2015 Strategic Initiatives: Making sense of the shifts

An SMA Research Report

Author(s):

Deborah M. Smallwood, Senior Partner

Karen Furtado, Partner

Denise Garth, Partner

Monique Hesseling, Partner

Publication Date:

January 15, 2015

Number of Pages:

11

Price:

$995.00 USD

The insurance industry has been investing in strategic initiatives for decades. For the past six years, SMA has been tracking and supporting the industry’s evolving maturity in our research and services with insurers and the entire insurance ecosystem. For the first time, SMA’s research is revealing significant shifts in the ‘mode of the company’, strategic investments, and project priorities, reflecting success, maturity, and a positive momentum across the industry. The purpose of this research report is to assist insurers and solution providers to identify the shifts, understand their implications, and then to provide a framework from which to evaluate their companies’ strategies in the context of the marketplace trends.

2015 Strategic Initiatives is based on an SMA analysis of trends from our annual Insurance Ecosystem/IT Spending surveys over the past six years, in addition to our analysts’ observations. The report, which covers P&C and L&A insurers in North America: 

• Identifies the broad strategic initiatives that are reshaping the industry
• Addresses the vital and evolving role of core systems modernization
• Reveals new trends in enterprise capabilities, as insurers invest in technology related to customers, channels, and analytics
• Tracks the rapidly emerging role of innovation in the industry.

SMA analysts make observations about each of these areas for 2014 and predictions for 2015 and beyond. Figure 1 is an example diagram from the report, showing the top business drivers for technology investment in 2015.