The Game of Techs: The Markets Are in The Midst of An Epic Struggle
We see the establishment of new industries in a live mode, as ideas and phenomenons like FinTech and InsurTech attract more attention and inspire more people to join the process of digital evolution. Media speaks about the successes and failures of FinTech day by day, creating the tone of voice of a great growing industry. The strong developments make the legacy players nervous, and the most cunning enter the game to be always aware, searching for ways to catch the train of progress. The same happens with InsurTech, as we just recently summarized the current trends and events to come.
The game changes as the consumers choose new journeys
From the first look, things look positive for these two branches of digital economy: the greatest players join the game day by day, as the developing symbiotic relationship of FinTech startups, Big Techs (GAFA) and traditional institutions becomes the key event according to the report of Capgemini. Seeing that, the insurance players follow up. Ania KUBOW, the cofounder of a insurance company and a GeekGirl meetup organiser from London, sees great opportunity in the shifts on the insurance market, as it follows the footprints of FinTech: “Accenture estimated that UK total growth over the last 2 years was 117% and amount invested in UK InsurTechs rose from $19 to $364 million, and it does not look like InsurTech investments are slowing down anytime soon. The truth of the matter is that the insurance market is so far behind finance that there is plenty of space still.”
Capgemini report also focuses on one essential fact: the technical solutions greatly influence the consumer journey. The new ideas and implementations change the game and fill the gaps the traditional markets avoided. And if financial technologies do that — the others will use that to their own good. “Insurance companies are still very slow when it comes to doing business. InsurTech helps speeding up the process. The global players can try to subdue new ideas or development but will not succeed. You cannot stop to future or development. We have seen new company platforms develop with totally different concept and we see the established companies like Allianz investing in Lemonade because they are afraid they ‘miss the train’ and a competitor will take the advantage. We also see Munich Re is investing heavily in tech companies and all of them have now appointed Chief Digital Officers being responsible for the digitalisation,” — Stig JENSEN, MBA, Financial Services/Insurance Senior Executive doesn’t deny the turmoil and disruption experienced by markets nowadays.
Though not all the market participants are positive about the collaborations. They see these as a threat to the idea of decentralization. As Mohammad SALAM, VP Product at Azur InsurTech and a blockchain enthusiast from London states: “FinTech, InsurTech — they will have the same problem. The big players in the industry are not being ready to change, and want to use tech to clean up messy parts, but they are not ready to reimagine. All ‘Techs’ will fail eventually as there is nothing attractive for tech to be in these regulated industries. Just how openBanking will change the face of retail banking (and is already doing), the markets need openInsurance. They all are working towards creating best experiences for their end customers.”
The game can be played anywhere
The success of the two branches of digital economy mentioned above, definitely can’t go unnoticed, as the world observes new branches to appear. Bitnewstoday.com author Oleg KOLDAYEV has dwelled on a topic of LegalTech adoption in China recently, as it becomes clear that this branch is a “game-changer” as well. We see 2018 as a year of “A-to-Z Tech” mass discussion and closer study. The outcome of 2017 brought Real Estate Tech, known also as PropTech, under the spotlight — the $5 bln investments made venture investors certain they’re on a right way.
Consider HealthTech, where 80% of executives believe that AI will be a “co-worker” in the next couple of years, according to Accenture report. This is the point where you start believing that the “tech” hysteria is not just a fashion thing, but a fundamental trend and it’s here to stay. Anyway, one should be ready to distinguish the wheat from the chaff, as Stig JENSEN shares his vision, with which we totally agree: “Tech is here to stay however the word is being misused. The future will see great AI and Blockchain implementations before it can be called real Tech.” Sounds good for us to continue tracking the pulse of the markets to bring you the best insights from the digital economy. The game is being played further on.