Aviva Boss Slams Insurance Industry's Tech Progress
October 29 2015 - 9:30AM
Dow Jones News
The insurance industry is in "the Stone Age" when it comes to
using technology, says the head of one of the U.K.'s biggest
insurers.
Mark Wilson, chief executive of Aviva PLC, said that the
London-based life and general insurer has been hiring staff from
Google and Amazon in order to update its technology. He said that
Aviva's customers would buy more insurance products if they were
easily available online in forms that were easy to understand,
something he believes investing in technology can deliver.
"I think insurance is in the Stone Age while other people are
circling Mars," he said. Aviva currently spends £ 100 million ($153
million) a year on technology, he added.
The insurance industry has often been behind banks in allowing
customers to do business online. Aviva launched an application to
allow customers to access their accounts on their mobile phones
last year.
As well as marketing more products and dealing with customers
online, insurers are investing in technology to change the way they
process claims and monitor risk-taking. For example, several U.S.
insurers have gained permission to use drones for such tasks as
assessing damage of insured property.
Mr. Wilson was speaking as Aviva gave a trading update. The
company reported that it has made progress in integrating its £ 5.6
billion acquisition of smaller rival Friends Life, which was
completed earlier this year.
Aviva has so far found £ 91 million in annual savings, out of a
£ 225 million target, which it said was ahead of schedule.
"The acquisition of Friends Life is everything we expected it to
be," said Mr. Wilson.
The group improved its combined operating ratio, a measure of
costs divided by profits, from 95.9% in the first nine months of
last year to 94% this year. The value of new business written, a
widely used metric among U.K. insurers that measures future profits
derived from policies sold, rose 20% to £ 823 million.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley said that the figures showed "a
solid operating performance."
Write to Juliet Samuel at juliet.samuel@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 29, 2015 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)
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