Bolt Solutions Survey Finds Carriers in Need of Digital Distribution Strategies
Staff Writer | August 26, 2016
Bolt Solutions recently conducted research on how different P&C insurers have been affected by and adapted to shifting consumer demands. With respondents including top staff from leading P&C insurers nationwide, the survey found that the industry feels it may be ill equipped to make the changes necessary to drive it forward.
Strong consumer trends for ease of access and more customer-focused service are driving insurers to meet evolving market expectations. Consumers prefer online shopping, yet also want the option to speak to a representative during the process. Fifty percent of consumers prefer this hybrid method of both digital and personal interaction.
Today’s consumer expects immediate answers and results, and the insurance industry has responded slower than other industries, such as Amazon and iTunes, but is now beginning to plan for the reality of the digital world.
The survey found that the majority of carriers are aware of the changes they need to make, especially to their digital distribution strategies, to better engage and satisfy customers. Still, many carriers are not prepared to implement the tools and services required to respond to the market transformation.
Key Takeaways
- 90 percent of respondents believe consumer online shopping and buying behaviors have led the P&C insurance industry to transform its distribution strategies.
- 21 percent believe a digital distribution strategy is very important and 33 percent somewhat important.
- 20 percent of respondents believe a comprehensive digital distribution strategy that fully satisfies their consumers’ needs is very important; however, just over half (54 percent) are only somewhat equipped to do so.
- 40 percent of respondents have not selected a tool or service to support their digital distribution strategies.
- 95 percent of respondents believe insurers need a holistic approach to their digital distribution strategy; however, nearly 70 percent believe their company is only somewhat or not very equipped to implement this approach.
“The P&C insurance industry is at a crossroads. It must innovate, yet many insurers don’t feel equipped to respond to the evolving consumer shopping preferences and buying expectations that are driving industry transformation,” says Kathleen Garlasco, senior vice president, enterprise marketing for Bolt. “Insurers are looking for tools with inherent analytics capabilities that seamlessly connect to back-office systems and offer the product choice necessary to drive customer acquisition, retention, satisfaction and wallet share.”
Featured articles
- Electronic Chat with Todd Greenbaum
- Martha Notaras: The “Outsider” with an Amazing Inside View
- ProSight Direct Offers “Effortless Insurance for Today’s Professional”
- Electronic Chat with Larissa Tosch
- Martha Notaras Will Join ITA LIVE 2019 as a Keynote Speaker
- Five Things to Consider When Evaluating Your Cyber Risk
- ITA Pro Magazine, January/February 2019
- Major Ransomware Attack Could Hit U.S. with $89B In Economic Damages
- ITA Announces 1st of Three Keynote Speakers at ITA LIVE 2019
- Electronic Chat with Jeroen Morrenhof
- Legacy Systems Are Dead. Really? Don't Count On It.
- Now Accepting Nominations for the 2019 ITA Bridge Awards
- It's time to register for ITA LIVE!
- Registration is Now Open for ITA LIVE 2019!
- What to Expect from a Digital Experience Platform Implementation
- ITA Pro Magazine September Edition is Now Available
- It's National IT Professionals Day
- Save the Date for ITA-LIVE 2019
- OneShield Software and UrbanStat Work Together to Improve Real-Time Analytics and Risk Decision-Making
- ITA LIVE 2019 - SAVE THE DATE!
- Insurance Technology Association Announces New Editor-in-Chief
- August 2018 Edition ITA Pro Magazine is Now Available
- Enterprise Architecture in an Agile World
- Top 10 Tips for Securing Your Mobile Devices and Sensitive Client Data
- Industry Insight: 4 Global Insurance Trends in Digital, Data, Content Services and Security
- Diving Deeper into Prioritizing Your Strategic Digital investments
- Why Content Rules
- How Mass Personalization Will Open the Small Business Benefits Market
- At Year End 2017, Will Your Organization Be Protected from Cyber Risks?
- Do Insurance Bots Dream of Mitigating Risk?
