Total insurance IT spending across North America, other countries set to grow: Celent

IT research and consulting firm Celent estimates that total insurance IT spending across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific will grow to US$174.9 billion in 2015, with continued growth to US$189.2 in 2017.

This upward shift is above last year’s estimates and is the result of increased IT budgets from chief information officers and increased global premiums in most regions, Celent said in the report, IT Spending in Insurance: A Global Perspective, released on Tuesday.

In the report, Celent analyzed IT spending trends across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and compared and contrasted the direction of IT spending trends. “The growth is spread across the regions at various levels, with North America and Latin America seeing the highest growth rates,” the report said.

Related: Insurer IT spending set to increase nearly 5% this year

North American and European financial institutions currently account for 76% of global IT investments by insurance companies. Firms in the Asia-Pacific region account for 18%, Latin America accounts for 3%, and the Middle East/Africa/Commonwealth of Independent States account for the remaining 3%, the report noted.

“Across the world, we continue to see a return to growth in IT investment, albeit at different rates depending on the region,” said Jamie Macgregor, senior vice president of Celent’s insurance practice and co-author of the report, in a statement. “A common theme fueling growth in IT spending is digital. Insurers are trying to make sense of what opportunities exist through improved engagement and risk evaluation.” [click image below to enlarge]

In Asia-Pacific, “insurers are expanding their use of automation, mobility, direct sales capabilities, and customer self-service capabilities, reported Wenli Yuan, a senior analyst with Celent’s insurance practice and co-author of the report, in the statement.

The third co-author and senior analyst at Celent, Juan Mazzini, added that “insurers in Latin America continue to dedicate more budgets to IT in relation with direct written premium to support the investment increase. However, IT spending ratios have seen an adjustment downward from the previous year’s estimates due to moderate economic and sector growth perspectives in the region.”