innovation in insurance, from an insurer perspective

INNOVATION IN INSURANCE, FROM AN INSURER PERSPECTIVE

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Conducted by Roland Berger, a strategy consulting firm, and Salesforce, a global leader in CRM software, this study presents an analysis of innovation within the insurance sector in France. The upheaval caused by the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the major structural trends within the sector, namely the redefinition of the customer relationship, employee commitment and the development of partnership platforms.

In order to define these major developments, the obstacles encountered by insurers and levers for success, Roland Berger and Salesforce offered the key players within the insurance sector the opportunity to express their views. Around fifteen individual interviews were conducted at the end of 2020 with insurance company directors representative of the diversity of the sector in France: mutualists, social

FOREWORD

welfare groups, limited companies, and banks. Aésio, AG2R La Mondiale, Apicil, AXA, BNP Paribas Cardif, Covéa, Crédit Agricole Assurances, Generali, La Mutuelle Générale, Macif, Malakoff Humanis, Matmut, Natixis Assurances, Société Générale Assurances and Vyv all fielded our questions. This same diversity is just as apparent in their clientele as it is in their product lines, their shareholding and their governance, not to mention their strategic priorities.

These interviews shed light on a contrasting situation, with each of the players pursuing their own developments in terms of product portfolio, the structure of their distribution networks and their values. Our interviews revealed 12 main fields of innovation and 6 key factors of success.

The directors with whom we met affirm that innovation is at the heart of their considerations. Insurance is a sector characterised by long cycles and equipment-based stock, and the generation of customer loyalty, just as much as the acquisition of new customers, requires the advice of experienced sellers and is subject to regulations that impose demanding constraints in terms of financial requirements and compliance.Following a great deal of media hype linked to innovation around three or four years ago, insurers are now focusing on the profitability of their investment in innovation. On average, insurer margins are low in comparison to those in other sectors. Furthermore, insurers find themselves under pressure in light of regulatory and competition- related developments, not to mention the current low rate environment.

In recent years, insurer innovation has focussed primarily on the digitalisationof product offerings and processes, whether with regard to subscription, contract lifecycle management or services. Insurers are currently entering into a new phase of innovation that focuses more on the utilisation of customer data. Covid-19 has primarily been an accelerator of innovation for insurers, which has manifested itself mainly in an increased effort with regard to the digitalisation of the customer journey, with a view to improving economic performance. This dynamic is also reflected internally in the development of new methods of collaboration between employees. Covid-19 has also revealed the need for insurers to improve their relationship with customers, and to pay greater attention to the human element, from a detached perspective, emphasizing frailties and inequalities.

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CONTENTS

05 5 Lessons learned

06 Christophe Angoulvant & Bertrand Van Acker Digital transformation: “The crisis reveals hidden truths”

11 Chapter 1 • 12 innovations at the heart of the insurer strategy

11 The 12 areas of innovation for insurers serving 3 main stakeholders

12 Reinventing the customer relationship

17 Allan TeofanescuWhen artificial intelligence accelerates and renders the customer experience more fluid

20 Olivier Girard When it comes to the customer relationship, data mining is still fairly poor

22 Co-innovating with partners

26 Laurent Doucet Open insurance and the “platformisation” of services: a growing trend

28 Cyril-Laurent Cymbler Technology: a necessary ally if insurers are to remain competitive

30 Innovating for the benefit of employees

34 Cyrille Vincey Agile innovation: how to find the right balance

36 Guillaume Baraton Organisations must grasp the opportunities for transformation induced by the crisis

38 Chapter 2 • Key factors in the success of innovation within the insurance sector

40 The 6 key factors in the success of innovation within the insurance sector

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, enables companies of all sizes and in all sectors to manage their digital transformation and benefit from a panoramic view of their customer base.

Founded in 1967, Roland Berger is the only management consultancy firm of European origin to operate on an international scale. With 2,400 employees in 35 countries, the company has a presence within all major international markets. Its 52 offices have been positioned in the main global business centres. Serving as a presence for the company in France since 1990, the Paris office, which has almost 300 employees, advises major international corporations as well as public institutions, on all of the issues they encounter, from strategic consultation to operational implementation.

Photo credit: ©Standsome on Unsplash, ©Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash,

©Toa Heftiba on Unsplash, ©Thisisengineering on Unsplash,

©Christin Hume on Unsplash

ROLAND BERGER & SALESFORCE

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1 • Innovation: a shared desire There is a widespread innovation movement underway amongst insurers, regardless of their business portfolio, their operational model or their governance

2 • Adapting existing innovations and launching new onesInnovation concerns both the adaptation of operational models and the launch of new tools and services, such as the platformisation of services

3 • Establishing technology as a cornerstoneTechnology lies at the heart of this widespread innovation movement, whether with regard to the digitalisation of internal and external processes or the mining of data with a view to benefitting partners.

4 • Take advantage of synergies between technology and human capitalTechnology enhances human capital, feeding and reinforcing its potential.

5 • Develop organisations to stand the test of timeInsurers want to develop their organisations, initiating significant change, with a view to enjoying the benefits that innovation offers.

5 LESSONS LEARNED

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: “THE CRISIS REVEALS HIDDEN TRUTHS”

In order to maintain their margins within the currenteconomic and financial environment and to compete with newcomers to the market, insurers are making innovation a major part of their strategy, as was revealed in a study conducted by Roland Berger and Salesforce. This sheds light on two major trends: on the one hand, the use of data with a view to driving product innovation and enhancing the customer experience, and on the other hand, the emergence of the augmented employee concept. Here we compare the views of Christophe Angoulvant, Senior Partner at Roland Berger, and Bertrand Van Acker, Business Transformation Architect at Salesforce.

Christophe AngoulvantSenior Partner at Roland Berger

Bertrand Van AckerBusiness Transformation Architect at Salesforce


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How did this study conducted in collaboration between Roland Berger and Salesforce come about?

Christophe Angoulvant: The issue of innovation in insurance is a major subject from both a structural and a short-term perspective, on account of the Covid-19 crisis. In order to address the issue with precision and to develop ideas for recommendations for our customers, this collaboration with a top partner such as Salesforce allowed us to produce work with a very high level of precision.

Bertrand Van Acker: We share the same values and we are on the same page when it comes to innovation. The synergies between Roland Berger and Salesforce thus functioned perfectly.

