Digitalization – the Great Disappointment

Digitalization? – Let's do it!

• 91% of all insurers in our survey said they invested in digitalization initiatives over the last three years.
• 89% of companies hope digitalization will lead to a considerably more efficient sales process.
• 87% have developed their own digitalization road maps.
• The most important sales skills and activities in the future will be digital and mobile sales tools.

See also: The Industry’s New Dynamic Duo   Digitalization! – Are we doing it right?

• The digital customer journey and digital sales processes are some of the most important revenue drivers but were only mentioned by around half of the respondents. This means there's a lack of clear direction on which measures are really required and promising.
• Only one in four digitalization initiatives boosted revenue.
• Digital sales processes are ranked No. 1 for growth drivers currently receiving insufficient investment.

Focus on pricing and value? – Houston, we have a problem

• Price pressure and declining price levels constitute the greatest obstacles to revenue growth.
• More than third of those interviewed indicated they had realized less than 20% of their planned price increases.
• Digitalization further increases this trend, according to the participants.
• Reducing sales variance through well-thought-out sales processes and systematic value selling are regarded as useful countermeasures.

See also: 4 Ways That Digital Fuels Growth   Conclusion: Insurers see great potential in digitalization, especially in sales. Large sums are being invested, but not in a targeted manner. We need to better plan and implement digitalization initiatives to tap this potential. Furthermore, digitalization is raising the bar: Increasing price transparency must be met with a clear value argumentation to avoid price and revenue erosion. You can download the full report here.