5 Insurance Industry Predictions for 2022

This publish is a part of a collection sponsored by AgentSync.

It’s beginning to really feel like a New Yr’s custom. However we’re not speaking in regards to the ball drop or kissing your beau at midnight. For the previous a number of years (if no more), insurance coverage trade analysis corporations and publications have rung within the new yr with predictions in regards to the trade’s continued evolution and transformation.

Effectively, Joyful New Yr from AgentSync – as a result of we’re right here to report that insurance coverage in 2022 is trying to endure much more change than final yr. The traits aren’t essentially new: It’s the continuation of all the pieces that’s been constructing over the previous decade. With funding in insurtech reaching new highs in 2021, there are extra sources than ever earlier than to maintain these traits transferring ahead.

What occurred in insurance coverage in 2021?

Earlier than we glance ahead, let’s give a fast recap of 2021.

• The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in provide chain points throughout numerous industries, impacting many companies’ skill to operate on a fundamental stage. These companies’ demand for insurance coverage dropped, however claims for broken and delayed items skyrocketed.
• Work-from-home grew to become the brand new regular for a lot of corporations and their staff, leading to model new cyber-security dangers from a whole lot of hundreds of recent dwelling places of work.
• Talking of cyber-security, ransomware and phishing assaults focused companies of all sizes, throughout all industries.
• Expertise grew to become an much more integral a part of our lives as new instruments emerged to assist groups work and collaborate from afar.

Whereas these traits aren’t particular to the insurance coverage trade, every certainly one of them touched it and remodeled it throughout 2021. Insurance coverage companies, brokerages, carriers, MGAs, and MGUs weren’t exempt from any side of the adjustments taking place throughout life and enterprise for corporations within the U.S. and past. Quite the opposite, insurance coverage trade companies have been maybe extra impacted than others on account of being additional behind the occasions initially of the pandemic.

5 predictions for 2022

It should shock nobody that the continued digital transformation of the insurance coverage trade (if not the complete world) is on the coronary heart of what to look out for within the coming yr. However the specifics of the place these adjustments will occur could also be stunning.

Again-end operations enchancment would be the subsequent huge soar in effectivity

Whereas not as thrilling because the customer-facing tech devices, insurtech that helps the trade run extra effectively is about to play a significant function in 2022. From the automation of claims processing to expertise that simplifies the producer licensing and compliance course of, insurance coverage carriers and companies ought to discover methods to scale back prices and enhance customer support by way of revolutionary tech options this yr.

Customers could have extra choices than ever with regards to the place and methods to purchase their insurance coverage

The Amazonification of insurance coverage continues as digital-only insurance coverage corporations convey extra freedom and option to customers. Developments like usage-based insurance coverage (UBI) and insurance coverage merchandise which are solely out there to buy digitally will proceed to blur the strains between insurance coverage and expertise. Quickly, “insurtech” will probably be synonymous with “insurance coverage” identical to “e-commerce” is now not a separate entity from “commerce.”

The identical previous “new dangers” will preserve driving adjustments in insurance coverage

Such “new dangers” as international pandemics, large cyber-attacks, and climate-change-induced mega pure disasters can really feel like previous information at this level. The reality is, they’re nonetheless comparatively new in insurance coverage phrases. For an trade as previous as insurance coverage, the dramatic adjustments we’ve all witnessed over the previous three-to-five years are ones the trade continues to be reckoning with methods to deal with.

In 2022, insurance coverage corporations should discover methods to supply merchandise their customers need and wish, whereas nonetheless remaining worthwhile and solvent sufficient to be there when claims happen. The impacts of those “new dangers” is one thing the trade has been grappling with for some time already, and that gained’t change in 2022.

A altering concept of “international markets”

The digitization of insurance coverage has progressed hand-in-hand with its globalization. However after 2020 and now 2021, the thought of world insurance coverage markets might take a unique route.

An S&P report titled The Massive Image: 2022 Insurance coverage Trade Outlook explains that current occasions – from Brexit to COVID-19 – might change the trajectory of the insurance coverage and insurtech industries’ globalization. Citing occasions like Brexit, and the large discrepancies between how some nations are coping with COVID versus others, consultants say the trajectory of world insurance coverage markets might look completely different than earlier than.

One factor that’s not anticipated to vary is the demand for fundamental insurance coverage merchandise like life insurance coverage in growing areas the place there may be very low market penetration at the moment. This implies alternatives for development are nonetheless very sturdy on a world stage.

The altering definition of insurance coverage corporations

As lately as a few years in the past, we wouldn’t have considered Toyota, Tesla, or Amazon as “insurance coverage corporations.” But in the present day, these corporations (and extra quickly to come back) are offering insurance coverage insurance policies on their very own services and products, typically embedded into the acquisition of the product itself.

Along with conventional insurance coverage corporations adopting new expertise, we’re seeing – and count on to proceed to see – expertise platforms being constructed to function insurance coverage gross sales mechanisms to a brand new era of customers who might also have lately develop into conscious of simply how underinsured they’re, due to the pandemic and large-scale pure disasters.

Brace your self: development is coming

On prime of the 5 predictions above, there’s additionally buzz and basic settlement that 2022 will probably be a powerful comeback yr for insurers. With vaccines out there to those that need them, and COVID restrictions beginning to loosen up around the globe, companies are getting considerably again to regular operations and can as soon as once more must buy insurance coverage to make sure their continued safety.

The pandemic additionally reminded individuals of their mortality, which has accelerated the acquisition of life insurance coverage insurance policies. With the Omicron variant of COVID-19 rising simply earlier than the 2021 vacation journey season, journey insurance coverage coverage gross sales have spiked. Total, a 3rd of insurers say they count on 2022 to be considerably higher than 2020 and 2021. They count on to see an increase in each variety of insurance policies and complete and premium.

In case your insurance coverage firm, company, or MGA/MGU is without doubt one of the many anticipating to bounce again from the pandemic and develop in a giant method in 2022, AgentSync might help scale back prices by automating and simplifying producer onboarding, licensing, compliance, and extra.

See AgentSync in motion in the present day.

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