The rapid increase in the number of tech companies working in the insurance market and investment by traditional insurance firms into new advanced technologies is expected to lead to better deals for customers in coming years, InsurTechNZ chair Jason Roberts says.

Customer expectations of instant digital transactions delivered seamlessly across digital channels are increasingly the norm and this was a major factor driving the growth of the New Zealand insurtech market, he said.

“The insurance sector is also testing new technologies to better assess or manage their risks. Even some of the simplest processes, once digitalised, provide huge upside for both customers and insurers.

“For example, New Zealand insurtech startup, Fireform, has created a platform for managing fire alarm shutdown periods helping large corporations better manage their fire safety and helping insurance firms to better calculate and reduce risk.

“The early testing of drones by insurance companies for damage assessment is expected to soon lead to faster claim processing after mass damage events like earthquakes and floods.”

He said many people were not aware they were already engaging with AI via a chatbot on insurers’ websites.

 “One of the fastest growing global insurance firms, Lemonade, has replaced brokers and bureaucracy with bots and machine learning, enabling a zero paperwork and instant everything experience.

“This rapid change is bringing both opportunity and challenge as the industry and government grapple with the implications of robo-advice and an almost unlimited array of insurance possibilities.

“As a leading member of the global insurtech alliance and our ability as a country to adapt regulations relatively quickly, we expect
New Zealand consumers to gain the benefits if we can adapt our systems fast enough.”

InsurTechNZ has formed with the support of the New Zealand FinTech group to bring focus to opportunities.