Following interviews with the directors of the 15 companies represented in this study, what is your feeling with regard to the role of innovation in their strategic planning?

B.V.A.: The directors that responded to us now expect something more than information and communication. They want

solutions that are tangible, feasible, and scalable.

C.A.: Innovation is playing an increasing role within insurance companies, due to increased pressure on their margins. This is due both to the context of low rates, which has a negative impact on profitability, and the hyper-competitive environment created by the arrival of new players and ongoing development on the part of the banks. As a consequence, innovation is perceived as a vector by which to improve a company’s profitability.

Is innovation within the insurance sector taking place in a disruptive manner, or is it more of an incremental change?

C.A.: The insurance sector has been spared the disruption that has been observed in retail, with players such as Amazon, and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, insurance is a stock-based market; insurers rely on portfolios of clients dating back ten or fifteen years. It is therefore difficult to rapidly acquire market share. Secondly, regulatory constraints act as protective barriers. New insurance players (InsurTechs)

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therefore mainly serve insurers than compete with them.

B.V.A.: Effectively, innovation is incremental. Within an industry where, to the general public, all products appear alike, innovation focuses on the customer experience: on improving interaction and better serving the customer via all channels.

What are the major innovation trends within the insurance sector?

C.A.: I can see two. A development in the use of data, with a focus on customer, partner and employee data, which is resulting in the generation of predictive models, fed by artificial intelligence. The second trend lies in the fact that this development should not be to the detriment of the employee.

In contrast, technology is being deployed with a view to serving human beings, relieving them of tasks with low added value. Here one might mention the key concept of the augmented employee.

B.V.A.: With regard to data, insurers have moved from an “exploratory” approach (establishment of trends, segmentations, typical profiles…) toward an approach based on “actionable” data. They are seeking to transform knowledge in action. This consists, for example, of providing the “augmented” adviser with the tools that will allow him to anticipate the requirements ofhis customer, in order to offer services that are both useful and different. In order to realise this objective, the insurer must become an aggregator capable of very rapidly integrating new services developed by third-party partners. Another development is emerging around the hyper- personalisation of product offerings. The principle? The customer proposes a budget, and the insurer draws up a corresponding service offering.

Within an industry where, to the general public, all products appear alike, innovation focuses on the customer experience.

Bertrand Van Acker


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What are the main challenges with which insurers are faced?

B.V.A.: The continual training of employees represents a considerable challenge that Human Resources must quickly get to grips with. It is also crucial that management boards can be convinced of the need for these transformation projects, as they are the drivers of innovation.

C.A.: Beyond the increase in employee competence, organisations must be sure to encourage horizontality, in order to establish multidisciplinary collaborations internally, and to open themselves up to more external expertise. Finally, a culture promoting the return on investment of technology must be established in order to make the right investment decisions.

What were the effects of the 2020 health crisis with regard to innovation?

C.A.: The crisis was an innovation accelerator on account of the wide scale use of digital media by customers (gathering of information on the Internet, video-conferencing meetings with advisers…), and by employees working remotely. New habits became established. The crisis

also revealed frailties and vulnerabilities among employees and customers − in particular professionals − which insurance companies had not really been aware of previously. Replacing the human element at the heart of the customer relationship has been a genuine concern for insurers.

B.V.A.: The crisis also made insurance aware of the power of their digital tools. Many, out of necessity, discovered uses that they had not previously considered. In this regard, the crisis certainly revealed hidden truths.

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CHAPTER 1

12 INNOVATIONS AT THE HEART OF THE INSURER STRATEGY BY REVEALING THE CENTRAL ROLE OF INNOVATION, AND ACCELERATING

THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, THE CRISIS IS ENFORCING

THE REDEFINITION OF THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP, THE COMMITMENT

OF EMPLOYEES AND THE RISE OF PARTNER PLATFORMS. THIS MAKES

THE HUMAN ELEMENT A CORE VALUE.


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The 12 areas of innovation for insurers, serving 3 main stakeholders

The extended enterprise

Ensuring the acquisition of skills

Improving internal processes

Rethinking working methods

Synchronising customer requirements

and offerings

From insurance to service

New forms of pricing

Simple and fluid customer experiences

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CUSTOMERS

PARTNERS

EMPLOYEES

The platformisation of the economy

“Customer Value Management”

Dynamic allocation of resources

Efficiency with regard to claim costs

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SYNCHRONISING CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS AND OFFERINGS

For insurers, the Covid-19 health crisis has emphasized the need to develop their product offerings. They were therefore required to take into account an economic and social environment marked by low rates, an increase in part-time working, the development of complementary paid activities and commitments in the area of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. “The crisis has forced insurers to reinvent themselves even more rapidly, rethinking their usefulness to customers”, confirms the deputy CEO of one insurance company. Insurers must also deal with the risks associated with their business, in particular cyber security risks, which have seen a marked increase since the start of the crisis. Offerings geared towards prevention, such as road safety, the prevention of risks to corporate clients or even financial

Providing an offering that is in keeping with customers’ expectations is an ambition that is shared by all insurers. Digital tools enable these insurers to improve their operational performance, for example, by emphasizing risk management and investing in open data.

Reinventing the customer relationship: innovation 1


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education with regard to pensions saving, are also in greater demand at present, on account of the worry generated amongst the population within the context of the Covid-19 crisis. In order to target their customers’ needs with a degree of precision, insurers are developing personalised offers aimed at communities of customers, for example, for the deaf and hard-of- hearing, for motorcycle drivers, persons over eighty years old, and members of the LGBT community.

A service logicAlways aiming to meet their customers’ expectations, insurers are shortening the time it takes to handle their claims. In this respect, insurance technologies allow them to accelerate the processing of claims. With the same focus on service, major corporations are developing their offerings and are providing support that

extends beyond covering the costs of an accident, for example, organising follow-up and post-outpatient treatment.Insurers are also developing the use of data that is accessible as open data, in order to limit the amount of information requested from customers. This enables the optimisation of the interaction time with them. “For us, this field of innovation offers the greatest potential” emphasized one of the directors that we interviewed.

