While the traditional skills will continue to be relevant in the Indian insurance industry, there will be a requirement for hybrid skills and individuals who can work across functional boundaries to drive desired customer outcome, says Amit Malik
The Indian Insurance industry is at an interesting stage with some major developments that have taken place in the recent past and the industry is expected to witness a lot more disruption in the next five years. With disruption comes excitement and opportunity to create and build for the future.
Insurance is all about a promise that will have a moment of truth. The customer is no longer contented to have the promise fulfilled in after life and is looking to reaping the benefit in this life from most products. This is more evident in General and Health insurance sectors.
Insurance is basically of three different kinds: life, General and Health in India. Traditionally, insurance companies in India have so far predominantly depended on their direct/ agency model and the bancassurance model. Traditional careers, therefore, have focused around sales career progressions, technical experts in claims, underwriting and actuarial, and a host of support functions with traditional roles. The space has become very competitive and will witness a lot of innovation in the next few years. Not only alternate channels of distribution will emerge, but the very manner in which insurance is sold and servicing of customers happens will take centre stage. While the traditional skills will continue to be relevant, there will be a requirement for ‘hybrid skills’ and for individuals who can work across functional boundaries to drive desired customer outcome.
The biggest disruption is going to happen in the digital space for insurance companies. It is nonetheless a key focus area for insurers and will witness major investments from them. This sought after talent is agile, has an innovation outlook, is digitally savvy and understands that disruption is the way forward. Digital in insurance is at an inflection point. While it has taken time, companies have finally realised that they need to be where the customer is, ie online! Almost all companies now have either a standalone digital officer or have made it an important component of marketing or strategy leaders’ job role. There is a need to move decisively and swiftly to embrace the change to take a lead. Technology will be at the forefront of how we interact with our customers. This will require tech talent that can help deliver an unmatched customer experience. The digital revolution will also create demand for expertise in Cyber-security. Digital, in fact, is a skill that employees across the board have to embrace.
Big Data, analytics and the IoT will also propel the next wave of change. Insurance models in a lot of countries already derive benefits from these developments. Reduced health insurance premiums for leading a more active/ healthy lifestyle (often monitored using wearable technology) and Car Insurance premium incentives for being a safe driver are already a reality. The huge volume of data already available and that which can be potentially captured means that Big Data skillsets will indeed be ‘big’.
Given the nature of the industry, compliance and risk management will continue to be key. With the many changes envisaged above, risk experts with a digital outlook will also be sought after talent.
Another key, albeit lesser talked about talent requirement will be for HR professionals. Talent spotters, change experts and learning leaders will be needed to drive what would be a paradigm shift in ‘the way we work’ in Insurance. There will be a need for rapid re-skilling of the existing workforce. Slow and bureaucratic ways of decision-making will have to be replaced by a culture where there is agility, openness to experimentation and a focus on ‘fail fast, learn fast’.
Careers in the industry are transforming because the customer needs are ever evolving and this, in turn, is leading to the way business is being conducted. It is big imperative that businesses adapt to this new way. In a space as competitive as insurance, the winners will be those who innovate with the customer outcome in mind and are willing to have an unconventional perspective on talent. Individuals with the right skill sets will find insurance companies willing to pay a premium for their skills and also be committed to their career development.
The writer is chief people’s officer, Aviva life Insurance