Canadian insurance providers must define new business models to seize the next wave of opportunities

Emerging technologies and intensifying competition provide occasions for reinvention 

• Consumer trust, legacy technology and talent challenges create more urgency for change
• Defining a clear vision of the future crucial to long-term value creation
• An aspirational purpose, new offerings or traditional business models no longer enough

TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2020 /CNW/ - Canadian insurers must rethink existing business models to overcome the complex challenges brought on by new emerging technologies and intensifying competition.

"Canadian insurance providers are vulnerable to shifting trends within their own industry," says Neil Pengelly, EY Canada Insurance Technology Leader. "Declining levels of consumer trust, along with legacy technology systems and a growing skills gap are creating more urgency for change. Those with a clear vision of the future and the courage to invest in thoughtful, customer-focused business models will emerge as leaders in the new economy."

EY's NextWave Insurance: personal and small commercial 2020 report outlines how providers can't afford to be all things to all customers. They'll have to focus and prioritize as they redesign their business models. Canadian insurers can embark on the right path forward by considering how to:

• Create seamless digital experiences: The most effective insurers will drive growth and capture customer loyalty and market share by anticipating consumer needs, targeting and cross-selling more effectively, building out robust self-service capabilities and focusing on data-driven customer relationships.
• Leverage relationships to enhance business processes and customer experiences: Insurance providers can expand the value of their offerings and rapidly move to cloud-based platforms by partnering with ecosystem relationships (e.g. sharing platforms, social media, InsurTechs and data providers) to offer specialized, but complementary services in mutually beneficial ways.
• Take a proactive approach to personal and commercial cyber risk protection: Insurance providers can build trust and confidence with consumers by developing effective techniques — from proactive monitoring to incident response — to fight cyber threats, adopting the strongest possible defences to protect their customers from identity theft and data breaches.

"While tomorrow's leading insurance businesses will be purpose-led in their strategies — including more agile with their resources and dramatically more customer-centric — the most important capability will be their ability to drive organizational change," says Pengelly. "Creating an aspirational purpose, new offerings or traditional business models isn't enough. Insurers must also get better at execution."

Read the full EY NextWave Insurance: personal and small commercial 2020 report.

About EY

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SOURCE EY (Ernst & Young)

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