6 trends that are altering the insurance landscape

The HR tech startup is following the blueprint of E*TRADE Financial in securities and Ally Bank in banking, says Aite Group Senior Analyst Mike Trilli. “All three models promote online self-servicing in industries where manual-intensive paper enrollment processes were once the norm,” Trilli says. “This model is triggering a health insurance arms race, forcing brokers, agents and benefit administration companies to protect erosion in their small-business market share, taking notice of how their software is packaged and priced as well as protecting against a broker exodus to Zenefits.”

There will be an increased investment in insurance technology, with startups leveraging technology to provide new solutions to the insurance industry and seeking to disrupt insurance incumbents, including brokers, says Gwenn Bezard, co-founder and research director at Aite Group. “Entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities to disrupt the broader insurance industry. They are coming from the insurance industry as a new generation of insurance practitioners in their 30s and 40s gets ready to leave the comforts of big firms to start new ventures,” he says. “They are coming from outside the industry, too, as a range of very young to experienced tech entrepreneurs spot the green pastures of insurance.”