SMA Research Provides Framework for Next-Gen Insurer and Innovation Journey

BOSTON, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategy Meets Action (SMA) has just released a new SMA Insights research report – The Next-Gen Insurer: Fueled by Innovation. This thought provoking report highlights that the very foundations of insurance are shifting, challenging strategic thinking and long-held assumptions about the customer, products and services, infrastructure, and business models. It also points out that innovation is no longer just a nice-to-have initiative, it is a must-have, strategic core mandate that will define a new era of winners (and losers) due to the increasingly rapid pace of change that is challenging decades of business traditions and is unprecedented in the history of the insurance industry. 

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The report emphasizes why the industry must rethink how they respond to and embrace innovation as the core of a new culture and keystone of a new future that will give rise to the Next-Gen Insurer. The Next-Gen Insurer framework profiled in this research report outlines the critical components of the Next-Gen Insurer and examines the trends and influencers of change and their implications for insurance, with the purpose of enabling insurers to make wise moves and wise investments.

"Companies across all industries are embracing innovation to unlock a renaissance of competitiveness and customer value, reinvigorating what has made them successful leaders," said Denise Garth, SMA Partner and co-author of the report. "There is an unparalleled opportunity for insurers to ignite a new future that is limited only by the human imagination. Those that best capitalize on the key influencers will reap the most in rewards. In contrast, those that do not prepare for the future will find themselves falling behind, losing both competitive position and financial stability."

The report recommends that insurers create a clear, unique vision of their destination, defining what they will look like in 3, 5 and 10 years, and planning the path they will take to get there, how they will evolve, and the relationships they will cultivate to help fuel the journey. The re-envisioning process requires examining and reimagining the fundamentals of the insurance business, including the customer, products and services, infrastructure, and business model to create new levels of agility, flexibility, creativity, and competitiveness. At the same time, insurers must identify, track, assess, and define how they will respond to or leverage key industry influencers and trends, both inside and outside the industry, prioritizing them, developing scenarios and plans of action, experimenting, and collaborating to gain competitive advantage. 

Furthermore, the report emphasizes that no business, regardless of its size, can go it alone and expect to take hold of all the possibilities, noting that most insurers lack the time, expertise, and resources to track influencers and engage outside industry resources. To counter this, insurers must identify partners who can mobilize an ecosystem of relationships and resources, both internal and external, to capture the potential, change legacy cultures, and enable the ideas and technologies to be uniquely operationalized within their companies, creating their own Next-Gen Insurer.

According to Deb Smallwood, SMA Founder and co-author of the report, "Insurers must recognize that the innovation journey has started, whether they are on board or not. Today, insurers must be willing to respond to change and become innovators who can lead the industry forward into this new future. They will be faced with choices that will commit them to a new wave of innovation and disruption – choices that are more intense, disruptive, complex, and transformational than ever before. Major forces are converging that are fundamentally changing the entire paradigm of insurance, and in the process, creating the Next-Gen Insurer."

For insurers, associations, solution providers, and other industry influencers that are interested in learning more, contact Denise Garth at [email protected], or contact Deb Smallwood at [email protected].

More information about SMA is available via the following options:

• About SMA
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• SMA Published Research

About Strategy Meets Action

Exclusively serving the insurance industry, Strategy Meets Action (SMA) is a strategic advisory firm offering a unique blend of research, advisory, and consulting services to insurers and IT solution providers. By leveraging best practices from both the management consulting and research advisory disciplines, SMA's services are actionable, business-driven, and research-based – where strategy meets action.

SOURCE Strategy Meets Action