The state of InsurTech in BC
Published October 18, 2024
The insurance industry landscape continues to evolve as online purchasing and automation of insurance products become more complex. Without sufficient parameters in place, insurance technology (InsurTech) use could potentially increase the risk to consumers.
The Insurance Council took on the task to advance understanding of the online insurance sales landscape as part of its strategic goal to modernize regulatory oversight and keep pace with changes in the insurance marketplace, and support industry innovation. As a result, the Insurance Council published
State of InsurTech Report today. The report compiles research on InsurTech and includes results from a commissioned survey and interviews held in 2023. The report identifies the scope and scale of InsurTech and automation in Canadian insurance distribution, underwriting and adjusting.
The report looked at:
- What are the current practices in terms of automating the day-to-day task of sales, underwriting and adjusting?
- What technologies are being used?
- What is the role of humans in tech-focused processes?
- What are the consumer risks?
It also looked at the volume of insurance policies sold through:
- insurance brokerages
- online platforms
- salespersons
view report
Under the authority of the Financial Institutions Act the Insurance Council regulates insurance agents, salespersons, and adjusters in BC with the overall goal of public protection. As part of its regulatory activities, an analysis was conducted measuring the potential safety risk for consumers when insurance business is conducted through online platforms. What was found is that most of the risks identified are in the low to moderate range. While some of these risks already exist in traditional insurance models, technology introduces new dimensions to the risks. Although there are current regulations and frameworks in place in Canada and internationally that address some of these risks, there still may be some regulatory gaps that could be examined.
The purpose of this report is to provide a starting point for future regulatory consideration. As the report did not identify immediate harm to consumers, there is no direct regulatory action for insurance intermediaries at this time. However, the Insurance Council with its regulatory partners, will continue to review online insurance platforms as industry evolves.