Jun 22, 2018
Cloud is bringing democracy to insurance
By Team Intellect SEEC
It’s 2018, and the insurance landscape is changing. Cloud is no longer just the purview of IT; it’s all-encompassing and is shifting the way businesses operate on a global level.
Cloud can help insurers prioritize both agenda – operating models as well as innovation. Cloud allows your customers to experience a broader range of products tailored to their individual needs.
Getting on to the cloud really does bring in a feeling of democracy, because now any insurer can build products on the fly, innovate exponentially and reduce the speed-to-market without affecting the bottom line.
Configure per need
Insurers want to commit to innovation to provide engaging customer experience while also complying with emerging regulations. This is a fine balancing act considering the monolithic nature of legacy insurance technology.
Cloud helps carriers configure per need by moving toward an API-based ecosystem. By developing a service-led architecture, insurers can manage connections with regulators, partners and different parts of their businesses seamlessly which means opening up of new channels of growth and newer opportunities.
Speed per need
In today’s world, where digitization has become the go-to strategy for every business, firms need to respond to market needs by building products rapidly. Achieving this can be highly challenging in itself, but insurers must do it while also maintaining a high quality of service for all applications. There’s a lot to do, but very little time to do so.
A cloud-native solution offers an approach based on micro-services that allow companies to be agile and release new changes regularly. This enables them to review and make modifications as required, so that they can bring high quality applications and services to market at incredible speeds.
Innovate per need
As consumers, we’ve become far too reliant on technology and what it can do for us. The best just doesn’t cut it anymore, because we are always looking for something better.
With cloud, insurers can provide a more wholesome and engaging customer experience that will help attract and retain customers. Think of the possibilities – insurance-trained chatbots, location-based services and using social media to build business relations. This gives your customers 24/7 access to you, 365 days a year.
And that’s just the beginning. This collaborative technology can make customer information available at any point in time, and combine the know-how of multiple experts across multiple locations. What does that mean? Better understanding, better service.
Scale per need
Cloud gives insurers an opportunity to break apart their own value chain – be it underwriting, product development or claims adjustment. In each case, this means an insurer can re-configure their business quickly and flexibly by sourcing from several service providers.
Cloud also helps insurers team up with other parties such as a retail chain to provide access to consumers with whom the insurers have no existing relationship, and who can be difficult to reach. In supporting such collaborations, the cloud offers insurers an alternative growth strategy, such as providing wholesale insurance services outside their core geography without having to create a presence in the new region by acquiring an established brand.
Optimize per need
Operations are the key to any insurance company, and digitizing them only skyrockets your efficiency and helps gain real-time insights. But then again, this requires a well-oiled infrastructure and a set of processes that run in the background.
This is where cloud computing comes in, by helping improve the efficiency of operations, especially ones like DevOps. They can then achieve continuous delivery with continuous operations, optimizing operations to unimaginable levels.
So, is the cloud for you?
If you plan to make the shift to the cloud, here are a few tips for you:
Establish a clear governance structure for cloud computing.
Define who inside and outside of your IT function should be involved in making cloud decisions.
Inspect what you expect
Because all your service agreements will be greatly reliant on third parties, choosing a service provider that meets SLAs is important.
Keep your cloud efforts on track
Cloud computing requires a lot of focused thinking, planning and follow-ups. Understand that it’s a journey you need to be on for more long-term business goals.
Provide the necessary support
Financial and technical support aside, you might also need to set up a cloud program office or a community to develop/build skills.
Set the standards for success
Make sure that the goals and deliverables are well understood, and projects aligned with business needs.
Is sky the limit with cloud computing?
It really isn’t.
Although we are still early in the timeline of cloud computing, insurance companies have a big opportunity to get into the stream and realize its massive benefits.
Cloud computing is a force that is both, transformational and disruptive. That is why there’s a need for insurance companies to develop a plan to develop a module that embeds cloud computing in their IT strategies.
This is where we come in. Migration to the cloud is a journey, but we at Intellect SEEC can accompany you every step of the way.
Learn more about our cloud transition plan.