The crisis has forced insurers to reinvent themselves even more rapidly, rethinking their usefulness to customers.The deputy CEO of an insurance company

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Thinking about innovation, no longer as something arranged around the product, but rather something arranged around the customer, is an approach shared by the players interviewed within the scope of this study. This is a concrete illustration of the “jobs to be done” concept, developed in 2016 by the economist Clayton Christensen, a professor at the Harvard Business School. In order to design their services, insurers are thus seeking to give priority to customer requirements, such as the need to get around safely, or even to manage their assets in an optimised manner. With this in mind, some insurers are developing an entire range of innovative offerings, designed in partnership with companies from other sectors, as well as start-ups. These emerging services range from the detection of a risk situation, to the provision of post- claim support, aiming to effectively cover all the customer’s insurance needs over time. “The services are set to be improved, in particular withregard to claims management.

Artificial intelligence (AI) must become wide spread in order to guarantee the immediate processing of a claim in eight out of ten cases” affirms the innovation director at an insurance company.

With remote working becoming commonplace during the crisis, some insurers are developing services for companies that are aimed at improving the balance between the professional and private lives of their employees. To this end, services are offered on a subscription basis, which go beyond the mere provision of insurance cover: arrangement of medical appointments, personal services, assistance with paperwork, first aid training...

Selling services with insurance, rather than insurance with services: a process focussed on customers, to support them every step of the way.

FROM INSURANCE TO SERVICE



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Customer data, accessible in the form of open data, enables the planning of new forms of pricing. The first draws inspiration from the “Name Your Price Tool” concept from American car insurer, Progressive. Thanks to this solution, the insurer structures its offer and its components in a transparent manner, based on the amount that the customer is willing to invest. Another innovation with regard to pricing is based on the assessment of price, not on the customer’s claims history, but rather on the estimation of his future behaviour regarding factors that increase or reduce certain risks, such as hygiene, lifestyle, driving style or means of transport.

Relying on customer data to redefine pricing rules.

Pricing is becoming a major area of innovation through which to set yourself apart.

NEW FORMS OF PRICING


The innovation director of an insurance company.

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The health crisis has accelerated the digitalisation of the customer experience, whereby standards of excellence must now come into line with those of the physical networks. In order to brand themselves as everyday partners, players within the insurance sector are aiming to streamline the entire customer experience, while maintaining their quality requirement for the service provided, even if rendered remotely. Several innovations are moving in this direction. “The crisis is increasing the need for digitalisation and is reinforcing the trend towards dematerialisation” analyses the innovation director of an insurance company.

The digitalisation of the customer experience, already at an advanced stage for the majority of insurers, must overcome two challenges in order to reach completion: firstly, it must take into account the diversity of the customer experience with a view to personalising it, and secondly, it must be deployed in a standardised fashion, redesigning all

of the steps that make up the customer journey, within a single initiative. Intelligent and interactive services, such as voicebots, chatbots and instant messaging services, represent another group of innovations. Some insurers have elected to automate the processing of simple requests with low added value, such as the management of claims and the life of the contract, in particular with regard to requests for increased coverage or to add a beneficiary.This development by no means marks the end of human interactions. These will simply be reserved for any anxiety- inducing situations, such as accidents or death, or for key stages in the lives of customers, such as marriage or the purchase of property. Other solutions aim to simplify subscription: the electronic signature is now widely recognised by players within the sector, whether signing takes place remotely or in person. The objective for these players is now to extent this to their entire business portfolio.

Digitalisation and dematerialisation are at the heart of the improvement of the customer experience. The objective expressed by insurers: to simplify customers’ lives, in order to generate loyalty.

SIMPLE AND FLUID CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES



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WHEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ACCELERATES AND RENDERS THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MORE FLUID CLIENT

Why is it fundamental to place the human being at the heart of the process for the implementation of artificial intelligence within insurance companies? Why is it essential for this transformation to be adopted gradually? Answers by Allan Teofanescu, Senior Project Director at Roland Berger, Paris office, and an expert in matters of operational excellence.

ANALYSIS

How developed is artificial intelligence (AI) within the insurance sector, on a customer relationship level?

Allan Teofanescu: We are currently supporting a large number of trials in the field of AI. However, there exist only a few use cases when it comes to industrial deployment. The majority of insurers that have invested in AI have done so with the objective of increasing efficiency in the location of life insurance beneficiaries when a death occurs. This process is still extremely cumbersome, as it currently requires that the insurance company mobilise around one hundred people. However, the required investment is very high, which represents an obstacle to the completion of projects. Generally speaking, while there are many trials focussing on AI, these remain in the embryonic stage, as it is difficult to visualise the concrete benefits they will bring.

Allan TeofanescuPrincipal at Roland Berger

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What are the areas of the customer relationship in which AI is developing most?

I would say anything that involves interactions with users – technologies referred to as conversational agents or chatbots. However, companies are still hesitant. At present, this technology covers less than 5% of the total volume of interactions. In 95% of cases, an operator takes over. This functions well for very simple case management, for example, explaining the next steps to be taken by the insured party when he/she makes a claim, or to inform him/her of the modus operandi. However, from the moment that discussion enters into the details of the claim, the machine has more difficulty responding. We are encountering technical limitations in the development of this technology.

How does artificial intelligence improve the customer relationship?

AI offers great flexibility of service and increased versatility. IT enables customer service with 24/7 availability. On the other hand, the user experience is more pleasant:interacting with a conversational agent offers the insured party an experience that is more fluent than if he/she were to navigate a website in order to find the screen corresponding to his/her requirements.

In what context is AI most beneficial for the customer and the insurance companies?

AI serves primarily to optimise two activities within the insurance industry:

• The management of quotations: AI enables the fast formulation of a precise and attractive offer, in real time. The principle is based on visual recognition. Let us consider home insurance, for example. Submitting a visual representation of the insured party’s dwelling to the machine, will enable it to identify the type of housing area, and interpret the degree of exposure to risk (a flood zone, for example). It will then propose a tailored tariff accordingly. A remote service of this level of quality was previously impossible, without AI.

• Claims management: in this field, the main benefit that AI offers is to develop rapport with the insurer. The relationship with the insurer is judged primarily on the speed at which it will handle the claim, and the reliability of its assessment. AI will enable the improvement of each of these points. Researchers are currently working on visual recognition, which, for example, based on a photo of a car that has been involved in an accident, will enable the assessment of repair costs, of the amount to be covered by the insurer, and the remainder to be covered by the insured party, in accordance with his/her contract.


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The response of this operation is immediate, and the reliability is estimated at 90%.

What will the main levers for mobilisation be in the years to come, with a view to progressing further in this field?

