Changing technology affects everything from what we eat to how we pay for our meals. Have you ever considered how it is changing the insurance sector? There are lots of advancements in technology, including AI, crypto and smart tech that it might not have even occurred to you to consider affecting insurance. Take a look at our picks for the top tech advancements that are changing insurance.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (or IoT) is more commonly recognised as SMART tech. That’s your Alexa personal assistant, your Ring doorbell, your smartphone-controlled TV, thermostat, blinds, etc. The Internet of Things ultimately lumps any physical items that are controlled and operated by an internet connection together. These items can be very interesting to insurance companies. For example, wearables like smartwatches collect data that can be used in your health insurance and smart car technology can affect your car insurance. It’s not too much of a stretch, given that black boxes exist, to think of smart tech in cars gaining data on how you drive, what risks you pose with the way you drive and for your insurance to adjust accordingly. In the meantime, until these tech upgrades are standard, or we can afford a driverless car, there is always a auto insurance calculator to assist in getting the best rates for safe drivers.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence isn’t the sci-fi existential crisis that you’re imagining just yet. At the moment it’s main and best use is to spot and replicate patterns. Its uses are seen everywhere nowadays, and even in the insurance industry. One way AI is improving finance is with personalized insurance policies.
Personalized insurance policies are policies that take in as many aspects of your life as possible and only have you paying for things you will actually use. Information is gathered about your home and lifestyle and then applied to your insurance policy. For example, your health insurance might take in data from wearables, family history, lifestyle choices, etc. and create an insurance policy based on what the AI thinks are risk factors in your health. Another example is home insurance. Rather than paying to cover for tsunamis when you live in the desert, or forest fires in the city, AI can detect patterns in your location and your lifestyle and offer you an insurance policy that covers only what is likely.
Not only does the constant improvement of technology and software improve insurance policies and claims themselves, but these updates can also automate it. The whole concept takes the human element out of insurance, allowing for less mistakes so that you’re not overpaying or paying out for something that doesn’t require it.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has turned finance on its head. A lot of aspects of finance have been thrown up into the air with the introduction of this digital currency, and the more mainstream it gets the more upended the industry becomes. It’s taken a long time for cryptocurrency to get any bearing on the market, and some would still say it hasn’t, but hopefully the benefits of digital currency can transfer into real world cash. Benefits like the extra security and faster transfer times.
However, there are also a lot of problems with cryptocurrency. The final nature of crypto, in that a transfer can’t be reversed, combined with the decentralized nature allowing for few or no regulations means there are a lot of scams out there.
Considering you could be talking about numbers in the billions, a new type of insurance is hitting the market: crypto insurance. It does exactly what you think it does: it covers your crypto. It protects your crypto assets so that you’re reimbursed if they are stolen in certain situations.
Mobile apps
Mobile apps have done a lot for finance in general. Users can harness a great amount of control that wasn’t previously afforded to them. They can compare policies, get pickier with what’s included in their policy, play with when they have to pay, better manage their money, etc.
Of course, all of this was also available as an option beyond mobile apps, but they are small moves that aren’t quite worth the time sitting by the phone while on hold music plays. There is also the option to go onto the website directly, but it’s typically a headache doing it via a website unless you pull out the laptop: again, not worth the effort. The ease and convenience of mobile apps isn’t to be undersold. It has allowed a lot of people better control of their finances, their insurance, and other aspects of their life without it feeling like a task, which can be the difference between doing something and not.
Plus, a lot of these mobile apps have chatbots. Websites and apps with chatbots are rising above the rest due to the ease in which customers can get answers. Again, sometimes a question simply doesn’t merit an hour on hold to reach the customer service team. Chat bots are making insurance policies a lot easier to navigate. You can ask for your basic information and get a quote in minutes, and if you’re confused about something, get an answer instantly.
