Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Time
to
replace
badly
automated
insurance
business
processes
with
more
flexible
systems
October
2013
The
insurance
sector
is
often
very
conservative,
perceived
as
slow
moving,
and
operates
with
many
long
established
business
practices
and
processes.
However,
times
move
on,
new
business
models
emerge,
and
legacy
processes
become
inefficient.
Although
IT
has
played
an
important
role
in
supporting
the
industry
over
many
years,
it
too
needs
to
advance
or
will
become
inflexible.
Insurance
companies
might
be
wasting
thousands
of
sales
hours
per
year
from
poor
processes
and
badly
implemented
IT,
which
increases
costs,
stifles
revenue
growth
and
adds
risk.
However,
IT
advances
need
to
go
hand-in-hand
with
business
process
improvements
to
ensure
that
organisations
gain
the
maximimum
benefit
of
being
more
flexibile,
agile
and
efficient.
Rob Bamforth Quocirca Ltd Tel : +44 7802 175796 Email: Rob.Bamforth@Quocirca.com
Clive Longbottom Quocirca Ltd Tel: +44 118 9483360 Email:
Clive.Longbottom@Quocirca.com
While brokers are still seen as the most important channel partners, there are shifts in the importance of other channels in the mix. Smaller companies will go more face-to-face to include agents, and larger companies will continue to go further with online and call centres (or contact centres) for customer connection. Traditional styles or perceived lack of IT resource might be holding smaller companies back from a similar approach, but they may have more to gain in the long run if they can find partners who could help them streamline their routes to market. It might seem odd, but having business processes that are tight and well defined does not restrict flexibility but, rather, supports it. Lax or barely existent business processes lead to people not really knowing what to do, and when it comes to making investments in IT to support them, the end result is automated chaos as has often been seen in huge government sponsored projects. Simply bringing IT in to automate tasks does not streamline broader business processes. This does not mean that a single unified system is the only solution, but that IT investment needs to be aligned to and supported across the business processes it is meant to improve. This provides a more flexible end result, which is likely to be judged as reasonable value for the investment. The big data trend might be making headlines, but many in the insurance sector need to be ensuring they are simply getting all the data they really need. Is it big enough data today? For many the answer is probably no, as they are not capturing or extracting sufficient value from external data sources. More importantly, too many are not able to generate the sort of reporting information that many other industries would consider commonplace and desirable. Tailoring for the specific needs of different brokers and making simple changes to data being gathered during the sales process seem to be harder than it should. These are the things that can eat into precious time during the sales cycle and reduce efficiency. Making them easier to accomplish would not be a major challenge yet would reap good results. Many in the industry are looking to make their sales process more efficient and generate more business. In tough economic times, these are understandable and worthwhile goals for their IT systems to deliver.
Conclusions
Many
insurance
companies
are
using
long
established,
but
sometimes
out-dated,
processes.
Unfortunately,
at
some
point,
many
will
have
applied
IT
solutions
to
areas
of
their
operations
in
the
expectation
that
this
alone
will
make
them
more
agile
businesses.
While
it
might
improve
or
automate
specific
tasks,
over
time
the
lack
of
improvement
in
the
overall
business
will
become
more
apparent.
The
key
is
to
move
forward
with
both
updated
business
processes
and
flexible
IT
systems
that
are
aligned,
with
good
communication
and
understanding
between
IT
either
internal
departments
or
external
suppliers
and
those
driving
the
business.
Introduction
In
the
currently
challenging
economic
climate
and
highly
connected
world,
the
goal
of
many
is
to
be
agile
and
adaptable.
However,
many
industries
are
based
on
business
processes
that
have
been
relied
on
for
decades,
so
when
organisations
introduce
technology,
they
tend
to
automate
those
long-standing
processes,
which
hopefully
generates
some
improvement.
Over
time,
the
impact
diminishes
and
what
is
then
required
is
a
more
fundamental
change.
All
too
often
this
ends
up
as
no
more
than
an
incremental
change,
based
on
general
advances
in
the
technology,
which
might
provide
some
short
term
improvement;
but
what
is
really
required
is
a
more
far-reaching
look
at
the
possibilities
presented
by
the
introduction
of
more
modern
technology,
coupled
with
an
understanding
of
what
the
business
needs
in
order
to
function
more
effectively.