1 • Insurers must take small stepsto facilitate the adoption of these technologies. We are not dreaming of a chatbot that will replace the telephone operator overnight. A winning strategy would be to seek to handle 5% of calls, with an 80/20 split between investment and the level of coverage of use cases. This may appear an unambitious and basic approach, diametrically opposed to the “tech enthusiasm” observed in some players. It must be remembered that AI is just one innovative tool among many.

2 • Favour the augmented human,rather than fully autonomous AI. The first step is the augmented agent, rather than autonomous artificial intelligence. For example, providing advisors with semantic analysis tools capable of assessing the tone of an email and proposing a tailored response. These tools will enable the submission of a response to the advisor, who will be able to read it and adapt it, rather than automatically sending a potentially awkward response, that will not

appear natural and may risk causing dissatisfaction.

3 • Put yourself in the place of theprofessional. Equip yourself with a competence centre that can identify the use cases that are most eligible for the deployment of the technology. Spontaneous requests to automate certain tasks are rare. We have noted it with RPA (Robotic Process Automation). In some cases this can even generate resistance on the part of the professional, who fears being replaced by a machine. A process of transformation must be structured, establishing KPIs, business case ratios that are defined in advance, pushes etc.

4 • The transition cannot take placecorrectly without human support. Under no circumstances should you underestimate the resistance that can exist internally with regard to technologies. We must create a reassuring framework, so that employees do not fear losing their jobs, and so that managers do not fear losing control. This requires courage and the sharing of a clear and complete vision of the transformation process.

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WHEN IT COMES TO THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP, DATA MINING IS STILL FAIRLY POOR

To better capture and exploit data, to consider customers’ opinions, to support a change in mentality: for Olivier Girard, Digital Transformation Advisor at Salesforce, these are the keys to ensuring a change of course with regard to artificial intelligence. A step forward that promises major benefits.

ANALYSIS

How developed is Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the insurance sector, on a customer relationship level?

Olivier Girard: On the whole, the level of development in this field is rather limited. A distinction must be drawn between two subjects. Insurers, as good risk managers, are at the cutting edge of innovation when it comes to developing algorithms for the exploitation of the data applied when calculating risks. For example, for less challenging claims, it is possible to replace human intervention with AI. However, when it comes to the customer relationship, data mining is still rather poor. We are still at the data collection stage, owing to lack of investment.

What benefits would AI offer for the sector?

On the customer side, the main benefits would be to create a more personalised and autonomous customer journey. For

Olivier GirardDigital Transformation Advisor at Salesforce


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the time being, conversational robots are content to merely welcome and direct customers, as an interactive voice server would, in spite of the fact that, with a better use of data, AI could manage subscription activities, or even provide financial advice.

AI could even enable the complete personalisation of the catalogue of products offered. The brand would thus be perceived as more empathetic. On the employee side, it would be possible to equip insurance agents with highly reliable forecasting tools with which to estimate potential profits or losses when assessing business opportunities, based on the behaviour of their customers. Technological tools developed with AI could also help advisors to prioritise their actions or to issue personalised suggestions for actions, with a view to increasing efficiency.

How is the prospect of seeing some of their tasks automated perceived by employees?

Employees have fully understood that the idea was not to replace them, but rather to help them navigate data. AI machines should in fact be considered as intermediaries and should contribute to humanising the relationship with employees.

What are the levers for mobilisation in order to accelerate innovation within the field of AI?

I would point to four principles:

1 • Utilising AI in the area of dataanalysis by using platforms with off- the-shelf models that have already been tried and tested.

2 • Feeding these platforms bycollecting available data from partners using APIsation tools.

3 • Gathering agent and customeropinions and taking them into account when considering innovation with regard to the development of models.

4 • Initiating cultural change withinthe mentality of insurers, with a view to helping them adapt to changing situations or rules.

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Several directors interviewed within the scope of this study claim that they are developing digital platforms in order to connect with their partners via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). “This allows both our customers and our partners to access our products simply and quickly” highlights one of these directors. While the process is not exactly new, the innovation lies in the speed of execution. Insurers currently take an average of 6 months to connect their platforms to those operated by their partners (digital distributors, brokers, wholesalers, comparators…). The next step consists of successfully completing this task in a maximum of 1 month.Some believe that this capacity to quickly aggregate services is set to become a key competence in terms of innovation.

The development of service platforms by insurers represents a decisive innovation in order to increase interactions with their partners. Insurers can thus develop an enhanced portfolio of services aimed at customers, and at creating more fluid relationships within the insurance ecosystem.

THE PLATFORMISATION OF THE ECONOMY

Co-innovating with partners: innovation 5

We are judged on our capacity to very quickly connect new offerings or functionalities into the partner sales platform.The deputy CEO of an insurance company


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Thanks to the digitalisation of the customer experience, collected data should allow insurers to address each potential customer in a personalised manner, via the most suitable channel– whether providing advice in person in a call centre or via a website – while taking into account the maturity of the customer and the complexity of the product.

Similar to Amazon or Netflix, several insurers are planning to take advantage of customer data, to enable their advisors to proactively recommend products that are adapted to their requirements. This dataset allows advisers to establish proximity with each customer, by automatically granting them access to their identify, their situation at the time of the call and their customer history, right from the start of the conversation. Advisors now benefit from automated alerts that suggest to them the products that are best suited to each profile, along with supplementary offers. They can draw on the expertise of the call centre in order to address questions raised, in real time. “The ambition set with regard to pushing data to the adviser in a sales situation is to double “cross-selling” within four to five years” announces the strategy and transformation director at one insurance company.

Technology enables the best possible exploitation of available data, with a view to increasing employees’ capacity and anticipating their telephone communication with customers, with the help of a complete summary of those customers’ profiles.

“CUSTOMER VALUE MANAGEMENT”


The ambition set with regard to pushing data to the adviser in a sales situation is to double“cross-selling” within four to five years.The strategy and transformation director at an insurance company.

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The majority of insurers interviewed affirm their desire to automate low-value manual activities such as filling out forms. Artificial intelligence should serve employees by taking on their repetitive activities and increasing their capacity for other areas with a greater added value, such as facilitating decision-making or fraud management. “The objective is to focus employees on activities with high added value” explains the CEO of one insurance company. Technology also helps employees to increase their efficiency, for example by reducing duplicated entries. This optimisation of management activities is based on the improved orchestration of technical solutions provided by IT service providers, in order to manage activities such as CRM, agenda, chat,

collaborative tools… The objective is to increase productivity, agility and speed of execution.

