Insurers can’t afford to ignore digital

Amy Gibbs

Ignoring digital disruption may leave insurance businesses vulnerable to the threat of newcomers unless insurers start seeing the risk of not being online as greater than the risk of being on it, says ANZIIF’s social and digital expert.

With a growing number of new players offering insurance in the online space and many departing from traditional business models, insurers will need to ramp up their digital presence and activities to retain and grow their client base, said Dr Amy Gibbs, ANZIIF’s Digital Communications and Content Strategy Manager, speaking at the Finity Niche Insurer Conference in Sydney today. Dr Gibbs said that while a select few Australian insurers had grown their online presence in the last year by focusing efforts on digital content, the industry still failed to realise the depth and complexity of change needed to face the oncoming digital revolution. “There has been some positive movement in the last year, with a small number of insurers boosting their presence on social media and embracing opportunities to connect with customers online, but in comparison to other industries, many insurers have been slow to adapt,” said Dr Gibbs. Dr Gibbs said that the risk from peer-to-peer insurance and technology companies entering the industry, along with the lost opportunity to engage with consumers through digital channels, should be considered more significant than any potential negatives associated with social media use. “Insurers shouldn’t be online because tweeting or friending is the current fad, but because their customers are online and they expect to find their providers there too, in the same way they expect them to be in the phone book. The trust that can be built by a long-term social presence, and the ability to give a human voice to an often maligned industry, should not be underestimated.”