As nontraditional companies enter the insurance scene and insurtechs (powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things) launch novel products, incumbents need to accelerate innovation and differentiate the customer journey to remain in the game. To compete successfully in this new landscape, insurance companies are taking a fresh look at the value chain – including products, distribution methods and service models – through a digital lens.
In our work with insurers around the world, the three most common goals for software engineering, also referred to as digital engineering, are to:
- Gain first-mover advantage. To be first to market, insurance companies need to anticipate customer desires for products and experiences before those desires are even expressed. They also need the right tools, processes and infrastructure to quickly convert these customer insights into products.
- Reduce legacy IT costs to fund innovation. Reducing the budget for data-center refreshes and legacy-application maintenance frees more funds for new product development.
- Grow revenue by differentiating the customer journey. Customers prefer insurers that make it easy to do business – for example, by issuing policies and paying claims within minutes and making relevant, personalized offers at the right time.
This white paper explores how to achieve these three imperatives through digital engineering and highlights a few examples of progress. You can also read more about insurance trends and technologies here as well as about Cognizant's insurance offerings.