The Ethos is Inclusion

Published On: November 23, 2018

What steps can be taken to prevent digital exclusion as technology proliferates in the insurance industry?

In September 2018, the microchip that you will find in your smartphone, laptop, IPad and much more will be celebrating its 60th birthday. Since it’s creation, growth has been so explosive that Intel Co-Founder, Gordon Moore, has stated; “If the auto industries advanced as rapidly as the semiconductor industry, a Rolls Royce would get half a million miles per gallon, and it would be cheaper to throw it away than park it”.

While insurance might have been seen to be “lagging behind” in technological development compared to other sectors, you can see technology investment occurring throughout the industry. With the InsurTech investments and blockchain revolutions that are talked about, how on earth are the non-tech savvy not going to be marginalised?

Research by Age UK shows that over five million people aged 65 and above have never used the internet. This could lead us to believe there is no way they would interact with app technology, or any further developments in technology in insurance.

Furthermore, it could lead to the fear that “digital exclusion” means that a significant minority of people are getting less competitive deals in the insurance market, purely down to the growth of technology outstripping their understanding.

However, if you make the user experience simple and intuitive, you’ll find the bar to entry is lower and digital exclusion is lower. Over one third of users on our claims apps are over 50 and we’d like to think this is partly due to an easy to understand interface and design.

So, to drive a modern car do you need to understand how it all works? No, you just need an interface that you can operate – pedals and a steering wheel. The same applies in technology, make the interface simple and you are halfway there.

I remember learning that insurance was about the “premiums of the many paying for the claims of the few”. This ethos is inclusive and for the good of all, we must make sure that we embrace and deploy technology with this ethos in mind.