Amazon. eBay. Salesforce. Twenty years ago, these companies were some of the first to launch their own APIs and thus made history, enabling businesses to run more efficiently by way of the internet and interconnected systems. Since then, they all have continued to shape and evolve the world of APIs as we know it today. While APIs have come a long way in the last two decades, there is one thing that remains true: those that evolve and transform simultaneously will win the API game, and thanks to the groundwork laid out by these big names, industries such as insurance can lead not only the conversation, but the innovation that comes with leverage such technology.

It seems that everyone is always in a rush to declare the next big thing, and the InsurTech space is no different. According to some recent declarations I've seen, embedded insurance is the "new affinity". The only problem with this take is that traditional affinity is still going strong, and embedded insurance is anything but new. 

The complexity of insurance policies and the often-deferred, if ever realized, benefit for the end user have traditionally meant that insurance is a product that is sold and not bought. But, as consumer preferences and buying behaviors change, insurance providers must be prepared to move toward a middle ground, aligning distribution strategies to meet the modern customer at the desired point of purchase.

Today, your business is only as good as your customers’ last great experience with you. Business competition has grown from direct competitors to any brand your customer interacts with - regardless of industry or vertical. As soon as your customer has had a wonderful experience at a department store, a restaurant, a bank, or even a grocery store, they will begin to have heightened expectations for all places they choose to spend their time and money. So if you’re an insurer who is not focused on delighting, connecting with, and having more meaningful interactions with consumers, you risk not only lost revenue, but also lost customers.

I had the pleasure of attending last week’s in-person (!) Digital Insurance event in San Diego. It was wonderful to close out the year by seeing, meeting, and learning from some of the best of the best in the industry.

In the latest episode of our podcast, UNBIND with Bindable, I got to sit down with the Head of Global Technology Innovation at AXA XL, Stacey Brown, an insurance technology veteran.

Last week’s InsureTech Connect was an event almost two years in the making and one that certainly did not disappoint. With more than 5,000 people attending the show, it could easily be referred to as InsureTech REconnect with the number of familiar friendly faces I saw for the first time in way too long. I, of course, also enjoyed getting to see and meet some new ones while there too!

Today, the insurance industry has more tools and technology available than ever before,  — so it’s no surprise that business models and processes are changing quickly. Staying relevant is dependent upon meeting rapidly changing customer preferences and differentiating from a growing competitive landscape. Leaders and teams from all organizations must critically look at their business processes to unveil opportunities for digital transformation.

However, while change is clearly inevitable, success is not. In fact, a staggering 70% of digital transformation projects actually fail. In a world that calls for consistent and disruptive change, business leaders don’t need to ask themselves what to do (we know the answer is transform), but how to do it.