The last two years have seen unprecedented testing, adoption and acceptance of emerging technologies by insurance companies driven to reinvent the way the industry has traditionally conducted business.

With legacy systems flagging in effectiveness and consumer preferences pushing more-modern methods and service standards forward, the opportunity to find new applications for emerging technologies in the insurance industry is significant, and not to be ignored. However, with such disparity between the average insurer's level of technology maturity and the possibilities presented by emerging technologies, it's easy for insurer IT priorities and budget dollars to get hijacked by shiny objects and promises of the next big thing.

Step in the right direction

The current hype around "insurtech," and consumer demand that insurers prove the ability to innovate, has prominent insurers signing up for telematics initiatives for which legacy core administration systems offer limited support, and testing Google Glass to enhance efficiency in underwriting and risk control.

While these initiatives certainly seem like a step in the right direction, it's critically important insurers ask questions to assess whether emerging technologies, such as Google Glass or other types of "smart" glasses, can deliver current value, or if additional time, technology infrastructure improvements, culture change and testing are needed to get a tangible return on investment.

How mature is the technology? How solid are the concepts? And, does the technology or device have the potential to be the catalyst for rapid change to resolve existing insurer operational challenges?

Using Google Glass as a test case for all emerging technologies of the moment, consider it originally debuted to significant hype in early 2012 and went live in 2013, becoming a big hit with the public before eventually losing steam as the novelty wore off.  Last year, Google pulled back on investment in the Glass Explorer Program, and since then, the competition has stepped up, introducing multiple types of smart glasses. While there are now many choices of these devices, consumer interest in smart glasses has remained at a standstill, and true business value has yet to be proven. Why?

Value of visual data

Evaluating the applicability of Google Glass for insurance means recognizing the value visual data, such as photographs and video, can bring to the claim documentation and underwriting process. However, Google Glass in particular, and smart glasses overall, are of sound concept and excellent design, but the technology is not quite mature, especially when considered for business use. For example:

    1. Battery life. In streaming mode, internal battery life for the Google Glass is only 10 to 15 minutes. Though an external battery pack can be connected to the device, the battery pack itself requires a longer charge, forcing the user to constantly plug it in.
    2. Processing power. The tradeoff between battery life and processor speed is one many manufacturers of mobile devices struggle to overcome, and, in the end, processing power is typically sacrificed in favor of battery life. It's the ultimate paradigm of computing power and mobility, which is unlikely to be resolved easily given the distinct design of the wearable device.
    3. Overheating. The curse of using a weaker processor is that the device is unable to operate for prolonged periods of time without overheating, especially when performing strenuous operations, such as streaming of live video.
    4. Smartphone integration.  As with other smart glasses, Google Glass does not operate by itself. It needs a mobile device for integration to connect to the internet and exchange information.
    5. Heads up display. The heads up display inherent to Google Glass and other smart glasses is genius in terms of design, however, it is very limiting and difficult to understand when it comes to confirming video or image capture, and the use of telestration (drawing on live video) is impractical and frustrating.
    6. Prohibitive cost. At $1,500, Google Glass is an expensive investment, especially as cheaper alternatives have flooded the market. However, the devices all run unique and proprietary APIs, requiring long term commitment to selected hardware and high cost of support and replacement.
    7. Platform dependency. Google Glass, as a hardware, is ultimately just a device. Meaning, to get the full benefit of the capabilities of Glass, an insurer needs a powerful platform which supports the business needs. This means insurers must have a technology platform which incorporates collaboration, video capture, claim or underwriting artifact documentation, media management, storage, retrieval, backup, security, scalability, audit reporting and many more functions.

Next page: How much should the insurance industry rely on smart glasses?

The future will determine the long-term impact smart glasses will make in the insurance industry. (Photo: Shutterstock)

In spite of a lack of demonstrable applicability for the insurance industry, smart glasses, and Google Glass in particular, are still a very fascinating technology. The use cases are all obvious and the ideas are sound. However, currently, it's far too risky for insurers to invest significant time and budget into this technology.

In addition to the limitations of the technology, it seems dangerous to rely on Google as a sole partner or device provider, as the company has already demonstrated its propensity to disconnect from its users and partners by pulling back support for the Explorer Program, and suddenly shutting down the Google Compare insurance policy shopping website.

Collaboration tools still evolving

The value of visual data as a part of the claim management process is undeniable, however, it's also clear that collaboration tools for insurance field operations are still evolving. The greatest beneficiaries of visual technology are policyholders, agents, adjusters and loss control inspectors who will not own devices like Google Glass, but rather will use the tool already available, and in hand, a smartphone. It's powerful, it's versatile and it's connected. Google Glass does not stand a chance against the number of use case opportunities that can be implemented now, using existing devices, and platforms that are already available.

Insurer research and development efforts using Google Glass are interesting and deserve consideration. However, the future will determine the long-term impact smart glasses will make in the industry. For now, it is too early to know which smart glasses will emerge as the leaders and which long-term partners will define the standards to ensure continuous support and upgrades. Until those things become clear, it's all too likely insurer users will end up with a device and integration of an unsupported, phased-out piece of equipment.

Alex Polyakov is the co-founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based Livegenic, an insurance technology company. Email him at apolyakov@livegenic.com. Opinions expressed in this article are his own.

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