This
is
particularly
true
in
conservative
industries
with
a
long
pedigree
and
often
a
historic
resistance
to
sudden
change,
such
as
the
insurance
sector
or
financial
services.
Given
that
the
sector
revolves
around
risk,
this
should
not
be
a
surprise,
but
taking
a
broader
view
of
the
potential
value
of
technology
to
the
business
might
be
valuable.
Today,
the
risk
should
not
be
viewed
from
the
risk
the
change
could
introduce,
but
the
risk
the
business
will
take
of
failing
in
its
market
should
it
not
introduce
suitable
technological
change.
This
report
is
aimed
at
those
who
work
in
this
industry,
and
have
to
consider
how
to
best
match
technology
implementation
decisions
with
the
needs
of
business
processes.
The
research
has
been
derived
from
137
telephone
interviews
of
senior
decision
makers
working
in
UK
insurance
businesses.
The
individuals
are
those
either
responsible
for,
or
involved
in,
the
cover
holder
status
of
their
organisation.
The
companies
range
in
size
of
turnover
and
numbers
of
employees,
but
are
those
where
the
business
mostly
addresses
the
commercial
insurance
sector.
Reaching
customers
It
might
be
a
hyper-connected
world
with
a
pervasive
internet
and
masses
of
mobile
gadgets
like
smartphones
and
tablets,
but
reaching
customers
is
still
a
challenge
in
any
business.
Different
people
have
their
own
preferences
for
both
personal
as
well
as
business
communications,
and
the
explosion
of
activities
using
social
media
over
recent
years
has
pushed
this
even
further.
Consumerisation
of
technology
has
meant
that
almost
everyone
now
has
access
to
more
and
simpler
to
use
IT
and
communications
tools
than
ever
before.
Many
products
have
broken
free
of
their
previously
geeky
and
only
available
in
beige
image,
which
has
considerably
widened
their
appeal
and
acceptance.
However,
there
is
certainly
a
marked
disparity
between
the
ways
people
prefer
to
communicate
with
businesses,
especially
across
different
age
groups
(Figure
1).
Quocirca 2013
-3-
Quocirca 2013
-6-
Quocirca 2013
-8-
Targeting
improvements
In
addition
to
the
changes
highlighted
earlier
that
might
better
align
IT
with
business
processes
and
capture
more
and
relevant
data,
there
are
further
improvements
that
many
could
make
with
a
little
more
flexibility
in
their
IT.
Given
how
heavily
used
the
broker
channel
is
currently,
and
the
importance
it
is
given
for
the
future,
it
is
surprising
how
little
tailoring
of
systems
is
in
place,
with
only
around
half
having
capabilities
to
do
some
tailoring
(Figure
12).
It
might
be
that
many
do
not
want
to
customise,
or
perhaps
they
are
not
aware
of
the
possibilities,
but
most
industries
have
found
that
this
sort
of
adaptability
works
well
for
cementing
relationships
in
any
channel
or
ecosystem
of
partners.
This
might
be
more
strategic
adjustment
or
tailoring,
but
there
are
requirements
of
a
much
more
tactical
or
day-to-day
nature
that
are
also
being
missed
to
an
extent.
For
around
one
in
eight
of
those
interviewed,
making
changes
to
basic
settings
such
as
document
wording
and
simple
data
such
as
limits
and
endorsements
is
described
as
difficult
or
very
difficult
(Figure
13).
Even
if
this
just
describes
a
need
for
more
training,
it
highlights
the
challenges
faced
by
many
using
complex
IT
systems.
If
it
is
difficult
to
use,
then
more
time
is
spent
on
mundane
activities
and
not
on
those
that
might
be
bringing
in
more
business
(or
making
the
customer
experience
more
pleasant
and
rewarding).
Where
it
is
deemed
very
difficult,
it
is
more
likely
that
users
will
try
and
avoid
it
or
find
a
work
around
which
can
then
introduce
errors
or
data
entries
that
cannot
be
aligned
with
other
data
entered
in
the
preferred
way.
