Insurance executives such as Andy Rear with Munich Re nowembrace the power of technology to improve policies andservices.

Related: When worlds collide: Insurers and InsurTech

Underwriting, Rear says in the new Quarterly InsurTech Briefing from Willis Towers WatsonSecurities (Willis Re) and CB Insights, is one of the most pivotalpoints along the insurance supply chain where automation can makean impact.

"Because all of our underwriting is automated, we can see howpeople interact with the webscreen," says Rear, who is chiefexecutive of Digital Partners, Munich Re's venture partnershipdivision. "We can see if questions cause them problems; and we cansee where we have high drop-out rates so we can think aboutamending our products or underwriting. As a result of what we saw,we implemented some technology improvements to speed up the quotingprocess."

InsurTech experts foresee underwriting processes becoming fasterand more efficient as insurers uncover new ways to procure andapply complex data analytics.

Related: 3 best practices for collaborating with InsurTechstartups

Continue on for a survey of three ways that technology andInsurTech startups are spurring innovation in the underwriting process.

Predictive modeling is one type of automatedtechnology that can support underwriting. (Photo: iStock)

No. 3: Simplified, streamlined policies

The inaugural Willis Re briefing pinpoints small business insurance as one arena whereunderwriting can more easily undergo automation than some otherlimbs of the insurance industry tree.

Researchers point to Next Insurance, which has raised $38.1million in venture capital funding, as an example of an insurerthat's making smart partnerships to meet the growing need forinnovative small business insurance products. "Products are simpleto select and tailored based on deep understanding of theindustry," says the Willis Re briefing.

Next Insurance has partnerships with Munich Re, which is also amajor investor in the company, along with Ribbit Capital, TLVPartners and Zeev Ventures.

Related: InsurTech funding dips (for now) as startups market new wares

No. 2: Enhanced mobile functionality

A better, stronger mobile application is part of what enabledthe San Francisco-based InsurTech company Trov to reportedly raisea total of $85 million in venture capital funds. The company offersthe ability to insure individual possessions using its smartphoneapp. Policyholders can initiate coverage or change that coveragethrough the app.

The service launched in Australia and the U.K. with plans toexpand in the U.S. this year.

"Trov's early success in Australia and UK isdemonstrating that modern consumers want a new way to protecttheir things," founder and CEO Scott Walchek said in a recent pressrelease about a successful round of Series D fundraising. "With theadditional capital and extensive partnerships, soon millions ofpeople around the world will be empowered to protect the thingsthat enhance their lives whenever and however they want."

Some consumers are willing to provide an insurer with theirown data tracker insights if it means better insurance services.(Photo: iStock)

No. 1: Smarter data collection and analysis

Insurance industry technologists argue that the differencebetween a modernized insurer and one stuck in the last century isthe ability is procure the right data at the right time.

Consider Pillar Technologies, an emerging construction company risk management companybased in New York City that makes use of digital jobsite sensorsthat can monitor such dangers as fire, humidity or mold. Thetechnology was conceived to provide the exact data and analysisnecessary to help mitigate damage and reduce claims.

"Construction sites are dangerous places and accidents arecostly," Alex Schwarzkopf, one of the founders of PillarTechnologies, said in a July 2016 press release about the companysecuring $425,000 in seed funding. "Our advanced sensor-basedtechnology benefits general contractors, insurance companies andbuilding owners alike by significantly reducing risk and moreaccurately predicting damage from destructive environmentalconditions."

See also:

Meet 6 entrepreneurs with innovativeInsurTech products

3 reasons startup entrepreneurs loveInsurTech

Insurance 2017: Priorities for innovation,automation and transformation