2021/22 Insurance Innovation Reporter Editorial Calendar
Please direct all inquiries to Executive Editor, Anthony O’Donnell at AnthODonnell@IIReporter.com or (503) 936-2803.
MARCH 2021: Geospatial Technology: As geospatial technology grows more sophisticated, so does property underwriting. Having more and better data delivered into the underwriting workflow means that underwriters can underwrite each property more accurately. It also improves the possibility for interacting with policyholders to reduce risk. What are some of the major areas where geospatial technologies are having a greater impact, and who are some of the most important providers?
APRIL 2021: InsurTech and Pandemic: How is InsurTech faring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic world. How has the pandemic affected what technologies insurers are investing in, and what effect has this had on the InsurTech community? Will shifts in investment priorities drive more M&A? Will InsurTech bounce back? Are priorities driving accelerated maturity in the case of some of the more mature InsurTechs?
Special topic: InsurTech Israel: According to a recent study, Israel has 0.11 percent of the global population but has contributed 5.6 percent of existing startup unicorns. This disproportionate effect is apparent when it comes to InsurTech. What are the Israelis doing right?
MAY 2021: Parametric Insurance: Given how much insurers spend on claims, the possibility of insurance without claims might seem an attractive proposal. What are the types of risk that fit parametric insurance? What are examples of successful parametric insurance today? How much—or little—has parametric insurance progressed in the last 10 to 15 years? How is technology making new applications of parametric insurance possible?
JUNE 2021: Blockchain Status Check: While much talked about, blockchain doesn’t seem to have lived up to its potential—at least not yet. Where is blockchain currently being used successfully in the insurance industry, and what are some of the promising use cases that may bring future success?
JULY 2021: Life Insurance in the Digital Age: As the insurance industry has accelerated its adoption of technology, the life/annuities/pension sector of the industry has continued to be regarded as technologically laggard. However, life insurers are among the companies most dedicated to the InsurTech movement, and the sector has been making some notable advances. Where are we seeing progress in the life insurance industry’s digital journey and its technological journey overall? How is life insurance distribution changing, and what role is the InsurTech movement playing.
AUGUST 2021: Insurance in the Cloud: Where do insurers stand with regard to their use of cloud computing? What has become the norm. What remains to be put in the cloud. What’s the breakdown between types of cloud (public/private/hybrid), what are insurers using with regard to software (SaaS), platform (Paas) and infrastructure (IaaS) in the cloud?
Special topic: How is cloud reshaping the insurance IT organization as insurers are developing and hosting less and consuming more through the cloud?
SEPTEMBER 2021: Insurance Claims Success Stories: What are some notable examples of how insurers are improving the claim experience? What technologies are making the greatest inroads in creating a better customer experience and faster resolution of claims. How are insurers working in new ways to prevent losses from happening in the first place or to mitigate the severity of those claims that do happen?
OCTOBER 2021: Role of the Greenfield in Insurance Technology Progress: New technology creates opportunities for new product and market strategies. Many a core system sale is attributable to the impatience of carriers to launch new business units rapidly, or simply to launch a new business difficult to support on older technology. What are some examples of insurers rapidly ramping up new business units through modern technology? What influence are these successes likely to have on the overall evolution of an insurer’s (and indeed all insurers’) changing technology environment?
NOVEMBER 2021: Insurance Distribution in the Digital Age: How is insurance bought and sold today, and what do current trends tell us about the future? Have we reached a plateau in direct sales with regard to the proportion of insurance products sold directly? How is technology improving both direct and mediated sales?
Special topic: The evolving commercial insurance distribution ecosystem. What companies, platforms and digital agencies are having the greatest impact on the sale of commercial insurance?
DECEMBER 2021: A Look at the Year Ended and Yet to Begin: What were some of the most important events and trends of 2021—especially in light of how this year differed from the year that pandemic struck—and which trends are likely to continue in the coming year? What new or dormant trends show signs of coming alive in 2022.
JANUARY 2022: Consumer Electronics Show 2022: The lack of in-person exhibits made CES 2021 a muted affair. If CES 2022 is an in-person event, we’ll likely see more plainly how smart technologies are becoming more mainstream and wearables and related devices and technologies—for example augmented reality (AR) are showing promise for the insurance industry.