Indeed,
in
many
cases,
attempts
to
avoid
areas
that
are
seen
as
very
difficult
can
and
do
lead
to
accusations
of
mis-selling,
where
information
provided
by
the
agent
has
not
been
properly
entered
and
stored
during
the
selling
process.
The
insurance
sector
is
not
immune
to
the
challenges
of
needing
to
bring
in
more
business
or
process
existing
opportunities
faster,
and
organisations
should
be
looking
to
technology
that
will
better
support
them
in
their
efforts
in
these
areas.
This
is
precisely
what
those
interviewed
wanted
to
see
from
improvements
help
them
become
more
effective
in
managing
and
closing
deals
(Figure
14).
Quocirca 2013
-9-
References
1
Ofcom
Communications
Report
July
2012
2
Quocirca
Digital
identities
and
the
open
business
research
March
2013
Quocirca 2013 - 10 -
About
Quocirca
REPORT NOTE: This report has been written independently by Quocirca Ltd to provide an overview of the issues facing insurance organisations seeking to maximise the effectiveness of their IT systems and business processes. The report is based on primary research interviews of the UK insurance sector conducted in the summer of 2013 and also draws on Quocircas extensive knowledge of the technology and business arenas, and provides advice on the approach that organisations should take to create a more effective, efficient and flexible environment.
Quocirca
is
a
primary
research
and
analysis
company
specialising
in
the
business
impact
of
information
technology
and
communications
(ITC).
With
world-wide,
native
language
reach,
Quocirca
provides
in-depth
insights
into
the
views
of
buyers
and
influencers
in
large,
mid-sized
and
small
organisations.
Its
analyst
team
is
made
up
of
real-world
practitioners
with
first-hand
experience
of
ITC
delivery
who
continuously
research
and
track
the
industry
and
its
real
usage
in
the
markets.
Through
researching
perceptions,
Quocirca
uncovers
the
real
hurdles
to
technology
adoption
the
personal
and
political
aspects
of
an
organisations
environment
and
the
pressures
of
the
need
for
demonstrable
business
value
in
any
implementation.
This
capability
to
uncover
and
report
back
on
the
end-user
perceptions
in
the
market
enables
Quocirca
to
provide
advice
on
the
realities
of
technology
adoption,
not
the
promises.
Quocirca
research
is
always
pragmatic,
business
orientated
and
conducted
in
the
context
of
the
bigger
picture.
ITC
has
the
ability
to
transform
businesses
and
the
processes
that
drive
them,
but
often
fails
to
do
so.
Quocircas
mission
is
to
help
organisations
improve
their
success
rate
in
process
enablement
through
better
levels
of
understanding
and
the
adoption
of
the
correct
technologies
at
the
correct
time.
Quocirca has a pro-active primary research programme, regularly surveying users, purchasers and resellers of ITC products and services on emerging, evolving and maturing technologies. Over time, Quocirca has built a picture of long term investment trends, providing invaluable information for the whole of the ITC community. Quocirca works with global and local providers of ITC products and services to help them deliver on the promise that ITC holds for business. Quocircas clients include Oracle, IBM, CA, O2, T-Mobile, HP, Xerox, Ricoh and Symantec, along with other large and medium sized vendors, service providers and more specialist firms. Details of Quocircas work and the services it offers can be found at http://www.quocirca.com Disclaimer: This report has been written independently by Quocirca Ltd. During the preparation of this report, Quocirca may have used a number of sources for the information and views provided. Although Quocirca has attempted wherever possible to validate the information received from each vendor, Quocirca cannot be held responsible for any errors in information received in this manner. Although Quocirca has taken what steps it can to ensure that the information provided in this report is true and reflects real market conditions, Quocirca cannot take any responsibility for the ultimate reliability of the details presented. Therefore, Quocirca expressly disclaims all warranties and claims as to the validity of the data presented here, including any and all consequential losses incurred by any organisation or individual taking any action based on such data and advice. All brand and product names are recognised and acknowledged as trademarks or service marks of their respective holders.