Digital innovation in the Belgian insurance market

Abstract

The insurance industry is changing, due to technology, market, and regulatory factors. Insurance products, processes, and business models are reshaped by rapid technological advances in big data, cloud computing, and Internet of Things. At the same time, consumers have become accustomed to the convenience, personalization, simplicity, and speed of interacting digitally via social media services and mobile applications offered by players such as Amazon, Airbnb, Facebook, Google and Uber. As a result, consumers increasingly expect insurance companies to offer digital services with compelling user interfaces and experiences. As to regulation, the financial services industry is preparing for the implementation of the General Data protection Regulation (GDPR; Effective in May 2018), which gives consumers the right to request their personal data to be made portable or completely and securily deleted. In response, leading insurance companies have started deploying an ecosystem perspective, partnering with firms in and out-side the insurance industry.