How insurers can channel the power of Web3
As technology bridges the gap between the real and the virtual, it’s more important than ever for carriers to consider how customers’ needs — and their ability to meet them — will evolve. In our latest Accenture Insurance Technology Vision 2022 We outline how metaverse continuity will affect the industry over the next decade.
One of the major trends that emerge when we talk about the metaverse is the advancement of Web3. This term may be new, but it encompasses a great deal of technological advancement and activity that is already occurring naturally on the Internet. Web3 refers to an iteration of the World Wide Web where decentralization, blockchain technologies, and a token-based economy build new and secure ways of communication and commerce.
This new vision of the Internet involves the creation of immersive virtual worlds, blurring the lines between the digital and the physical, and may create the biggest shift we’ve seen in digital since the inception of big tech platforms like Facebook.
What unique challenges and opportunities does the Metaverse hold for insurance companies?
Essentially, insurers face the daunting and exciting challenge of insuring a changing world. Anyone can get hurt just as easily in VR golf as they can on a physical course. A customer can lose their physical property in an armed robbery, or lose money in their account through identity fraud.
Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, revealed in recent research that claims for accidents caused by Metaverse and virtual reality (VR) devices have increased by 31 percent in the past year. They identified risks associated with Metavir that included physical harm to their surroundings while wearing headphones; token identity theft and crimes based on anonymity; Code of Conduct violations and privacy risks through data breaches and leaks; and exploit user biometrics and online behavioral data. The horizon of what constitutes risk is changing. Insurers face the daunting but exciting task of building new platforms, products and services; Securing technology and defining use cases and business models.
Metaverse Insurance
While still a new possibility, the metaverse offers insight and networking opportunities with customers. As this technology evolves, insurers can leverage research and listening to their customers to isolate, test, and act on opportunities. For example, the North American integrated financial services company launched its own IMA Financial Group IMA Web3Labs, which constitutes Metaverse’s first insurance and risk management research and development facility. The facility is located in Decentraland, a virtual world based on blockchain technology. Funded by IMA’s investment arm, IMA Investments Inc. Web3Labs creates new industry forecasts to explore, test and introduce market risk and insurance strategies for the metaverse.
The importance of insurance partnerships in Metaverse
As we’ve discovered in other areas of insurance, strategic partnerships can help insurers quickly develop and scale solutions in new markets, giving them greater flexibility than if they approached them alone. This is no different in the case of Web3. In fact, the fluid and decentralized nature of Web3 makes forming partnerships a must. Leading insurers will accelerate their cloud transformations, rebuild applications using microservices architectures, and deploy open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to ingest upstream and downstream data streams with ecosystem partners. Consider a case checksig, who has partnered with SATEC Specialist Underwriting to create bitcoin and crypto solutions for private and institutional investors. SATEC is the specialist insurance company for Cattolica Assicurazioni (Generali Group).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the metaverse presents the opportunity for insurance companies to engage with customers in a new dimension. While it may not be an urgent consumer trend, leading insurers need to be proactive by keeping abreast of trends affecting the metaverse and actively looking for opportunities that fit the brand well in this space. And the best way to achieve this is by using smart partnerships and metaverse accelerators.
Contact us to discuss how your insurance company can use the metaverse to connect with clients and new opportunities.
Accenture’s Insurance Technology Vision: Discover how today’s metaverse innovations are becoming the building blocks for the future of the insurance industry.
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