Internet technology was once viewed as the next great revolutionary tool for the insurance industryonline trading between insurers and reinsurers was expected to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and assist with management information processes.

As with many things related to e-commerce and Internet technology, the hype hasnt quite lived up to reality. Insurers and reinsurers are conducting business online, and digitization is transforming the industry, albeit slowly. However, online trading volume is miniscule compared to traditional trading methods. Indeed, online trading for the most part has involved simple commodity-type lines such as single-line facultative risks, although more complex treaty products are starting to be seen online. The use of Internet technology has been an evolutionary process, rather than revolutionarylogical for the insurance industry, which is generally notoriously slow to embrace change.

Some online trading initiatives have been driven by the sellers of reinsurance, while others have been driven by the buyers. Prominent sellers initiatives include inreon, a reinsurer-driven platform that provides reinsurance capacity for a specific list of products, and seller-driven proprietary platforms that provide online property and casualty facultative coverage.