New innovation opportunities in the insurance industry – Board of Innovation

In a recent conversation about the current state of the insurance industry, one insurer summarized the challenge being faced as follows – “Insurers hold the key to open up the economy, but will they dare to use this power?”

It’s true, many of us are looking forward to traveling to foreign beaches this summer or going back to gyms and crowded nightclubs. Not to mention that governments and companies are pushing for the immediate lessening of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of our economies. But who will be liable if, and when, a second wave of infection strikes? Will governments step in and carry the burden of the financial downsides affecting businesses? Or will everyone turn to insurers for help?

The first wave of this pandemic sent society at large into an initial panic. It forced us to practice extreme health and safety measures and adopt new habits for living in a low touch world. And while some countries and businesses are beginning to open back up, scientists are warning that we are not in the clear just yet.

A potential next wave of the crisis, compiled with rising economic pressures and societal tensions, will result in both first and second-order consequences for the insurance industry. And while some of these ripple effects will feel dire, change always is accompanied by opportunity.

In our latest report on the Low Touch Economy, we take a look at twelve insurance-industry shifts that are being accelerated by the pandemic. Below are three more shifts we’d like to share: