The beginning of Life Insurance in Malaysia, in the beginning of the 1900, perhaps the Claim issue was the pain point.
Hampered by frauds and unregulated frame-work Insurance was an enigmatic business to most people.
It became exceptional scary where claims were make on unrightfully “old people” syndicated by unscrupulous people who sought out these old people to be insured; and how many were “engineered” Death Claims remained the dark part of the Industry, from then until perhaps after the Japan occupation in 1945.
Today, I am not here to cite sequences of times, how the Industry had arrived to this stage of professionalism and regulations, so much so it has become a main consideration of majority of the urbanites as a viable investment instrument for protection against calamities and savings at a later stage of Life.
It has become an instrument that curtails “immediate gratifications” for a protection against loss of income in a catastrophe of a prematured Death or Disability and if this sojourns into old ages well and good, a Savings in the guise of Maturity at the retirement years.
This grandeur concept of financial integrity is the cornerstone of Insurance.
Transcend into this modern times, where technology becomes the major disruptor for all distributive channels.
Insurance distribution to the end user is not spared either.
The disruptors need to get started on a platform that can ignite the immediate initial response to embrace protection as the paramount action mover and to bypass the need for the sacrifice of “immediate gratifications” – in other words the consumers want it all.
The virtue of family protection and negate the sacrificing the altar of “immediate gratifications”.
The Godfathers of Life Insurance would had stirred in their graves. The fundamental pillar of thrift to provide for family security like the columns of the Roman Empire being brought down crumbling at the feet of the Gods of Technology in the 2020.
We have seen this happening in every industry. Companies going against the grain, going against the flow.
There is a concept called Moore’s Law, where often used liberally (though somewhat inaccurately) by technology evangelist to state that there will be more changes in the next 5 years than there were in the past 50 years.
Think about industries that have been altered by the relentless and unsentimental tide of technology: hospitality and hotels have been shaped by AirBnBs; traditional travel industry players have been shaken by Online Travel Agencies; taxi drivers put out of job en masse by Uber and Grab; retailers facing extinction due to the rise of mobile commerce and micropayments. The problem with technology disruptors is that they gleefully take aim at stoic industries and shoot them to bits. Banking. Insurance. We are next in line, if not, already in the line of fire.
Our next article explores the disruption happening today.
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