The INSURTECH Book

InsurTech: Refreshingly Different – Like Lemonade!

By Désirée Klingler

Senior Consultant, Roland Berger

“The most imminent effects of disruption will be felt in the banking sector; however, the greatest impact of disruption is likely to be felt in the insurance sector.”¹

This quote highlights that innovation across FinTech was and still is in the spotlight of the media and academia, but that the digital revolution across the insurance sector will slowly but surely step out of the dark. This chapter will review emerging models and innovations impacting the insurance sector and their somewhat disruptive potential, if any, on the industry.

Innovation along the Insurance Value Chain

To understand the impact and the degree of digitization and/or disruption across the insurance sector, we need to review the traditional insurance value chain and its five key elements:²

• Product management deals with the planning, forecasting, and marketing of a product at all stages of the product life cycle.
• Sales and distribution encompasses marketing channels and promotion means to bring the product to the customer.
• Underwriting and risk management is at the core of the insurance business where the insurance company evaluates the risk of potential clients and guarantees payment in case of damage or financial loss.
• Claims management offers the service to advise the client, compensate the loss, and cover litigation of the insured person.
• Customer service is the provision of service before, ...