Three key insurtech trends to look out for in 2022

Investment in insurtech has hit record levels as funding reached $15 million in the third quarter of last year, which is more than the total investment in 2019 and 2020 combined.

This growth is being driven by an increase in the number of insurtechs delivering the easy-to-use digital operations that consumers and businesses want – offering them a quick, digital, and hassle-free service.

Insurtech companies continue to be well placed to benefit from the acceleration of digitisation initiatives brought on by the pandemic, as they keep attracting investment from large insurers that are struggling to innovate their own operations and services.  As this thriving market evolves, here are three insurtech trends to look out for in 2022:

More switching to digital platforms

This year expect to see the move from manual claims settlement to digital continuing rapidly, as customers increasingly want insurance delivered how and when they want it, with easy-to-use digital interfaces.

Insurtech has always been driven by the desire to streamline and digitise outdated and complex processes.  But the growth of insurtechs offering quick and easy digital claims through online platforms was boosted by the coronavirus pandemic as insurance companies strived to keep delivering more services digitally.  As more information is gathered to create ‘Big Data’, insurtechs are helping insurers adopt new digital platforms to improve their customer service, which means claims paid out in near real-time, with minimum fuss and trouble.

More apps and analytics to allow faster settlements

In 2022 expect new mobile apps to be launched to support faster settlements, with apps leading the way in satisfying customer demands for quick and easy ways to settle claims.  There are already apps that collect user data, such as those that record the damage in a car accident by letting policy holders upload photos in real-time.  Apps like this that utilise Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), can deliver an automated system that pays out claims with minimum fuss and manual paperwork.

These apps are continuously getting more intelligent, presenting greater capabilities for insurers to meet the needs of their customers; aggregating millions of bits of data to understand more about customer behaviour and likely outcomes for insurance risk.  Analytics will keep improving as patterns and ever greater amounts of real-world data continue to change the way insurance is managed in the future.

This will accompany even greater incorporation of AI, ML and insight from Big Data, which has already transformed the insurance industry.  Expect to see more insurtech companies making greater use of these technologies in 2022 to recommend products for individuals based on their own unique circumstances.

Increased monitoring via connected devices

Finally, 2022 will likely see more monitoring through an increased reliance on connected devices – including sensors and wearables.  For instance, in the pet insurance market this will include using fitness and location monitors for dogs and cats.

As more information on pets, their behaviour and susceptible conditions, and long-term cost is gathered, insurers can use this data to make better decisions on pricing their products. They can then offer better priced policies to pet owners, which in turn increases their competitive advantage.