LexisNexis Risk Solutions released a report on some of its latest research showing the insurer struggle with new tech.
A new LexisNexis Risk Solutions insurance company technology study shoes that insurers aren’t sure what to do with the IoT. The report revealed that insurance companies know the Internet of Things is important. However, they don’t know how to use it for data collection and other purposes.
Even though it seems as though the IoT could be the insurance industry’s best tool, it still baffles.
IoT could potentially become highly effective insurance company technology. It could help to take some of the guesswork out of actuarial tables. These types tech could provide billions of IoT sensor reports in a range of devices. In that way, it would offer real-world and detailed information about specific policyholders and various demographics. That said, its benefit is dependent on the insurance industry’s capability to use it.
That said, new LexisNexis Risk Solutions research shows the insurance industry isn’t yet ready for it. The IoT and the State of the Insurance Industry Study showed the tech has very little penetration. Auto insurance companies have tapped into this tech through its tracker-based discount programs. That said, IoT usage hasn’t gone much further than that among insurers.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions pointed to a discrepancy between insurance company technology use and the IoT.
The study showed that penetration is very low. The insurance industry is well known for being conservative when it comes to evolving and adopting new technologies. Still, the report shows that insurers see a considerable amount of potential in the IoT technology they have yet to adopt.
The hype has certainly reached insurers when it comes to the IoT. Among the 600 home, auto, life and commercial insurance professionals who participated in the survey, 7 out of 10 said IoT data was currently important to their companies. Moreover, an even higher number felt this data would be important to insurance companies in five years.
Forty eight percent of the study participants said “the ability to collect and use IoT data will define industry leaders.” Though this understanding of the insurance company technology is important, significant action has yet to be taken to pursue it.