Perspectives in Insurance

By Heiner Leisten

The insurance industry is evolving and being challenged to rethink the ways it does business. The industry is being confronted by exploding growth in mobility and network technology; a more restrictive regulatory environment that affects risk management, privacy, and distribution; shifting customer behaviors and demands; and intense pressure to run leaner, more efficient organizations. All these factors are contributing to the creation of a landscape of opportunity.

To reflect this reality, we present a collection of perspectives on the dynamic world of today’s global insurance industry. Our mission is to highlight the number of ways we believe insurers can create value and achieve competitive advantage. Here are descriptions of just a few of the pieces you will find inside.

Two articles in this publication focus on the digital insurer. One of them addresses the ways that traditional insurers are being threatened by digitally native competitors and provides insights into how to stay ahead. The other takes a look at big data in the life insurance industry, noting that forward-thinking life insurers are applying four growth strategies to discover new opportunities for efficiency and innovation. 

Also inside, a EU Insurers Must Adapt as New Sales Regulations Loom driven by three initiatives—the Insurance Mediation Directive, Packaged Retail and Insurance-Based Insurance Products, and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive—offers guidance to insurers for building a regulatory strategy. The material in this article was originally published as part of a report that was prepared in collaboration with Sanford C. Bernstein, a financial-research company.

To round out this publication, we have included an “infographic” on the shifting landscape of the global commercial-insurance market. The infographic is based on an extensive analysis we conducted with London Market Group.

I hope you will enjoy these articles. As always, the authors and I would be happy to discuss our perspectives with you. Feel free to provide feedback by sending e-mail to insurance@bcg.com.