Insurtech Talent Development in Hong Kong – From Insurance to Insurtech: Strategies for Building a Sustainable Talent Pipeline

5 Introduction Insurtech as the Catalyst for Growth Building and maintaining client trust is essential in the insurance business. Therefore, technology that can enhance the trust between an insurer and its clients is highly desirable. The insurance market has an urgent need for new ways of working with stakeholders who are now starting to be served by insurtech3 – the use of technological innovations such as data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for increasing both the efficiency and the trust levels of insurance models.4 The introduction of insurtech first emerged around 2010 and has contributed to the rise of digitally savvy customers. This development has pushed insurance companies to digitalize their services and products to deliver greater value.5 The Covid-19 pandemic has further driven the insurance industry towards full-scale digitalization of services. It is hoped that digitalization will optimize engagement through the creation of more customer-centric solutions.6 To leverage the technology revolution led by insurtech and deliver better outcomes, insurance companies will need to make changes that not only require the overhaul of previous systems in favor of digitalized and connected enterprises, but also new talent management strategies to acquire and retain the appropriate manpower. A cultural shift is needed in the insurance business to ensure that there will be enough staff skilled in insurtech technologies to make digital transformation possible. Insurtech is now entering a new phase of development due to major changes in the insurance industry, especially in the wealthier and more technically advanced countries of the world. The global insurtech market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 52.7% from 2023 to 2030.7 This trajectory is very promising for insurance companies, who plan to leverage insurtech to transform from an arcane policy-led industry into one that puts the customers first.8 The insurance sector is also utilizing insurtech to explore different avenues such as using data from Internet-enabled devices and offering ultra-customized policies to dynamically-priced premiums based on the observed behaviors of their clients.9 3 KPMG and The Digital Insurer (2019). Insurtech 10: Trends for 2019 . https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/ pdf/2019/03/insurtech-trends-2019.pdf 4 Investopedia (2022). Overview of Insurtech & Its Impact on the Insurance Industry . https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ insurtech.asp 5 Randstad Singapore (2020, November). Insurance Market and Talent Trends 2020 . https://info.randstad.com.sg/ hubfs/04.%20SG/Files/Randstad%20Singapore%20-%20Insurance%20Market%20and%20Talent%20Trends%202020.pdf 6 Ibid. 7 Grand View Research (2022). Insurtech Market Size, Share & Trends Report By Type (Auto, Business, Health, Home, Specialty, Travel), By Service (Consulting, Support & Maintenance, Managed Services), By Technology, By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 – 2030 . https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/insurtech-market 8 KPMG and The Digital Insurer (2019) . Insurtech 10: Trends for 2019 . https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/ pdf/2019/03/insurtech-trends-2019.pdf 9 Investopedia (2022). Overview of Insurtech & Its Impact on the Insurance Industry . https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ insurtech.asp Introduction