We might be on the cusp of the greatest pace of change that underwriting has seen in decades. The accelerated digitisation that occurred during the pandemic in many areas of our lives, from home shopping to medical consultations, was a necessary change in the insurance purchasing process, and now it’s a rarity to find a successful insurer without a digital submission process. Given that you are reading this article, the above is obvious to you already. However, the real question is:

What is next as customers and insurers further embrace digital processes and increasing data availability?

The one certainty is that the current state of underwriting won’t remain static and that the future is going to unfold sooner than we may think. In part, this is driven by increasing customers’ expectations as they seek simplification, personalisation, and ideally, a process that they don’t even realise is or has occurred. We see that today’s customers are generally open to sharing their data to achieve seamless purchasing, faster and improved outcomes, provided that insurers are open and transparent about their collection and use of such data. At the same time, insurers are also seeking to utilise the increasing amount of data that is becoming available – either from their own business as they digitise more, or from external sources such as digital health records, lab test results and lifestyle data from wearables. Andrew Doran, Global Chief Underwriting & Claims Officer at Pacific Life Re recently wrote an article titled ‘The future of Underwriting is now…are we ready?’ and summarised his views of the future of underwriting.

How quickly and in what exact form or sequence the future of underwriting will emerge in your market and your business will differ, and in many respects, is in your hands to create!

We are already seeing early adopters who work with UnderwriteMe, exploring what is possible and are embarking on this journey. We see the following topics as those that are on the insurer’s minds today:

• • Using more internal data (e.g., customer history, claims data) to simplify and personalise the underwriting process. Consumers today expect service providers to utilise known information to deliver value.
  • Models and AI to help increase efficiency and shorten the application process. The use of predictive models and machine learning algorithms create new opportunities in the way we process and understand data.
  • Integrate novel external data to learn how this may affect or replace aspects of the traditional underwriting process. Examples of novel data sources include transaction data from financial institutions, social media and IoT.
  • How to utilise non-structured, non-digital data formats such as handwritten medical documents, reports on diagnostic procedures such as ECG, MRI and histology results.

For most of these, the business objectives lie in simplifying the purchasing process and improving operational efficiency. So, the very real and important question for you is:

How ready are you to embrace this future?

Over the coming weeks, you will see a series of articles from UnderwriteMe as we explore different aspects of this future and how technology and the right partner can empower you to make changes and embrace the future. The content series will cover the below topics:

• • Future of Underwriting vision (read the article here)
  • Are you ready to embrace The Future of Underwriting?
  • Innovation in Life Underwriting
  • Models & Integration
  • Customer Experience

Do follow UnderwriteMe on LinkedIn to make sure you don’t miss out on these!