Blog to the future: One day, more than 10 customer interactions – could this be an insurer reality by 2030

Scene from Back to the Future II

  • Digital Insurance Collective chairman Jonathan Swift looks into his crystal ball to a time where insurance customers are in regular contact with their providers
  • From ride-sharing to eating insects, how will insurers evolve to cater for a changing connected world?
  • And what does Taylor Swift have to do with insurance premiums?

The alarm goes, it is 6:45am on 25 July 2030; and the first thing you do is check your Healthcare Insurer-provided wearable tech-band to see how your sleep rated.

Reassured that you hit 98% of your recommended amount of shuteye - you'll catch up at the weekend - it is time to bring up the tablet and see what your pet moggy Barney was up to last night.

With a Pet Insurer-supplied app, you see that the whiskered one walked/ran/stalked 2.1km overnight and caught two mice, scenes you can replay on ‘Kitty Kam' if you so wish. Based on his size, weight, exercise and night time snacks, the app tells you how much food Barney needs to maintain his current insurance premium.

Cat fed, it is time to bring up your Lifestyle/Home Insurer-provided app to get your shower ready at an energy-efficient temperature for your three-minute wake-up blast, and make sure that everything is in order from security incursions to the washing you put on overnight to be cleaned, dried and pressed ready to wear for work.

Next it is time to see that your ride-share automated drive pod is on schedule and will be outside on time at 7:30am; you also get a warning that your passenger liability and possession cover is running low, so you top up the insurance using your mobile.

Rise share to work
Breakfast ready, latest politics, sports and culture headlines downloaded to your tablet, you get in the pod, say hello to your fellow ride-sharers and then settle down to eat, drink and catch up with the news, before dealing with a few emails left over from the day before.

Once you reach work - it is one of your two days to work in the office rather than remotely at home or the work share space you rent by the hour with a few friends - it is time to settle at a desk, which automatically readjusts for your maximum comfort. However, you accidently press a button on the chair and as the backrest shifts, the furniture warns you that your employer will now not be liable for any injury unless you reposition it to your health-and-safety approved setting.

After three virtual meetings with Manchester, Paris and Johannesburg, you wonder how your travel claim is getting along. So you log into your Travel app and it informs you that you passed the requisite fraud checks and will be reimbursed within the hour. Not bad, given that the Virgin space trip was delayed by a possible meteor shower last week. Must look to re-book for Mum's birthday.

Insurer-approved workouts and insect snacks for Bit Coins
Roll forward to lunch time and it is time to make sure that you do that Health Insurer-approved workout to keep your premium at the 25 Bitcoins a week you are currently paying; with the promise that it might reduce to 20 if you work a little bit harder and supplement that sandwich at lunchtime with an insect protein snack three times a week. The app even suggests some music for you to maximise your workout, including some very retro choices - Taylor Swift?

In the afternoon, you get a mobile alert that that new custom-made bicycle you ordered last night is ready to be dispatched; you select the two-minute delivery slot you want and then pull up your Lifestyle/Home Insurer app and send a photo of the bike so it is added on your cover. It asks if you would like to remove something already included or add it for a small extra price? You select to remove the cycle you sold to a friend last week.

Cover updated, it is time to get back to work, although it is difficult to concentrate as you think about how the new cycle will allow you to gain more Health Insurer credits than the eight friends you compete with. You are currently ranked third in your health insurance league and that top spot looks more attainable than ever.

Intruder alert
Your day-dreaming is curtailed, however, when your mobile buzzes to alert you to an unidentified object in your property. Quickly tuning into your Lifestyle/Household Insurer app, you bring up a live feed from your home and it is quickly evident that Barney has brought in a bird, and that rather than kill it, he is playing with it in the front room. A check of the pantry inventory shows you have the requisite cleaning tools in house to clean up the feathers and blood when you get back.

Home time - and in no hurry to tackle the feline-induced mess, you decide to go 'old school' and take a stroll and then catch a driverless train home, giving you a chance to book that mobile-controlled lawnmower for the weekend to cut the grass; and order a barbecue for the party you intend to throw afterwards - both complete with the necessary cover for the designated time they will be on your premises.

All done, you sit back and decide to whip out your virtual reality glasses for a bit of retro driving action - the thought of owning a car that sits outside your home six days a week unused makes you chortle - again featured within your Lifestyle/Home insurer app on your phone.

Join the debate to #WakeUpInsurance
This is just one possible scenario of how a person might interact with insurers through the working day in the mid-to-far future. Obviously, the idea of mobile phones and tablet themselves might be redundant come 2030 - while Taylor Swift might still be going strong - but it poses some concepts as to how the insurer of the future might operate and connect with customers on a regular basis.

If you would like to be part of the discussion as the future of insurance in an increasingly digital age, why not sign up to join the Digital Insurance Collective; and look to attend the upcoming Digital Insurance World on Tuesday 18 October, where our keynote speaker will be Wired editor-in-chief David Rohan.

And feel free to contribute your own comments and suggestions below, or by email to jonathan.swift@incisivemedia.com, who can be found tweeting @InsuranceSwifty

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