Nearly two-thirds of insurers say that wearable technologies will be adopted broadly by the insurance industry by 2017, according to Accenture, and 31% say they already are using wearables to engage customers, employees or partners.

In the report, "Accenture Technology Vision for Insurance 2015—Digital Insurance Era: Stretch Your Boundaries," the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company identifies five emerging developments in IT that will have the greatest impact on insurers within the next five years:

1. Internet of me
2. Outcome economy
3. Platform revolution
4. Intelligent enterprise
5. Reimagined workforce

As everyday objects go online, so do customer experiences: "My newsfeed" and "my playlist" have led the way toward emerging technologies, which weave together customers' preferences and habits. This personalized revolution offers opportunity for insurers in channels such as wearables, connected TVs, connected cars and other smart objects.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of executive insurer respondents say that providing a personalized customer experience is one of their top three priorities within the organization, and 50% claim to already see a positive return from their investment in personalized technologies.

"While insurers have traditionally based their underwriting and pricing processes on a limited view of certain customer variables, emerging technologies such as wearables and other connected devices can help insurers break from their traditional business models and provide outcome-based services for their customers," says John Cusano, senior managing director of Accenture's global Insurance practice, in a statement. "For instance, one leading insurer recently announced that it will provide new policyholders with a free fitness band to track their health progress — and then reward their healthy living with a reduction in life insurance premiums."

(Photo: Shutterstock.com)

Achieve better business outcomes

As leading insurers come face-to-face with the Internet of me, they are uncovering opportunities to embed software intelligence in their digital toolboxes, the report says. These highly connected components give customers what they really want: More meaningful outcomes—not more products and services—such as helping a restaurant owner proactive manage business risks, rather than insuring his business against fire and theft.

Insurers also are upgrading their digital industry platforms and ecosystems to meet customers' needs. These platforms "serve as a pool of reusable functionality and capabilities to make building and evolving applications quick and easy—and to help companies ultimately achieve better business outcomes," the report says.

Seventy-seven percent of insurer respondents agree that companies will move toward real-time platforms as enterprises adopt mobility and Internet-of-Things solutions. To meet these goals, 77% are using or experimenting with open innovation to integrate applications and collaborate with business partners, and 51% plan to partner with major digital technology and cloud platform leaders in the next two years.

Software intelligence will take insurance to the next level

The next level of operation management will merge from gains in software intelligence, in part due to the influx of big data. "Business and technology leaders at insurance carriers must now view software intelligence not as a pilot or one-off project, but as an across-the-board functionality," Accenture states in its report.

However, access to large volumes of new data is causing challenges, as the survey found that more than half of insurers struggle to fully use their existing data. Fifty-six percent say that managing data is "extremely" or "very challenging" considering the changes in volume, variety and velocity.

The push to go digital amplifies the need for humans and machines to do more, together. "The next-generation insurance company will benefit from human and technology collaboration, with workers leveraging new technologies such as wearables to augment their abilities and help them make better decisions," says Thomas Meyer, managing director of Accenture's Insurance practice in Europe, Africa and Latin America, in a statement.

The survey reports that two-thirds (66%) of insurers experiment with intelligence technology, and 76% predict that successful businesses will soon manage employees alongside intelligent machines.

Special Reports /

Majority of insurers to adopt wearables, intelligence technology

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