Artificial intelligence enables the gradual relieving of employees of repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on activities with a stronger advisory focus. Insurers are serious about investing heavily in this field of innovation in the years to come.

DYNAMIC ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES


The objective is to focus employees on activities with high added value.The CEO of an insurance company


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PreventionThanks to increasingly accurate data and weather forecasting, insurers can prevent risks, so as to avoid claims and help their customers to better anticipate the consequences of a weather event, via personalised alerts. Some insurers are developing other types of approach, such as prevention in terms of road safety or with regard to corporate clients. Financial education with regard to pension savings offers is another key prevention area in which innovation is expected.“Prevention is part of the DNA of the insurer and there will be innovation in this area” attests the strategic director of an insurance company.

Repair servicesIn order to automate the costing of quotations, insurers are reinforcing their partnerships with digital players and repair service providers. With efficiency and quality of service being major concerns, they are also hoping to develop processes for the detection of fraudulent behaviour. Fault repair quotations, false declarations, or even requests for coverage of non-guaranteed services can thus be identified and rejected.

For the interviewed insurers, a distinction is to be made between two main areas of innovation in terms of claim costs. There is prevention, which limits the risk of damage occurring or its severity, and the quality of repair services, both in terms of efficiency and reliability.

EFFICIENCY WITH REGARD TO CLAIM COSTS


Prevention is part of the DNA of the insurer and there will be innovation in this area.The strategic director of an insurance company

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OPEN INSURANCE AND THE “PLATFORMISATION” OF SERVICES: A GROWING TREND

A change of intention with regard to the customer relationship, the arrival of insurance technologies on the market and new approaches from abroad... innovation in terms of the platformisation of services is driven by multiple factors. Laurent Doucet, Partner at Roland Berger responsible for Insurance Practice in Asia, offers his opinion on the subject

ANALYSIS

Insurers are enhancing their insurance portfolios. Have they all made the same level of process?

Laurent Doucet: All insurers share the same intention of transitioning from a transactional relationship to a more interactive relationship with their customers, through the provision of services alongside their contract offering. The subject of prevention is of particular interest to them, as it allows them to reduce the number of claims – which has a direct impact on their financial results, and places the insurer in a position of goodwill with their clientèle– this builds customers’ trust and enhances the company’s brand image. Prevention services are the most common, as they are simple to put into place, and can be implemented in all fields: health, home, automotive… A few years ago, an insurer offered its car insurance customers an online route planner that not only indicated the fastest route, but also the safest, that is, the route with the lowest probability of an accident.

Laurent DoucetPartner at Roland Berger


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Who are the players driving this innovation?

Innovation is being carried out by a highly diverse range of players, working alongside insurers, including insurance technology providers, whose reason for being lies in their capacity to identify a need and provide the appropriate service. Then there are reinsurers and Managing General Agencies who, in particular, are developing affinity products aimed at a specific customer profile (pet owners, persons suffering from chronic illnesses…). One could also mention service providers themselves, such as hospitals and clinics, promoters of this type of service aimed at increasing proximity with patients.

What are the main subject areas?

Subjects that fall under the heading of “ecosystem” work very well. For example, with chronic illnesses, in Asia we are beginning to find offers consisting of insurance combined with several target services: ranging from prevention, to logistics (home delivery of medications), a device (digital measuring and tracking device for diabetics…) and a hospital service element. With regard to open innovation products, a Chinese insurtech that offers insurance that is put together collaboratively via an online platform is attracting significant attention. It raised 230 million dollars in 2020. With the Covid-19 crisis, offers including a “mental health” component

(psychological support) are increasingly being researched by companies within the scope of healthcare insurance for employees. This service-based approach to insurance is already well developed in Australia and Asia, in particular in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore…

What are the next developments?

Clearly, digital services are set to assume an increasingly dominant role, whether with a view to selling or interacting with the customer. And this even applies to “complicated” products such as life insurance. What’s more, the Covid-19crisis has accelerated this process. With regard to innovation, affinity products; specially created for a specific customer profile, really set an insurance provider apart. Finally, automation and artificial intelligence applied in the back office environment are already important topics for insurers who want to be more responsive and efficient

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TECHNOLOGY: A NECESSARY ALLY IF INSURERS ARE TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE

More and more, insurers are enhancing their portfolio of service offerings. How advanced are they in terms of platformisation?

Cyril-Laurent Cymbler: To summarise the situation, in France, platforms are essentially advice oriented: prevention, support… In Europe, the Anglo-Saxon and Nordic countries are already at the next stage with platforms, which are beginning to be tailored for the business: the diversification of services and the personalisation of offers based on the customer profiles. To this end, they group together innovative and high-performance verticals created by start-ups and offer them via a single platform. If insurance companies wish to remain competitive, they must rely on their ability to reach a large clientèle: combining all of the company’s services and communicating within a single digital space, thus providing the best customer experience.

How do you reconcile excellent customer service and budget control? According to Cyril-Laurent Cymbler, Senior Director - Financial Services EMEA at Salesforce, the answer lies in technology, a driver of synergy within the insurance ecosystem.

ANALYSIS

Cyril-Laurent CymblerSenior Director - Financial Services EMEA at Salesforce,


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Open insurance has already proven itself within the insurance sector. What are the next developments that we can look forward to?

I do not think that innovation will come from the products, as all insurance companies are offering more or less the same thing. Nowadays the challenge for insurers is to improve customer service, while also managing costs. The solution is technological, and will come in particular from artificial intelligence, which will enable the better identification of customer behaviour in order to offer each customer the service that is best suited to him/her. For example, and as can already be seen in Israel, an insurer can offer to install a sensor in a customer’s car to analyse his driving and offer the fairest possible insurance premium, based on his use. This raises the age-old problem concerning the use of personal data… If this data, collected in compliance with GDPR, would allow them to pay the best possible price for insurance, customers would grant their consent. It’s a win-win. The idea, and the challenge to be overcome by insurers, it really a matter of getting closer to the customer

at each of the key moments in his/her life, in order to anticipate and respond to his/her needs with a comprehensive, targeted offering. It is about being able to offer the customer, when they are purchasing an apartment for example, partner banking or moving services, directly on the platform. These partners will of course pay a fee in order to be present on the platform, or will agree to pay commission on each contract signed.

