Insurers are getting smarter and more efficient every day. New ways for these enterprises to integrate with their applications are changing the way they innovate starting with their integration architecture and integration roadmaps. Because of risk tolerance, Insurers used to build everything in house, and now there are plenty of new API’s that are driving new types of service offerings for various use cases without having to rebuild their infrastructures.
Whenever I talk to insurers, whether boardroom CEOs or small-time independent brokers, the buzz is all about major disruptions hitting the industry. Everyone is chiming in about telematics, automated cars, Insuretech, “insurance as a service” platforms, you name it.
Many are plain scared their business lines are not built for long-term success, and there’s some legitimacy to this fear. A 2017 IBM study showed that 41 percent of consumers surveyed switched carriers because their current one couldn’t meet their changing needs.
So, what do you do if you’re a CIO or IT Director tasked with adapting your legacy tools and systems to sync with the latest digital trends? How do you find new ways to innovate your existing technology? How do you plan and assess for integration?
I believe that new enterprise API integrations made available for Insurers by Insurance startups are disrupting how Insurers execute their digital transformations.
How does enterprise application integration work?
Enterprise Application Integration is a way for companies to integrate with services offered by internal applications or other technology providers’ software systems. By going this route, companies can introduce new services when they don’t have the capabilities of doing it themselves.
For example, an Insurance company can now integrate with an external service, such as taking photos of car accidents and storing them on a secure server to be submitted for processing immediately, without having to build the capability in house.