While the insurance industry has lagged behind other areas of finance when it comes to developing and adopting the latest technologies, the high percentage of business carried out on paper will drop through the floor in the coming months.
Much of that sea change will come as a result of work being done by entrepreneurs like Oscar Health founder Josh Kushner. The vast majority of the innovation and forward momentum in the “InsurTech” realm has occurred in the US, and insurance markets present enormous opportunity. Oscar alone raised more than $700 million from major investors such as Goldman Sachs, Google and Fidelity.
Venture capitalists say that, while the pace of change is slow and the path is winding in the insurance industry, InsurTech is poised to take over from Fintech over the next couple of years ago as the hotbed of technological innovation and interest from investors. Most startups begin by addressing problems in distribution and marketing, but they’ll soon focus on data and artificial intelligence techniques to offer competitive advantages.