Be a part of the InsurTech revolution...
The UK is rapidly starting to make a name for itself as the InsurTech capital of Europe. With117% growth in the market over the last two years, and investment in the sector rising by more than £100 million, InsurTech is fast becoming one of the most dynamic and exciting markets in the country.
For people working within insurance, the meteoric rise of this new sector may well seem more than a little disconcerting, especially for a sector that prides itself on traditionalism. However, there’s no avoiding change. InsurTech is set to have a huge impact on the way that brokers, insurers and others do their jobs and interact with their clients. Indeed, for professionals who want a new challenge, it might prove the perfect next step in their career.
But what do you need to know if you want to transition into a career inInsurTech? We spoke to Fraser Edmond, the co-founder of InsurTech start-up Broker Insights, about the rise of this new way of doing business and the key skills you need to thrive in this new sector.
Improving, not disrupting
Fraser’s past as a Broker Distribution Director at insurance giant Aviva, and now as the CEO of his own InsurTech start-up, means that he is uniquely placed to offer insights into the changing market. His company, Broker Insights, act as the bridge between insurers and brokers, helping them to build connections and business relationships at the right time for their respective businesses, thanks to their analysis of commercial insurance market data.
Broker Insights isn’t alone in doing this. Smart software like AI has changed the way that companies do business: from FinTech, which is bringing customers and banks closer together than ever before with apps that will let them pay at the touch of a button, to online shopping, technology lets us streamline our business models and carry out mundane daily tasks in a fraction of the time it would take to do by hand.
InsurTech is no different. Though 74% of insurance companies believe that their business is at risk of disruption, Fraser sees these start-ups as ways of improving the sector rather than disrupting it. By working together with insurance companies, InsurTech can offer solutions to problems that brokers, insurers and more may be experiencing in their day-to-day roles. For instance, the rise of blockchain within the industry has the potential to transform the role of actuaries, enabling them to quickly construct contracts, automatically trigger payments when certain conditions are met, and create a secure data flow that would reduce the time spent on research and analysis.
Indeed, the new possibilities offered byInsurTech providers like Broker Insights will help insurance companies to streamline their broker and customer offering. It’s an exciting new market, and understandably, an attractive option for the professional looking to take their career in a new direction.
Breaking into the industry
But what does it take to work inInsurTech? For Fraser, the most important thing you can bring to the role is attitude rather than aptitude. Having a problem-solving mentality is important when it comes to working in a start-up, especially if you’re working to innovate within the market and create change with useful new products. New starters have to be ideas-oriented, open-minded and keen to make a difference. Of course, having the strong communication skills needed to collaborate with insurance companies, and with other start-ups, doesn’t hurt either.
Though it helps to have a background in insurance- especially as it gives you an insight into what problems already exist for brokers, insurers and more- many InsurTech companies make a point of hiring from different sectors too to give their teams a fresh perspective on the market. Regardless of where you come from, being able to see things differently, and having the drive to create change, will give you the edge when it comes to securing a job. However, with recent reports suggesting that automation could cause the insurance workforce to shrink by between 20-50% in the near future, competition for these jobs is likely to be fierce.
Over the past ten years, InsurTech has taken great strides in the market, creating change in areas as diverse as cyber-security, house insurance and automation background processes. For this growing sub-sector, the future is bright, and those who want to be a part of it should look to embrace their curiosity and keep up to date with the latest changes in the market, the better to see what aspect of insurance could be improved upon next.
Who knows, you could be the next person to do it.
Take your next career step with IDEX Consulting
At IDEX Consulting, we’re excited to see what the future holds for InsurTech and we want you to be a part of it. Browse our blog for more insights into the industry, or why not take the leap and have a look at our jobs in InsurTechhere?
