21 Feb 2008
PROPERTY/CASUALTY INSURER CEOs VALUE TECHNOLOGY PRIMARILY FOR IMPACT ON COMMUNICATIONS
Survey of 59 P/C Insurer CEOs Reveals Attitudes, Expectations, and Strategies Related to Business Impact of Technology
Insurer CEOs tend to focus on the impact of technology on distribution and service while undervaluing the potential impact on product development and marketing, according to Insurer CEOs on Technology: Property/Casualty Survey Results 2008, a new report released today by research and advisory firm Novarica.
"Insurers recognize that technology has created significant value in improving and streamlining communications over the past few years," notes Matthew Josefowicz, director of the insurance practice at Novarica and author of the report. "CEOs across the industry recognize the returns on their investments in agent portals, policyholder service capabilities, and internal workflow systems. The next stage for insurers is to turn their attention to fully leveraging technology in data analysis, in order to improve product and customer profitability. CEOs need to focus their technology strategies on these areas as well."
The report is based on a survey of 59 P/C insurer CEOs conducted in January of 2008, in advance of an executive roundtable hosted by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), where Mr. Josefowicz moderated a panel. Respondents ranged across all lines of business and sizes of companies. Among the other key findings of the survey:
- Small and midsize insurer CEOs are often completely unfamiliar with new technology areas like SOA and Web 2.0
- Nearly all insurer CEOs underestimate the technology savvy of their customers, ranking them below their own employees and agents in this area.
- Insurers where the CIO reports to the CEO or line of business president are more likely to be more optimistic about the value of technology than those where the CIO reports to operations or finance.
The 18-page report includes 12 figures analyzing responses on areas including: areas where technology has the biggest business impact; the impact of specific technologies; user sophistication levels; best recent technology initiatives; agent portals; agency management system integration; policyholder online self-service; CIO reporting structures; IT staffing levels; and metrics used by CEOs to evaluate IT.
The report is available from Novarica at www.novarica.com.
About Novarica
Novarica provides information, insights, and perspective on markets, operations, and technology to financial services and insurance executives and project teams. The company delivers its service through published research, retained advisory services, and project-based consulting. Novarica?s research includes market and trend analyses, best practices research, case studies, and neutral independent analyses of insurance software vendors. Novarica is an affiliate of Novantas, LLC, the leading management consultancy and information services provider for the financial services industries.
www.novarica.com
Media contact:
Matthew Josefowicz
Director of Insurance Practice
Novarica
+1.212.401.5204
mj@novarica.com