What are the consequences for organisations?

The digital transformation remains right at the heart of the matter. To successfully harness technology to adapt company’s resources and to provide the best service to customers would appear to be a major challenge. It is about what is referred to as “talent to value” or how to identify employees’ skills in order to unite them around a shared objective: the delivery of a service and a customer experience, whatever the point of contact. An omnichannel approach is an essential component of the successful platformisation of services.

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Insurers are increasingly being enticed by the prospect of the extended enterprise. This vision of the company involves considering it as an organisation within a network that brings all players together, whether full or part-time employees of the company, service providers, suppliers or partners. The use of third-party employees is becoming simpler. These employees are better integrated and have access to the company’s collaborative tools. Interactions are more fluid and the performance of all employees is enhanced. “Starting tomorrow, we must position ourselves within an extended enterprise logic, with 3 levels of employee: salaried employees at the core, collaborators accounting for 70% and external service providers” declares the deputy CEO of one insurance provider. Thanks to the extended enterprise, insurers can mobilise the specific skills they require, on an ad hoc basis, using platforms for establishing contact between freelancers and companies, such as Malt, and intentionally integrating these recruited specialist profiles. Other

applications enable insurers to use simple solutions in the event of peak loads, for example during a major weather event, such as temporary staffing services in order to obtain the necessary “bandwidth”. And all this is with a view to ensuring the wellbeing of their employees and the satisfaction of their customers.

In order to increase performance and enhance the well-being of their employees, insurers are planning to adopt the principle of an extended organisation.

THE EXTENDED ENTREPRISE

Innovating for the benefit of employees: innovation 9

Starting tomorrow, we must position ourselves within an extended enterprise logic, with 3 levels of employee: salaried employees at the core, collaborators accounting for 70% and external service providers.The Deputy CEO of an insurance company


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Increasing employees’ skills in the analysis and management of processes, increasing the range of skills available internally and generating prospects for career development are among the objectives that are driving insurers to innovate in the area of training. To this end, insurers are investing in remote training, with short, visual and fun sessions, favouring new training approaches that are inspired by coaching and mentoring techniques. The internal career path of entrepreneurs and the community of experts are places for the sharing of experience and the dissemination of working methods that contribute to growing talent and expanding employees’ areas of expertise.

Insurers are investing in human capital, in order to attract the best talent, to retain existing employees and adapt their skill set.

ENSURING THE ACQUISITION OF SKILLS


“Upskilling”, that is, the development of employees’ skills, must become the norm within the group.The strategic and digital director of an insurance company

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Internal processes are changing dramatically. In this way, insurers are seeking to fulfil two objectives: to facilitate the daily lives of employees and to increase their autonomy. Practically, this takes the form of better designed processes with less supervision, allowing the employee greater autonomy. “Supervision should take place with a view to providing training rather than issuing sanctions” clarifies the CEO of an insurance company. The direct consequence of this development is an increase in trust and autonomy for teams in their relationship with the customer.“It is important to give authority to those on the front line” attests the strategic director of an insurance company. From a managerial perspective, this involves reducing the number of hierarchical levels − some of those interviewed told use they had seven such layers below them − and developing coaching-style management,

in place of “command and control”. “Generally speaking, the challenge when developing these processes is that of rendering the profession more effective, over time” states the strategy director at an insurance company. It is also about constructing the innovations of tomorrow, drawing on professional use cases and not on the capacity of the technical solution: technology must adapt to business requirements and not the other way around.

Internal processes are developing to make employee’s daily lives easier and increase their autonomy. This change of approach is not without direct consequences for managers.

IMPROVING INTERNAL PROCESSES


It is important to give authority to those on the front line.The strategic director of an insurance company


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The lockdown accelerated a trend that was already well established: the search for a certain degree of flexibility in the organisation of work, with the development of technological tools, such as collaborative workspaces or videoconferencing platforms. These tools are contributing to the emergence of “open work”, that is the option offered to each employee to choose his/her working method and reduce the time and energy devoted to travel. It is also a way for the employee to manage the balance between professional and personal life. “The main objective of our innovation measures for employees is to free up their time and make their everyday lives more pleasant” states the innovation director of one insurance company. Operations such as this benefit everyone, for within

the company, these innovations offer the possibility of reorganising the workspace and reducing the surface area used.

As a consequence of the lockdown in 2020, remote working has suddenly become the new normal. This sudden change in internal processes has gradually found its place within the organisation of working methods.

RETHINKING WORKING METHODS


The main objective of our innovation measures for employees is to free up their time and make their everyday lives more pleasant. The innovation director at a large mutual insurance company

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What is your definition of an agile organisation?

Cyrille Vincey: Agile innovation is a project management method that enables companies to respond to uncertainty – be this technological, usage or market-related – whereby classic methods have proven ineffective. The notion of uncertainty is fundamental: agility is not a universal method. It cannot be applied to evolving projects within a known and controlled environment such as, for example, the design and sale of a new insurance product. In this case, an overall budget, an objective and a deadline enable the completion of the project. On the other hand, the agile method is essential to all other issues encountered,

AGILE INNOVATION: HOW TO STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCEMotivated by uncertainty, pockets of innovation are emerging within organisations, with a desire to explore various routes with a view to finding those that, at the end of the journey, will give rise to a new vision. Cyrille Vincey, Partner at Roland Berger, and an expert in data science and the digital transformation of companies, shares his vision of agile innovation.

ANALYSIS

in particular those associated with the customer relationship, which is an incredibly strategic area nowadays. Faced with uncertainty, one must experiment on a short-term basis, fail, and learn from these failure, in order to progress in the right direction.

Would transforming an organisation to make it agile on a global level therefore be an error?

Yes. You have to allow for pockets of agility, by equipping them with their own governance, isolated from the rest of the organisation, from its normal processes and its bureaucracy. The agile approach is contrary to the DNA of traditional companies: it should therefore thrive within a cocoon.

Cyrille VinceyPartner at Roland Berger


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What are the pre-requisites to implementing agility?

Top management, the CEO, supported by the board, must impress the idea of a change of approach. He must send out the message that anywhere innovation is expressed in an agile manner, progress will be measured on the basis lessons learned through experimentation and failure. The mechanics of budgeting and the management of objectives is so different that it must be driven and supported from the very top of the organisation.

Let us consider two insurers that are reflecting on the digitalisation of their customer relationship. One is agile, the other is not… How will each project berealised?

