Virtual reality (VR) seems like one of those emergingtechnologies with limited applicability to insurance.

Its widespread adoption may still be a few years away, and howdoes it relate to insurance anyway?

I've tested out a few VR headsets over the past few months andhave come to realize that there is opportunity for insurance, butyou wouldn't know if from the typical demos and apps. I've nowdriven a Le Mans race car (until I crashed), flown over and throughManhattan (until I crashed), and fired a gun in a first personshooter game (until I was killed).

Related: Claims training moves into the realm of virtualreality

In all of these situations, I found the speed and movement mademe dizzy (and my results indicated that I am not really cut out forthis type of VR). But, I also recently tested Google Cardboard with a series of apps. Admittedly,Cardboard apps are entry level VR, designed to give a person anidea of the capabilities of VR.

Mercifully (for me), many of the apps I tried were much slower,allowing me to absorb, learn, and be entertained. This more "normalspeed" approach is what I think is likely to be the basis ofbusiness use cases for the insurance industry.

Just a few of the potential uses for the insurance industryinclude:

Virtual reality environments that show different types ofroofing techniques or vehicle construction would be veryuseful.  (Photo: iStock)

• Adjuster training: Today, the large P&Cinsuers build houses and other structures just to be used foradjuster training purposes. Imagine being able to create a widervariety of damage situations and enable adjusters to learn andexperience them through VR.
• Underwriter education: P&C underwritersmust learn a great deal about the vehicles or property they will beevaluating, while Life underwriters must be educated on the medicaland health conditions of individuals. VR environments that showdifferent types of roofing techniques or vehicle construction wouldbe very useful. Interactive 3D illustrations of the human bodymight help accelerate learning for Lifeunderwriters. 
• Injury rehab: Treatment programs for injuredworkers or individuals hurt in car crashes are often complex. VRmight be used to demonstrate physical therapy exercises, show howto use medical devices, and to assist in managing stress ordepression.
• Loss control: Training for loss controlengineers or even providing safety training for commercial clientswould be possible with VR.

I understand that the fast moving, visually stunning VRenvironments are where the action is today (pun intended). Andthere will certainly be a big market for gaming and entertainmentVR apps. But in the long run, there may be many more apps forindividuals and businesses (including insurance) that allow usersto experience a virtual environment by moving slowly and makingconscious choices about how they navigate through the world.

More VR apps for insurance?

VR can be leveraged to learn, travel, educate, and shareexperiences with others. But for these uses, VR will have to takesome advice from Simon and Garfunkel's59^th Street Bridge Song: "Slow down, you movetoo fast." Insurers that implement VR in some of these ways reallycould be "feelin' groovy."

What is your opinion about virtual reality and insurance? Takethe new SMA survey on emergingtechnologies in insurance, where VR is addressed, along withblockchain, AI, drones, driverless vehicles, andothers. 

Mark Breading is partner atBoston-based SMA. Emailhim at [email protected].This article first appeared on StrategyMeetsAction.com and is reprinted herewith their permission. Opinions expressed in this article are theauthor's own.