Using Technology to Innovate for the Future
Digital, data and cyberArticleOctober 13, 2022
Jack Howell, CEO, Zurich Global Ventures speaks at Bloomberg’s Technology Summit on the opportunities afforded by the digitalization of insurance.
In a world grappling with social, economic and political transformation, the Bloomberg Technology Summit in London on 28th September brought together Europe’s business leaders and policy makers, entrepreneurs and innovators, founders and investors to discuss how they are adapting to this new environment and share solution-based strategies.
Against this backdrop, insurance has the potential to act as a real facilitator of positive change in business worldwide, as well as to materially assist people in living safe and secure lives. But practice often falls short of potential. We must work closely together to create products and services that will truly respond and protect consumers.
Zurich Insurance Group on Using Technology to Innovate for the Future
The event featured Jack Howell, CEO Zurich Global Ventures who shared his insights on how technology is changing the world of insurance and risk, and how Zurich is meeting customers’ needs.
“Technology impacts us not only directly in the way we run our business but also indirectly as to how we change our business model to serve our customers”
Howell discussed how technology and data are changing how work is done in the insurance industry, including improving customer service by embedding technology in operations, and “more interestingly, changing customer behavior and expectations.” Referencing the prior panel on the metaverse, he said the industry needs to ask how it can be part of that conversation.
An example of needed change is making sure they’re embedded in the customer journey, such as a customer being able to buy travel insurance from the same place they buy their travel tickets. Around cyber, “It’s really important that we are there from the beginning, to understand the customer’s risks and help mitigate them.”
Insurers must help guide consumers to think more about protecting themselves and their assets. Companies could then recalibrate their own business model and focus more on providing advice to customers on what insurance meets their actual needs. As a result, specialized services will be increasingly part of insurance offerings, as they can lead to increased customer engagement and satisfaction.
The Summit agenda then unlocked Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua’s Leaders with Lacqua Goes Green interview with Aicha Evans, CEO, Zoox, Amazon's self-driving car subsidiary. Evans shared insights on Zoox's safety-first approach to autonomous mobility and explored the challenges and growth opportunities in the autonomous driving sector. She explained the Zoox vehicle or robotaxi concept and shared her perspective on navigating female leadership in technology.
You can watch a recap of the Bloomberg Technology Summit on YouTube.
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer serving more than 55 million customers – both people and businesses – in more than 210 countries and territories. Founded 150 years ago, Zurich is transforming insurance. In addition to providing insurance protection, Zurich is increasingly offering prevention services such as those that promote wellbeing and enhance climate resilience. The Zurich Innovation Championship 2022 drew a record number of submissions compared with previous years, confirming the championship as one of the largest startup events in the world and the insurance industry as an attractive sector on the brink of change. Reflecting its purpose to ‘create a brighter future together’, Zurich aspires to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world and has obtained the highest-possible ESG rating from investment research firm MSCI. The Group has about 56,000 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