- Conditioned to Respond
- Managing & Mobilizing Insurance Data in a Connected World
- Race to the Finish Line
- New Tools, New Opportunities in Claims
- ITA LIVE: Reaching Insurance Industry Crossroads
- Advice to Insurance IT Leaders: Keep Your Eye on the Ball
- New Date, Venue for ITA LIVE 2017
- Guidewire Makes Major Push to Small and Midtier Market by Acquiring ISCS
- Insurance Disruption is Happening Right Now
- Insurity Adds Strategic Investment Partner, General Atlantic
- Beyond Transformation: The Convergence of Finance, Risk, and Actuarial Functions
- The Rapid Evolution of Consumer Protection Regulation
- Talent Hunt: Finding, Attracting, Retaining Top People
- Insurers Flexing Their Distribution Models
- Technology Driving Disruption in Insurance
- Fear of ‘Next Bubble’ Challenges Life, Annuity Carriers
- Technology Allows Commercial Lines Insurers to Stand Out
- Single Sign-on Viewed as Biggest Tech Challenge for Agencies
- ISCS Observes 20th Anniversary; Scurto Predicts Major Changes Ahead
- Policyholders and Their First Impressions
- Progressive Making Progress on the UBI Front
- High and Dry: Insurers Search for Disaster Recovery Plans
- Insurers Sign The (Un)Dotted Line
- Reflections of a Retired Insurance CIO
- Mobile Device Management Just One Answer to BYOD Issue
- Lessons from GEICO and Progressive on Winning the Critical Buying Stage
- You Are a Target for a Cyber Attack
- Web-based Systems are the Next Evolution in Claims Technology
- Gaining a “Wow” Experience from Web Users
- Time to Shift from Business/IT Alignment to Business/IT Alliance
- Healthcare Insurers Changing to Consumer Model
- Organization is the Key for Selecting Software Vendors
- Analysts Expound on the Needs of the Mid-tier Insurance Market
- Finding the Cure for Obamacare’s Website
- New Software Solutions Benefit Insurers on the Inside and Outside
- Products, Market Impede Investment in Systems for Life Insurers
- Combatting Cyber Threats: Predict, Prevent, Persist
- The Future of Telematics Heads Beyond Insurance
- The Shame in Cyber Security Lapses
- Building Policy Administration Systems for the Future
- Insurers Look Into The Eyes of Their Policyholders
- It’s a New Dawn for the ITA
INSURANCE IT NEWS
- Unique partnership between VMSolution and FRISS enables fast claims process
- Roost Joins the IoT Insurance Observatory
- Appalachian Underwriters launches world-class billing and payments offering (through Input 1)
- National Life Transforms Customer Experience Program with Cognizant
- Insurers Driving Real, Measurable Value from Digital Investments
- Insurers Embracing Digital Claims Payments, Says Novarica
- Majesco and DataRobot Partner to Bring Integrated AI/Machine Learning with Majesco Solutions to Customers and the Insurance Industry
- Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Selects Insurity’s Cloud-hosted ‘Workers’ CompXPress Suite’ to Improve Operations and Customer Experience
ELECTRONIC CHAT
The Email Chat is a regular feature of the ITA Pro magazine and website. We send a series of questions to an insurance IT leader in search of thought-provoking responses on important issues facing the insurance industry.
-
Electronic Chat with Todd Greenbaum
Bill Sinn
ITA interviews Todd Greenbaum, President and CEO of Input 1... READ MORE
ITA LIVE 2019
The tide is up! It's time to register for ITA LIVE 2019, our annual educational and networking conference! Our theme is "The InsurTech Revolution: Cutting Through the Hype." and we'll be bringing in a torrent of industry thought leaders, amazing insight and wonderful perspectives on the world of insurtech and its impact on the insurance landscape.
ITA LIVE 2019 will present real-life examples of true startup technologies that are helping insurers gain real advantage -- and a competitive edge -- in the marketplace. We’ll highlight the more successful InsurTech partnerships, while offering case studies that demonstrate exciting innovation and cutting-edge techniques impacting all aspects of the insurance ecosystem.
Ride the wave to LIVE 2019. Sign up today! We look forward to seeing you in May, 2019!
BLOGS AND COLUMNS
only online
-
Down Market Opportunities Beckon Benefits Insurers
You have surely heard it said that small businesses are the growth engine for America. Today, the phrase has a special ring to it for benefits... READ MORE
-
Technology at the Heart of Change in Insurance
With stagnant growth and lingering low interest rates, the life insurance industry faces a challenging future... READ MORE
-
Got Policies? IVANS Service Helps Feed Commercial Lines Producers
Finding insurance carriers willing to write commercial lines risks has always been a challenge for producers... READ MORE
-
Technology Changes Coming Faster than Ever for Insurers
As Guidewire Software prepares for the start of Connections, its 11th annual user conference that begins on Nov. 2, Brian Desmond, chief marketing... READ MORE
Vendor Views
-
The Hidden Costs of Custom Software Systems
Customization in the general sense has a very positive connotation. However, in the world of software systems, customization quite often falls short... READ MORE
- Vendor Views
Partner News
-
Distracted Living: What It Means for Insurance
One important trend in society over the past decade is our increasing ability to create and consume a seemingly unlimited amount of digital content... READ MORE
- Partner News