Case number 1, I am not agile. I decide to develop a mobile application. I allocate a budget of 3 million euros to a project leader, who has 3 years to create the app. Every 3 months he reports that developments are progressing in line with the established specifications. In fact, the project has very little chance of being completed. Case number 2, I am agile. I give 300,000 euros and 6 months to a team to determine the best routes for the digitalisation of the customer relationship. The expected responses are as follows: They will attempt to determine the potential of each route, which will not work and developments will be required to see the task through to completion. They experiment, and validate (or not).

Are insurance companies primed for this type of organisation and do they require support?

It is difficult for them, as innovation is a culture of risk. Yet insurance is all about protecting yourself against risk.This therefore requires courage on the part of the directors, so that the entire organisation feels emboldened. We must understand that innovation and agility do not require skills, but they do require a cultural transformation. A consultant may wish to play the role of coach to the directors in order to help then undergo a change of posture, to encourage them with examples of successes within similar organisations, to prepare them for the method to be implemented…

Why is it urgent that insurers inject agility into their organisations?

The major challenge is to avoid letting yourself be pushed out of the market within the next ten years. For organisations, it is a matter of developing new, hybrid markets, where the insurance product forms part of an overall value proposition, which includes services. Agility simply enables the detection of new opportunities. Finally, it is very much a challenge in terms of their role as an employer. The insurer must be able to promise working environments and career paths that are in line with the expectations of their most talented employees.

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ORGANISATIONS MUST GRASP OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSFORMATION INDUCED BY THE CRISIS

What is your definition of an agile organisation?

Guillaume Baraton: Before making any attempt at a definition, we must first consider a key principle: every project within a company, whether aimed at the employee or the customer, must have as its ultimate objective the improvement of the customer relationship and experience. Agility therefore consists of creating the best possible conditions for the employee within the organisation, with a view to achieving this objective. That is, to provide him/her with the best product knowledge and the best knowledge of the customer. To render the employee agile, we must provide him/her with the right digital tools, which will help him/her to acquire the enhanced level of knowledge that is essential nowadays. Digital technology, data and its processing by means of artificial intelligence are at the heart of the matter.

Improving the customer experience: this is the objective for every project within a company. To rise to this challenge, insurance companies must explore their wealth of human resources, to grant those who know how to drive change to chance to have their say and to act. Guillaume Baraton, Account Partner Senior Director for Salesforce France, responsible for the Banking and insurance Division, sheds light on this subject.

ANALYSIS

Guillaume Baraton Account Partner Senior Director for Salesforce France


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Is the rigidity of traditional organisations, such as those encountered within the insurance sector, an obstacle to this agility?

Effectively, it is difficult to change structures and habits overnight. The driving of change must simply make all employees understand that a new means of organising work and digital technology will increase their productivity. They will be able to work better.

How do you breathe innovation into an organisation?

Innovation is not driven by brands or by companies, but by people who have innovation running through their veins. And it is not strictly necessary to go looking for these people outside the company: within every structure, there innovative people equipped with an entrepreneurial spirit, who are bursting with ideas. You must search for them, identify them, bring them together and allocate to them a budget and the freedom to develop new ideas.

How do you do that?

You have to be willing to think outside the box, and tell yourself that there exists enough talent internally to innovate. Companies must therefore break away from structures with too much of a pyramid structure, becoming more concentric in their organisation, which will enable the development of the collective

intelligence. The implementation of internal incubators is also a good way to accelerate innovation around people who, in addition to having a pioneering spirit, have an in-depth knowledge of the sector and their company. The objective is not to break up the organisation, but rather to develop it from the inside.

Is this internally driven transformation of organisations already a reality?

As in all sectors, the health crisis has accelerated transformations within insurance companies. Remote working and distancing with regard to customers now require that all employees have access to tools allowing them to continue their operations, and maintain their relationship with their customer, wherever they happen to be. A prime example: prior to the Covid-19 crisis, many lawyers slated the electronic signing of contracts. With the crisis, the adoption of the system became inevitable, and was implemented by several insurers in order to continue selling policies. It is often said that every crisis reveals a great many opportunities for companies. We are now able to verify this in what we have encountered since spring 2020. While insurers may demonstrate opportunism and optimism, this period in time lends itself to major progress. It is up to the insurance companies to seize opportunities for change.

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CHAPTER 2

KEY FACTORS IN THE SUCCESS OF INNOVATION WITHIN THE INSURANCE SECTOR

IN ORDER TO GUARANTEE THE SUCCESS OF THE INNOVATION STRATEGIES

SELECTED BY INSURERS, THEY MUST BE ABLE TO ACTIVATE VARIOUS

LEVERS, BASED ON TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS, HUMAN CAPITAL OR THE

ORGANISATION OF THE COMPANY


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Successful innovation in the insurance

sector

New technological approaches

Development of human capital

Adaptation of the organisation

Governance that is adapted in terms of technological choices

Optimised management of existing IT systems

01 03 05

0204 06

Development of employee commitment

Adaptation of human capital

Improved collaboration within the organisation

Greater openness towards the outside

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THE 6 KEY FACTORS IN THE SUCCESS OF INNOVATION WITHIN THE INSURANCE SECTOR

Individual interviews with the directors within the insurance sector highlighted 6 key factors to success, in order to guarantee the success of insurance companies’ innovation strategies. Concrete examples showcase the best practices.

1 • Governance that isadapted in terms of technological choices

The majority of the directors interviewed highlighted the need for senior executives to adapt to technology. “Our top management does not truly understand what we are doing, the difficulties and challenges we face in terms of our technological endeavours” analyses the strategic director of an insurance company. One of the benefits sought is to obtain the support of management, in order to develop a long- term innovation strategy using technological tools, and to manage substantial investments over time, rather than adopting a process that aims to release funds intermittently in order to implement gadget-type technologies. A first key factor suggested in order to initiate this change of course

is to develop the capacity to assess the return on investment of innovations, with a view to convincing directors and uniting players around the proposed strategy. “The capacity to generate an ROI is central with regard to obtaining the necessary investment. This is a difficult, yet necessary skill, that involves better managing our investment capacities, while at the same time tout creating room for manoeuvre (automation, efficiency...)” affirms the innovation director of an insurance company. Another key is to convince the management of the relevance of switching from a cost reduction logic to a value creation logic when considering the benefits of innovation. This implies demonstrating the manner in which innovation can support the insurer’s economic model.


