InsurTech: A New Focus
These are exciting times for technology innovation in the insurance industry. Giant investments are being made
and start-up tech firms focused on our industry are sprouting up every day.
Ron Young, Digital Chief Technology Officer 
For years, insurance has lagged behind banks and investment/capital market firms in regard to technology innovation, but those days are over.
The Disruption Era
It is easy to create yet another “gaudy display of technology”, but innovation is only valuable if it delivers favorable results. Most of the early InsurTech firms focused on disruption: How do we remove agents/brokers from the buying process? How do we displace traditional carriers? Tech firms were often at odds with insurance carriers, intermediaries, and others in the insurance ecosystem. Moving the industry forward is a different game.
Shifting Focus
In the past few years, there has been a massive shift as InsurTech companies have found that enabling intermediaries and carriers makes sense on two fronts:
1. There are many places to leverage technology to improve the experience for the insured, intermediary, and carrier.
2. It’s where the money is.
Many InsurTech firms found that they couldn’t successfully monetize what they had built and could not generate enough revenue to stay alive. By working with carriers and intermediaries, in many cases being funded by them, it becomes economic feasibility and the right solutions are far more likely.
The Next Chapter
There will continue to be InsurTech firms that focus on disruption as the model. That’s fine. There are some lines of insurance that are ripe for alternative approaches. In the Excess & Surplus lines (E&S) neck of the woods, the retailer, wholesaler, and carrier play vital roles in the insurance value chain. Creating technology that enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of each and/or all parts will pay dividends for the entire ecosystem.
RT Connector is at the forefront of writing the next InsurTech chapter. As a first-of-its kind digital platform, we’re dramatically simplifying small commercial E&S risk marketing and service.
The coverage process is streamlined, top-rated market access is multiplied, and robust third party tools are harnessed – empowering retail agents to do their best work without sacrificing due diligence, time or profitability.
Offered through RT Specialty, one of the most trusted wholesaler in the industry, together we’re revolutionizing the non-standard marketplace.
