelligence, predictive algorithms, and tools for analysing big data and metadata. They then discussed the challenges of incorporating these new solutions into current organisational processes and product structuring, notably the need to update the current technical infrastructure and professional culture and the need to collect and process large quantities of data.
Notes:
The Generali Group, or Assicurazioni Generali, is an Italian insurance company established in 1831. It is currently the third-largest insurer in the world by turnover. The group operates around the world, particularly in Europe, South America and East Asia. Under the industrial-transformation strategy launched in 2015 to simplify and customise its services, Generali is a major driver of technological evolution in the field of insurance.
