InsureTech Connect, which took place last week in Las Vegas, brings more than 7,000 insurance industry professionals together in one of the largest gatherings of its kind. They come looking to network, learn more about the latest trends, share best practices and showcase the latest companies and technologies. The audience is diverse, with attendees ranging from one-person startups to Fortune 500 companies.
There was a lot going on, with over 300 companies exhibiting and hundreds of speakers. Between all the breakout sessions, expo hall walking and networking breaks, here are 5 key things I noticed:
1. InsureTech Keeps Growing
InsureTech Connect started a few years ago with 700 attendees. This year boasted over 7,000 and shows no signs of slowing down. A topic everyone was talking about was the sheer amount of capital flowing into the insurtech industry. Startups are getting insane amounts of funding and achieving huge valuations. Technology continues to move the needle for the insurance industry and innovation is proving key to success and growth.
2. IoT is Real and Becoming Part of Insurance
Already a trendy topic in virtually every industry, the Internet of Things (IoT) is making serious moves in insurance. Insurance carriers are collecting data from more sources to help drive their underwriting and risk analysis. Homes are equipped with sensors, cars have devices that track safe driving behaviors and employees in certain industries use wearables to monitor and track employee health. Insurtech companies are helping collect and transfer this information to carriers, who, in turn, are using it to make smarter business decisions.
3. Data, Data, Data!
Much like the observations about IoT and insurance, data continues to be an integral part of the insurance industry. Brokers, carriers and insurtech companies are learning how to not only collect more data, but are coming up with inventive ways to use it. With billions of data points now available, the challenge many companies face is how to manage, store and understand all this data.
4. AI and Machine Learning is Growing Fast
Speed is another key component for success in the insurance industry. Insurance buyers want to purchase insurance, file claims, make policy changes and pay premiums all from their phones. To meet this demand, insurance companies are turning to AI and machine learning to help users accomplish these tasks as quickly and effortlessly as possible. AI and machine learning can help insurance companies automate and streamline many tasks for insureds and brokers and help increase speed and efficiency.
5. Finding Talent is a Challenge
As insurtech continues to grow, finding talent to keep pace is proving a challenge. Younger workers are drawn to different fields than insurance, making recruitment difficult. To help attract more workers, companies are offering new perks and incentives like unlimited PTO, flexible scheduling and the ability to work from home as options to entice new employees.
In general, the consensus from InsureTech Connect 2019 was that this is a very exciting time to work in the insurance industry. Also, as all these changes take hold, everyone agreed that the industry will look very different in 10 years.
Did you find that this conference was more aligned with the P&C market or Health Insurance market? What was one trend that caught your attendtion which you would advise brokers to embrace?
Hi Patricia, thanks for your comment! The conference attracted people from all sides of the insurance industry, but we thought there was more of a P&C focus. The one trend that caught our attention that we would encourage brokers to embrace, aside from the ones mentioned in the blog, is to really focus on making sure your brokerage keeps pace and starts leveraging the latest technology.