New technical solutions and digital developments related to the insurance business will not unfold their effects immediately, but continuously. New players, such as InsurTechs, are driving innovation and improving business models in the established insurance industry in the course of cooperations. The VIG Group must therefore continue and further intensify its efforts to achieve a digital transformation across the entire Group and continue its systematic search for new ideas and supporting technologies.
The low level of real interest rates is likely to continue over the coming years, thereby decreasing income and increasing cost pressure. The VIG Group must become even more efficient and productive in order to counteract this.
The insurance sector is already one of the most strictly regulated and supervised sectors in the EU. Many new regulations are coming. The new EU taxonomy for sustainable investments is just one example. Interest groups and opinion makers are also increasing their efforts to draw public attention to their concerns and place them on company agendas.
Digitalisation has changed customer expectations and behaviour. Millennials and Generation Z in particular, i.e. everyone born since 1980, prefer a high level of flexibility and custom-tailored products that can be accessed any time and anywhere. Insurance companies have to better understand the needs of younger generations and increasingly implement hybrid forms of distribution that combine personal and digital communication.
Insurance solutions are increasingly becoming an integral part of other products or services, especially in the area of non-life insurance. As a result, insurance is disappearing as a separate product in some areas. Credit cards, for example, automatically include travel insurance coverage.
New ways to approach customers are becoming increasingly important. Platforms, generally operated by a non-insurance provider, are one example. Insurance companies can benefit from the existing customer base of such platforms and offer products and solutions that provide added value. Ecosystems, in turn, offer customers a range of services related to a certain basic need, such as housing or healthcare. The VIG Group wants to approach and retain customers by offering attractive solutions for such needs, while remaining visible under its own brand. Cooperations with companies from other sectors are becoming more important.
Consumers and companies often do not recognise their own needs for risk protection and insurance solutions. This can have especially serious consequences for customers if an event occurs that could have been covered by long-term products such as life and health insurance. Insurance companies must therefore help people better understand the importance of risk provisions and possible risk management solutions, so that they recognise their individual needs for provisions and obtain timely coverage.