The Asia InsurTech Podcast had an in-depth conversation with Jonathan Rake, CEO of Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.
Key Topics Discussed:
Insurance Trends
Jonathan mentions generative AI and partnership ecosystems as strong emerging trends in insurance and insure tech in Asia and globally. They discuss the changing customer perspectives, moving from a singular view on insurance to a more holistic, multi-dimensional view on risk. The conversation veers towards the role of partnerships and ecosystems in the insurance industry, and how it is important to address evolving customer needs.
Partnerships
Jonathan talks about the shift in strategies based on learnings, and the importance of knowing exactly what problem to address with fintech. He highlights the need for companies to have an end-to-end single data foundation which can help adapt to other offerings and bring in other tools, models, and partnerships. He argues that it’s not just about enhancing offerings with fintechs, but looking at the whole solution and the end-to-end platform.
Fast-changing Insurance Environment
The discussion moves on to how companies can stay ahead in the rapidly changing insurance environment. Jonathan emphasises the importance of organising and structuring data, and the role of partnerships in achieving this. He talks about Swiss Re Solutions’ ‘risk data services’ campaign, which uses their data capabilities to enhance understanding of a company’s risk profile. Jonathan highlights that being prepared and having a single source of data truth is key to taking on new technologies and applying models for the benefit of customers.
Generative AI
Jonathan believes the implementation of generative AI can be revolutionary, enhancing the efficiency and capability of insurance companies. He underscores the importance of considering the customer and ensuring the security and consistency of generative AI delivery. However, he admits that finding the best areas for deployment to improve business and customer offering is a challenge many companies are still grappling with.
The Single Source of Truth
According to Jonathan, having a single source of truth in the form of a massive data lake enhances internal communication and decision-making, as everyone works with the same facts. It also aids in improving the data capabilities of external partners. This, he says, has allowed them to use their capabilities to help customers improve.
Data First Company
Jonathan recalls a conversation with the Chief Digital Officer of the company who suggests that instead of being a solutions company, they should become a data-first company. This would prevent a “spaghetti effect” that occurs when starting with the solution. By starting with data, they can ensure consistency, use the same language, and deploy the data to various areas as needed.
Growth Assurance and Parametric Solutions
Jonathan shares the concept of growth assurance, where insurance benefits the sales and marketing side of a business. He provides an example of a fertilizer company that utilized a parametric solution to help farmers affected by floods, thus increasing their sales and differentiating their offering.
Influencing Business Decisions
Jonathan mentions their ability to use data and their models to help companies, such as a real estate manufacturing company, improve their products and solutions. They can guide decisions around product development and investment by understanding materials, climate changes, and risk concentration.
Insurance Distribution and Business Growth
The concept of growth insurance is discussed in the context of businesses using insurance distribution to protect their business, particularly in regions with low insurance penetration like Asia.
Closing the Insurance Gap through Innovation
Jonathan reveals that just over 50% of the estimated $284 billion economic losses in 2022 were uninsured. He believes that innovative solutions, and not just traditional insurance cover, can improve and close the insurance gap, especially in developing countries in Asia.
Evolving nature of risk and the role of insurance
Risk, according to Jonathan, is always evolving and insurance companies need to be adept at recognizing and understanding these changes. He emphasized the importance of maintaining up-to-date models to navigate through the risks and ensure sustainability.
Attracting talent in the insurance industry
Jonathan speaks about the challenges and strides made in attracting talent into the insurance industry. He mentioned how awareness and focus on risk insurance in educational institutions could increase interest in insurance as a career.
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