Fewer than a quarter of the 200 largest worldwide insurers have ‘truly digitalised the value chain’, according to a new study by ACORD, the standards-setting body for the global insurance industry.
The ACORD report said more than 10% “are not appreciably leveraging digital technologies within their current business processes”.
ACORD’s 2022 Insurance Digital Maturity Study surveyed the world’s 200 largest insurance companies and found that more than half of the insurers are still exploring how digitalisation can be applied against their business model.
ACORD said, “A rapidly evolving insurance ecosystem, paired with the disruption of a global pandemic, have led to a more urgent need than ever for insurers to modernise. Yet, the study indicates that much work remains to be done.” The study found that companies that embrace digitalisation to create new, technology-enabled operating models throughout the organisation significantly outperformed others in the industry.
“The findings include an unambiguous correlation between digital maturity and increased financial performance, as measured by both total shareholder return and indexed relative profit. The study also found that the performance gap between highly digitalised insurers and laggards has continued to grow year over year, accelerated by the global pandemic,” said ACORD.
ACORD said the study assesses each company’s digital maturity relative to its peers and compares the extent of digital capabilities with the level of value creation. It also identifies the issues, implications and execution imperatives around successful digitalisation. The findings provide a clear framework for identifying deficiencies and targeting improvements. M