Vivek Banga, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at Arthur J. Gallagher, has been appointed Chair of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s (BIBA) newly-created, cross-industry Innovation Working Group.
BIBA first announced plans for the establishment of the working group in January as part of its Manifesto in the House of Commons, with its aim being to help facilitate and develop innovation in the insurance industry.
Assisting Banga as Deputy Chair of the working group will be James York, founder of Worry+Peace.
BIBA reveals that since the launch of its Manifesto it has been in discussion with a number of important stakeholders, including start-ups and incumbents, in order to gain a greater understanding of how to use its skills and expertise to increase the awareness and utilisation of InsurTech across the insurance sector value chain.
Banga commented; “InsurTech is often associated with external disruptor threats and yet Accenture found it to be more collaborative than banking, with 70% of global investment in this field looking to enhance existing propositions rather than directly compete with the insurance industry. But we can’t afford to stand still and have much to learn from working closely with the latest, innovative technology-fuelled start-ups.
“As brokers and the custodians of customer experience, it’s vital that we fully embrace InsurTech’s potential, channel our creativity and stay at the forefront of developments. Establishing a cross-industry innovation working group is a great way to ensure we continue to communicate and collaborate to the benefit of our collective customers and I’m delighted to be asked to chair such an important initiative.”
While York, added; “As the world becomes ever more advanced and connected, insurance is going to be there for the vast unknowns. For the open, innovative broker there awaits a new dawn of opportunity. I’m honoured to help.”
So far the feedback BIBA has received has been positive and the association will now start to look at recruiting individuals on to the Innovation Working Group, which BIBA hopes will include a broad range of people involved in different aspects of the InsurTech landscape.
Head of Corporate Affairs, BIBA, Andy Thornley, said; “Insurance has always used innovation; in fact, insurance is one of the most innovative products ever created. As technology presents the industry with new challenges, it also presents new opportunities. We at BIBA felt we have a role to help the industry make the most of these opportunities whether they’re an existing firm, or a new entrant to the market.”
