"As we harness the power of innovation and advanced technology, we must remain focused in our approach to selecting the solutions and partners that truly enhance our industry and serve customers."

In what ways can technology improve underwriting, risk assessment and claims management processes?

Technology offers significant opportunities to improve underwriting, risk assessment and claims management in life and health insurance. The increasing availability of digital health data from electronic health records can be integrated via APIs, streamlining the underwriting process and minimising the need for extensive medical testing. This also allows for more detailed assessments of impaired lives, creating tailored product opportunities for those with chronic conditions. In addition, the next generation of health apps can improve claims management by using smartphone cameras to assess the risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes, as well as facilitating the early detection of conditions such as skin cancer. This proactive approach to health management benefits customers by providing accelerated access to treatment and helps insurers by reducing the frequency and severity of claims.

What challenges do insurers face when it comes to new technologies?

Insurers face several challenges when integrating new technologies. Data protection and regulatory compliance are paramount. Clear customer communication is essential, particularly when explaining how new products, health apps and customers' health data will be used. In addition, where digital health apps support customers to live healthier and longer, rather than being used for underwriting, a clear explanation to the customers in this regard can build-up consumer trust. As advanced analytics become more mainstream, maintaining centralised data to provide a comprehensive lifetime view of the customer will be critical to developing sustainably priced insurance products that can adapt to consumers' evolving health and financial needs. It's also important to be aware of the growing threat of fraud, especially with the emergence of Generative AI. This requires insurers to deploy more advanced AI systems. One example is systems that can detect fraudulent documents such as hospital bills or death certificates that may have been digitally altered by customers or health providers prior to submission.

How can life and health insurers leverage data for better decision-making?

Technology is opening up new data opportunities for life and health insurers to improve decision-making. For example, optical character recognition (OCR) transforms unstructured data, such as medical records, into structured information, allowing medical underwriters and claims assessors to process cases more efficiently. Insurers with large portfolios can use machine learning to analyse their data and gain more granular insights into the likelihood of customers buying new products, lapsing or claiming on insurance. Insurers, including smaller ones that do not have large amounts of their own internal data, can benefit from access to large population datasets with high granularity. This data can complement morbidity and mortality modelling as part of the product design process. Ultimately, these data-driven insights enable insurers to manage risk effectively while balancing individual risk-based pricing with risk pooling, fostering a sustainable insurance industry.

What are some innovative product offerings emerging in the life and health space?

One emerging trend is innovative life and health insurance products that focus on holistic health and wellness, helping customers manage disease risk throughout their lives. These offerings can work directly through smartphones or existing wearables, eliminating the need for specific devices. There is also a growing emphasis on mental health support, with apps designed to help users manage issues such as sleep and stress. Some of these apps also offer triage assessments that direct individuals to virtual or face-to-face mental health care when needed. Another trend we're seeing is the emergence of products that incorporate genetics for ongoing customer health management. These tests are offered to customers as a value-added benefit after underwriting. Leading providers of these services combine predictive genetic testing for conditions such as cancer and cardiovascular disease with blood testing and lifestyle tracking. For example, for customers at high genetic risk of cardiovascular problems with blood tests indicating poor cardiovascular health, health coaching can help them to make diet and lifestyle changes to reduce their future risk of disease.