Did you know that artificial intelligence (AI) technology first sounded the alarm on COVID-19?

Researchers from Cass Business School suggest that Covid-19 will act as a catalyst for the industry-wide adoption of new digital initiatives in the insurance industry. They also suggest that the pandemic has uncovered the value to firms of having a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) to navigate strategy and identify opportunities.

Technology and automation are everywhere in workers’ comp. Artificial intelligence (AI) allows insurers to analyze workers’ comp claims and flag ones that could go awry. Apps check in on injured workers.

CCC last month reported the COVID-19 response has produced a record expansion rate “exceeding double-digit growth” for photo estimates and “AI-supported claims” since Jan. 1. Insurers recently produced their 3 millionth photo estimate since 2018, according to CCC.

Claims technology plays a vital role in effectively adjusting commercial property losses. Today, remote inspection and estimation capabilities are more important than ever, given the social distancing requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges of accessing policyholders’ facilities in the wake of severe weather events and large-scale natural catastrophes.

There’s been a lot of talk about how the coronavirus pandemic may permanently affect aspects of daily life and fundamentally alter entire industries. The future of the insurance industry deserves particular attention, considering its critical ability to help businesses weather times of extreme hardship and uncertainty.

Insurtech investment is at an all-time high. In 2019, the insurtech sector hit a record $6.37 billion, according to Willis Tower Watson, up considerably from $4.17 billion the year before.

Insurance innovation is alive and kicking, and gaining traction, as represented by the wide array of submissions for the 2020 Innovation in Insurance Awards, sponsored by Efma and Accenture.

In a survey released at the end of April by Mitchell International, half of the responding workers’ compensation professionals reported that cost containment is the driving factor for adopting advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, telemedicine, wearables, mobile technology and chatbots.

The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Auto Insurance Study released last week revealed that auto insurance websites have become more important to the customer experience than human agents for the first time.

Auto insurance customers should enjoy a shorter claims journey if pandemic-related changes stick around, insurance pros told Canadian Underwriter recently. Social distancing rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the insurance industry, along with its customers, to adopt technology for insurance-related services.

As tropical storms become more likely, COVID-19 is changing the ways resulting insurance claims are handled. New tools and practices can help insurers work within physical distancing guidelines, for example. A survey of claims-related organizations reveals how the sector plans to change its processes for this year’s hurricane season.

The insurance industry is experiencing seismic shifts in day-to-day operations stemming from this invisible yet intensely disruptive contagion COVID-19, but early signs of longer-term trends are also starting to emerge. A few short weeks ago, who would have thought that human health/safety and operational resilience would become the top two drivers of digital transformation?

The key selling point for cyber insurance has evolved over recent years as cyberattacks have become more prominent. Several years ago, cyber insurance was important because of data breach concerns and protecting organizations’ liability if private data was exposed. Today, the focus is on the potentially huge losses stemming from cybercrime.

A perfect storm of macro factors has supercharged several trends in the insurance industry, producing almost touchless processes for claims and enabling cycle times of seconds, minutes and hours instead of days and weeks.