After years of lagging behind other industries, insurance now tops the list of sectors that are most affected by technological change, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. CEOs from 95 insurance companies contributed to the study and revealed that their biggest concerns were the speed of technological change, regulation, changing customer behavior and competition from insurance technology startups.

The survey highlights the importance of not just keeping pace with new technology, but prioritising innovation and anticipating customer needs, particularly in an age when power is shifting to customers. Competition from insurtech startups is identified as a threat to established players, and ‘incremental innovation and marginal cost savings’ are not seen as enough to protect market share.

The report says: ‘Insurtech partners could open up valuable opportunities for insurers and enable them to make the leap from incremental to breakthrough innovation. They can help insurers improve their analysis of huge amounts of data at their disposal, which can lead to better customer understanding, higher win rates, and more informed underwriting.’

RDT’s centralised rating platform, Equator, and policy administration system Landscape both enable insurers to maximise the power of data and gain immediate benefit from emerging technologies. And when it comes to reading the marketplace and meeting customer expectations, RDT is an innovation leader. As PwC says, ‘Insurers must judge where customer expectations are heading and the kinds of innovations that can meet them’.