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There are also opportunities for optimisation on the management side. Some highlight the need to differentiate teams that manage innovative initiatives and implementation teams by area of activity. Others advocate an improvement in the management of integrators and publishers.

2 • Optimised managementof existing IT systems

The insurance directors highlight a recurring question when asked about innovation levers: how can you make old and new information systems live alongside one another? The first measure proposed is sorting. This involves drawing up a list of outdated systems to be abandoned, and another of those the company wishes to retain. In other words, “the installed software base must be cut in two: that which you want to let live

and die slowly, and that you have to be able to easily connect to our customers’ and partners’ infrastructures via APIs” states the Deputy CEO of an insurance company. This is what said Deputy CEO refers to as “the hybridisation of the model”. It is then a matter of ensuring that the older systems can live alongside the younger ones. This integration of IT systems requires a “large technology gap”, to quote the innovation director of one insurance company. The third measure by which to optimise the company’s IT base is to combine internal IT developments with software packages from external service providers. This requires a certain degree of flexibility in terms of IT tools, and a good capacity for the adaptation of these tools and of the responsible teams. The result, if this coming together is well managed, is the maximisation of the benefit gained from IT investments.

3 • Development ofemployee commitment

Assigning meaning to an innovation is an essential pre-requisite in order to engage teams within a dynamic of innovation, for the benefit of the company. “We must emphasize the company’s reason for being, within a context where employees are looking for greater meaning in the companies they join” anticipates the partnerships director of an insurance company. Employees’ daily lives must be pleasant, in order that they will want

We must assign meaning to innovation, not only for customers, but also internally, for employees: sales staff, administrative staff, general management.

The strategy director of an insurance company

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to invest of themselves and endeavour to ensure that customers are satisfied. “This comes about through the use of technology, of our knowledge bases, and through the development of remote working” explains the strategic director of an insurance company.In order to improve employees’ working conditions, some of the directors interviewed are emphasizing the importance of developing their autonomy. What this looks like, for example, is a reduction in hierarchy-based supervision and a transition from “sanctions-based monitoring” to the more encouraging “teaching-based monitoring”. The desire to automate repetitive tasks to allow advisors to dedicate themselves more to activities with high added value is also being highlighted. « Our objective is to free up employees’ time, and to make their daily lives more pleasant thanks to this

automation. We are going to equip them and train them so that they can provide augmented advice to clients” states the innovation director of an

insurance company. In order to provide a framework for all of thesemeasures, insurers have already put in place a system of employee experiencemanagement. One of the missions of this structure is to regularly measure the level of commitment amongst the teams, and to motivate the teams on the basis of the results.

4 • Adaptation of humancapital

“Innovation, in terms of commitment must be driven by technology” warns the strategic director of one insurance company. In order to ensure the successful deployment of insurers’ innovation strategies, it is essential that we provide employees with the means by which to develop their skills, and by which to adapt in order to enhance their

employability, both within and outside the walls of the company. These must, for example, guarantee the mastering of new technologies by the teams. “It is our role to develop the trust and autonomy

It is our role to develop the trust and autonomy of our employees. To this end, we must enhance their employability by providing training, for example in how to converse using a chat tool.The strategy director of an insurance company


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of our employees. To this end, we must enhance their employability by providing training, for example in how to converse using a chat tool” explains the strategy director of an insurance company.It is also in companies’ interest to encourage the discover of new working methods, such as “design thinking” or “concept-knowledge”. To do this, they are investing their efforts in “re- skilling”, that is, in training courses aimed at helping people to expand their field of expertise, in order to prepare for a change of career. This method of training is realised through short, events-based and positive sessions, and can be provided remotely. Some insurers are going even further: “we have a project for the creation of a digital academy, to help employees and train them in innovations” states the strategic transformation director of an insurance company. Once “augmented” and rendered more adaptable in this way, employees find it easier to work with partners outside the company. In addition to being beneficial for the company, this approach enriches the employee with new skills and working methods.

5 • Improved collaborationwithin the organisation

Facilitating interactions and making them more fluid and quick, by reducing the number of hierarchical layers within the organisation is a lever for success cited by many participants in this study.Another approach consists of encouraging working methods with,

multidisciplinary teams. In practice, this consists, for example, of having IT employees work with industry experts, in order to pool their expertise. “We have developed transverse working methods, based on the principle of the agile method, promoting the coming together of the final users IT teams” declares the partnership director of an insurance company. These teams, with varying skills, could be empowered to develop intrapreneurial projects, innovative initiatives that draw on external competence, creating value for the entire organisation.

In order to orchestrate innovation in a structural manner within groups, some of them are already working to establish departments dedicated to innovation and digital transformation. These departments are responsible for structuring initiatives such as the creation of internal innovation communities, with experts for each product line and each business area. These measures benefit from technological support.

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6 • Greater opennesstowards the outside

Directives such as the IDD, the Insurance Distribution Directive integrated by all players within the insurance sector since the beginning of 2020, contribute to aligning insurers’ obligations with those of intermediaries. The result of these developments is a greater cohesion between players within the insurance industry. This also encourages mutual assistance; a point emphasized by the strategic director of one insurance company. “We hope to provide services to distribution partners: customer scoring, or “next best actions” consultation, for example”.Another prospect with regard to opening insurance companies up to the outside world consists of the involvement of customers upstream, and at the heart of the innovation process. “We invite our customers to share their opinions during the co-design or prototyping, and to contribute to the testing of beta versions” declares the innovation director of an insurance company. It is also in collaborating with start-ups that insurers intend to further enhance certain activities in their value chain with supplementary skills. “We have created a venture capital fund with around twenty start- ups and partnerships, which give us access to technological building

blocks and to products and services that have not been available prior to now” continues the interviewed innovation director. This type of initiative can have highly beneficial effects in terms of the speed of execution of innovation projects. Finally, insurance companies are increasingly demonstrating their presence within the innovation ecosystem via the intermediary of their participation within venture capital funds or competitive clusters such as Finance Innovation. This allows them to broadcast their ideas within these groups and, in turn, to feed into their internal reflection with regard to innovation.

Relying on start-ups to provide skills for certain activities in the value chain enables the shortening of the cycle by which innovations are put into production, which currently stands at eighteen to twenty-four months.The strategy director of an insurance company


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innovation in insurance, from an insurer perspective

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