Special Episode: Full Digital Ambition. Building a digital-first marketplace

October 7, 2022

Building a fully digital marketplace for insurance in London has been a tantalising long-term goal for all of my 30-year career.

Only too often this has proved a mirage that has turned to sand as the market got close.

Dare I say it but this time things seem very different. Now robust core standards are providing foundations of solid rock upon which the market can build with greater confidence.

Technology is also more advanced and more readily available at a much more reasonable cost. Today even the smallest player can jump ahead without busting the bank.

Indeed the biggest obstacle to accelerated change is now cultural.

And that is where the biggest transformation has taken place – in the minds of market leaders.

Now instead of the technologists trying to drag the market kicking and screaming towards modernisation change is starting to be demanded of technologists from practitioners themselves.

The stars are finally coming into alignment.

That’s why I am delighted I could talk to three highly experienced insurance technology experts about this.

Kirstin Duffield is CEO of Insurance software business Morning Data and is an advisor to the London Market Data Council, Hélène Stanway also advises the Data Council and is a strategic adviser at r10 Consulting as well as being a senior counsel to numerous other tech bodies. Finally Marcus Broome, is Chief Platform officer at insurance trading platform Whitespace.

All have experience providing technological solutions to the Insurance market going back to the early-to mid-1990s.

These people have been at the heart of London’s digital journey for the last 25-30 years.

They are technologists steeped in deep insurance understanding and their cumulative knowledge of every step and mis-step that the market has taken in that period is second to none.

Luckily for you and me they are also a trio of concise and passionate communicators who know how to speak to laypeople.

So what follows is a really useful run through of the current market modernisation programmes that dispels a lot of myths and clears up a lot of misunderstanding we might all have about what exactly the latest reforms are and the benefits they might bring to the market.

I found it really inspiring and helpful and I’m sure you will too.

After this encounter I feel much more confident that the first fully digital fruits of the last 30 years’ labours may finally be within our grasp, particularly if these three have anything to do with it.

NOTES:
Two acronyms got through unexplained.

PAS is a Policy Administration System
And GLRC standards refer to the Global Reinsurance and Large Commercial Carrier electronic standards produced by ACORD.

LINKS
We thank Whitespace for its support today
https://www.whitespace.co.uk/