51% of Italian insurance companies forecast that in 2014 investments in innovation will increase by more than ten percentage points compared to 2013. As for the future, however, the main innovations foreseen in the next three years are various: multi-channel, digitalisation, new products, new processes, new distribution models, dematerialization, telematics, technological innovation, new organizational models, Crm, web and regulatory compliance and control systems. This is what emerges from the research of the "Insurance Innovation" Observatory sponsored by AIFIn - the Italian Financial Innovation Association - and Ania - the National Association of Insurance Companies, created by MarketLab, a strategic consultancy company specialized in the banking, insurance and financial sector and created with the support of DDway, Europ Assistance and Saturn Over.
The Observatory was attended by 43 insurance companies of various sizes which represent, in terms of premium income, over 50% of the Italian market. According to the study, for 58% of insurance companies innovation is the main strategic priority, while for 62,6% product/service innovation is considered the priority.
“We note with satisfaction the strong interest shown in the initiative by the insurance companies – observes Dario Focarelli, ANIA General Manager -. The results of the survey return an innovative scenario in the extremely complex Italian insurance sector. Insurance companies assign a high strategic priority to innovation activity, committing huge economic and human resources on a variety of fronts. We are world leaders in some sectors – think of black boxes – and in others, for the use of new technologies and big data, we are experimenting with solutions that bring us closer to best practices. It is likely that innovation will gain increasing weight in insurance strategies to face the important challenges that the sector will have to face in the coming years, such as the aging of the population, climate change, the progressive redefinition of public welfare”.
The organizational areas on which the main innovations of strategic value will be concentrated are Commercial (65%), Marketing (58%) and IT (51%). Lastly, 62% of companies have a specific budget dedicated to innovation at company, company function or project level.
