Earlier this month, the WCL team attended and sponsored TINtech 2022, held in London on 11th October. John Irving and Todd Carter, Senior Sales Executives at WCL, share their five top takeaways from the event where insurance and reinsurance leaders gathered to talk about how technology can support the industry’s digital transformation.
The modernisation of the London market was once again the major theme at this year’s conference. However, the conversation has evolved since last year’s TINtech, when Bob James, the Market Transformation Director at Lloyd’s of London, introduced the Future of Lloyd’s Blueprint Two.
Here are our top five takeaways from the event.
1. The acceptance of the need for modernisation
This year, Bob’s session was more of a review of progress so far and a reinforcement of the idea that the Future of Lloyd’s Blueprint Two is not optional but mandatory.
The message was loud and clear: this is happening and everyone in the market needs to be prepared for it. While there was some scepticism last year, there is now buy-in from most organisations and an appreciation that everyone needs to move towards digital transformation.
2. More awareness of APIs and ecosystems
One of the main differences when we exhibited at TINtech this year was how people we talked to were more familiar with eBOT (Electronic Back Office Transactions) and eCOT (Electronic Claims Office Transactions).
There was also a greater awareness of the need for APIs (Application Programming Interface) – the process of sending information and data back and forth between applications that is the backbone of any digital strategy. For Lloyd’s and the London market, APIs will make insurance a truly connected market with the flexibility required to access new and legacy data sets. The ease of data flow will have increasing importance in back-office processes, as the use of ACORD Technical Accounting and Financial Accounting messaging – eBOT and eCOT – continues to rise. By adopting universal standards such as eBOT and eCOT, as well as API connectivity, Lloyd’s will increase the market’s efficiency, reduce costs, and align London with the rest of the world.
While organisations have accepted the need for change, they still need to be convinced to move more quickly
3. The need to move more quickly
While organisations have accepted the need for change, they still need to be convinced to move more quickly. Leaders need to set an example to those sitting in the back who are waiting to see how it pans out. In terms of market evolution, the digital transformation and implementation of Blueprint Two has started steadily, but at this year’s conference we could see leaders in the market who are making the transition. We need to get the message across that you don’t want to be left behind and that you must embrace digital transformation now.
4. Challenges to digital transformation
The conference identified the following challenges organisations face when modernising:
- The need for training to overcome gaps in knowledge
- Reluctance to invest as the return on investment (ROI) is not always immediately clear
- Lack of understanding of the technology ecosystem and relevant vendors
- The demand for a sandbox or testing bed at Lloyd’s so firms can test and learn without getting their fingers burnt.
5. The Core Data Record (CDR) underpins the transformation change envisaged by the Blueprint
The market is still finalising the Core Data Record (CDR). Questions were asked about what is to be included and what data needs to be captured. Lloyd’s and the Data Council have made significant progress towards a standard, and there is certainly buy-in across the market to transition towards the more structured data approach, allowing automation to take on the easier tasks so that people can be deployed to carry out more complex ones.