Digital Insurer Library Editor

 

As the poet T. S. Eliot wrote, April is the cruelest month, and sadly as the northern hemisphere burst into life with the advent of spring, violence erupted elsewhere.

It is all too easy to overlook the human consequences of losses, but ultimately the industry exists to balance and mitigate risk.

One positive development is that India has the potential to become a connected nation far earlier than might have been previously considered.

Internet penetration is so well developed in the sub continent that if the industry presses ahead it could leave more developed nations behind.

Another paper in this month's Digital Insurer Library looks at the digital mastery achieved by the banking industry and demonstrates how insurance continues to drag its feet.

That said, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Old World. A paper from Friendsurance shows that digital bancassurance is about to take off in continental Europe. This does exclude the role of the UK – it’s just not their market - but does provide an interesting marker for the adoption and implementation of InsurTech. Meanwhile Pacific Life Re is upbeat about the pace of development of bancassurance in South East Asia. 

It’s not all bancassurance, however. We also look at the growth in M&A in the insurance market, the fascinating impact of smart insurance and the internet of things on consumer behaviour, and a report commissioned by the UK government on how to best encourage digital competition.

There’s also a reminder from McKinsey that legacy firms must disrupt old models to succeed. 

Pádraig Floyd 

Enjoy the edition!