Gartner outlines its Top 10 technologies for P&C insurers

Gartner Inc., an information research and technology company, has identified 10 technologies that it says will make the greatest impact on the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry in the future.
“These technologies will challenge existing business processes, support the emergence of new business models and allow companies to successfully differentiate themselves to drive revenue growth,” Gartner says in a press release.
“There is a long list of technologies that P&C insurers can use to improve their processes — from product development through customer service,” said Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, vice president and analyst at Gartner. “Many of these technologies, however, provide only incremental or minor improvements, have limited or no return on investment (ROI), or do not promise to help P&C insurers radically change their business models, reduce operational costs or generate revenue.
“With budgets challenged and with limited funding for discretionary spending, it is imperative that organizations prioritize their investments favoring those that will generate the greatest ROI and drive the most value.”
The 10 technologies include:
•    modern policy and claims management systems (i.e. sold independently, “componentized,” rather than in a suite.);
•    Web services and SOA tools;
•    business intelligence and analytics (focused on improving how data is used and the value derived from past investments in data warehousing.);
•    predictive modelling tools;
•    advanced fraud detection solutions;
•    Web 2.0 and social networking technology;
•    product development and configuration solutions (i.e. to improve speed to market for new products);
•    business process management (BPM) solutions, including workflow and rule engines (for testing processes independently from core systems);
•    portal and Internet technologies, and
•    mobile devices/technologies.