Digital transforming insurance
Digital transformation initiatives have become an important topic of discussion in boardrooms around the world. For insurers, embracing this shift can be especially beneficial as customers become more selective around product offerings and how technology is used to benefit them. Jonathan Jardim, senior software developer at SilverBridge Holdings, examines this.
“As can be seen by the rapid growth of insurtechs, end-users want a different experience from their insurer as opposed to what has happened in the past. The focus revolves around engagement, interaction, customisation, and how these integrate to a more nuanced way of delivering insurance. Adding further impetus to an increased awareness of digital solutions is the ongoing cost pressures and evolving regulatory requirements that require new business models,” says Jardim.
Already, many local insurers offer things such as mobile apps and paperless claims in addition to finding new ways to capture customer data. Just consider how impactful telemetry information has become regarding car insurance and rewarding good driver behaviour. But this is just a starting point for further innovation.
Digital impact
“We live in a time where artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain technology are becoming more mainstream. What was once something best left to the early adopters is now more commonplace with people looking at their service providers to offer them something exciting and different to traditional solutions.”
Despite the glamour adopting ‘shiny new technology’ brings, insurers can leverage these more effective ways of capturing data to move towards an omni-channel view of their customers. With customers comfortable in using whatever platform and device is convenient for them, they expect their insurer to do the same. This is where part of the success of the insurtech can be attributed to – their willingness and agility to use all channels at their disposal to engage with customers.
“The impact of digital on business processes is significant. However, the true effects of this might only be seen in the future. And for those who waited too long to embrace the move, by then it might already be too late. Things like reducing costs, delivering solutions faster to market, improving sales, enhancing the customer experience, and speeding up the claims process are business essentials in this digital environment. Any insurer who does not take this to heart, will risk losing its relevancy in the years to come.”
Data analysis
Irrespective of whether it is AI, IoT, or the blockchain, an insurer must be willing to analyse data in different ways. The real-time business environment (at least from a customer expectation perspective) necessitates capturing data from all channels and plugging it in to an analysis platform capable of delivering actionable intelligence.
“There will always be a temptation to adopt the latest technology. However, it is vital that insurers balance that need to compete against insurtechs with an understanding of what their customers want and on which platform they want to engage. Solid business principles still apply no matter the innovation happening in the market. But digital is becoming a powerful enabler to balance those environments and provide a platform for future growth,” he concludes. Silverbridge
FBI, Global Regulators Investigating Facebook’s Largest-Ever Data Breach
Cyber attackers stole data from 29 million Facebook accounts using an automated program that moved from one friend to the next, Facebook Inc announced on Friday, as the social media company said its largest-ever data theft hit fewer than the 50 million profiles it initially reported.
The company said it would message affected users over the coming daysto tell them what type of information had been accessed in the attack.
The breach has left users more vulnerable to targeted phishing attacksand could deepen unease about posting to a service whose privacy,moderation and security practices have been called into question by a series of scandals, cybersecurity experts and financial analysts said.
The attackers took profile details such as birth dates, employers,education history, religious preference, types of devices used, pages followed and recent searches and location check-ins from 14 million users.
For the other 15 million users, the breach was restricted to name and contact details. In addition, attackers could see the posts and lists of friends and groups of about 400,000 users.
Lawmakers and investors have grown more concerned that Facebook is not doing enough to safeguard data.
The company’s shares rose 0.25 percent on Friday as Wall Street rebounded after a six-day losing streak. The Nasdaq composite index gained 2.29 percent.
Facebook cut the number of affected users from its original estimate after investigators reviewed activity on accounts that may have been affected. Still, cyber security experts warned that attackers could use stolen information in targeted phishing scams.
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“The bottom line is that all this data is still out there,” said Corey Milligan, a senior researcher with cyber-security firm Armor Inc.
Facebook Vice President Guy Rosen told reporters that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked the company to limit descriptions of the attackers due to an ongoing inquiry.
Rosen revealed that while the attackers’ intent has not been determined, they did not appear to be motivated by the upcoming U.S. mid-term Congressional election on Nov. 6.
He said the attack affected a “broad” spectrum of users, but declined to break down the number affected by country.
Facebook said it was continuing to investigate whether the attackers took actions beyond stealing data, such as posting from accounts, but had not found additional misuse.
Hackers did not steal personal messages or financial data and did not use their access to accounts to access users’ accounts on other websites, Facebook said.
