COB, the umbrella organisation for green card agencies, is 75 years young! In the Netherlands, this was the reason for the Dutch Guarantee Fund to organise a festive seminar. The focus of the event was the future of mobility and cross-border claims handling, with the theme being ‘Technological and Human Behaviour Developments: Their impact on Motor Insurance, Guarantee Funds and Bureaux in 2034’. Geeke Feiter, director of the Nederlands Verbond van Verzekeraars (Dutch Associations of Insurers), sketched out 4 societal and technological trends. Her examples were derived from the Dutch situation but will be recognisable in many other countries.
#1
An increasing number of road victims
According to scientific research, the number of road deaths is not expected to decrease. Rather, the number of road victims with serious injuries will double in the next 15 years. This happens despite the fact that modern vehicles are becoming safer. One of the causes is the increasing mobility, with overly crowded roads and traffic participants that are growing older, such as the cycling seniors in the Netherlands. Additional measures will be needed to mitigate this, such as separated traffic flows (cycle paths, 30 kmh roads) and safety gear like cycling helmets.
Innovative, but complex technology
While vehicles are becoming safer thanks to innovative technology, they are also becoming more complex. The number of electric cars keeps increasing, often of new makes and manufacturers outside of Europe. Damage claims, therefore, require more expertise and bring higher costs. Repair companies are also increasingly challenged to stay technologically up-to-date and to have parts available for repair. Innovations are often also moving quicker than national legislation. Such as the innovation of a Chinese manufacturer to have a drone take off from the boot to find out the cause of a traffic jam or to find an available parking spot.
#2
Facing the challenges
Smart cars and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) will increasingly help avoid accidents. Measuring and sharing of data is also very important to drive traffic safety with an integrated approach. Additionally, there are opportunities in insuring the driver rather than the vehicle. That suits well with modern forms of mobility, but requires a significant change for insurers and an adjustment of the European motor insurance directive. During the time it takes to implement this change, pilots can possibly be used to gain the necessary experience.
More about the seminar and other speakers can be found by clicking the button.
#3
Decreasing ecological footprint
Car traffic is responsible for a large part of carbon emissions. Decreasing this seems difficult, because the number of cars and intensity of traffic jams keeps increasing. Even so, many countries and also many in the financial sector have committed to the climate goals of the Paris agreement. The efforts of the financial sector are closely followed. Because of this, insurers may get into a split. Of course, they want to be part of the solution and have a societal impact. But how? If people can’t afford to buy an electric car, can they still get insurance?
Claims handling for personal injury
In case of an accident, there is material injury and sometimes also personal injury. A good and thorough claims handling for personal injury remains very important. Not just for the victims, but also for the sector. This is the only situation in the insurance sector where an insurer appears to not work with, but work against the victim. That is why the Netherlands started in 2021 with a sector-wide change programme, where insurers can also settle personal injuries for their own customers. This helps shorten the wait time and increase transparency for the person with injuries.