The Nuances of Technology Adoption

It’s accepted as common knowledge that the insurance industry is conservative or cautious in adopting new technologies, often lagging behind other industries like tech, retail, or even some areas of banking and finance. There’s some truth to that since the insurance industry relies on stability, regulatory compliance, risk management, and legacy system integration, which can lead to slower rollout timelines.

According to Earnix, 70 to 74 percent of carriers are still using outdated technology for key processes. According to Risk & Insurance, 90 percent of executives view AI as a top priority, but usage, production, and scaling remain limited. And according to Coretech Insight, core system modernizations average 25 months from selection to go-live; although, smaller or cloud deployments may take just a few months while larger ones can take three to five-plus years.

More specifically, Property & Casualty insurers have shown increased digital adoption rates, with Boston Consulting Group reporting 20 percent growth in some metrics from 2019–2023. They still lag behind leaders in more traditionally tech-heavy fields. The industry seems to move in waves driven by competitive pressure, catastrophes, or regulations, rather than rapid or deliberate innovation. As examples, COVID-19 spawned the need for more digital channels, and pressures like catastrophic losses and combined ratios are pushing AI and cloud computing.

Not All Tech Adoptions Are the Same

But we’ve learned that getting customers whose trust you’ve already earned to use new tools isn’t the same as introducing new technologies. And it isn’t the same as working with new insurtechs that may be launched by tech folks who’ve come into the insurance industry without knowing its intricacies. By cultivating and maintaining open and honest communication with our customers, we establish solid, trusting relationships. That makes our customers receptive to our technological suggestions and willing to give them a shot.

In fact, here’s Don Honeycutt, our CTO and Partner here, in a very short video talking about the unanimous acceptance of Aspire Quick Start, an AI-driven, step-by-step workflow embedded in the Aspire underwriting platform.

The bottom line is, when it comes to new technologies, they’re typically viewed with skepticism, and adoption and implementations are frequently measured in months and years. Conversely, with trusting, established customer relationships, new tools can be viewed with enthusiasm, and adoption and implementation can be relatively quick and virtually painless.

If you don’t have that kind of relationship with your technology vendor, we should talk.