Northdoor, the IT consultancy and solutions provider specialising in the London Market, has identified three key factors that will shape the start-ups market in 2011:
- the demand to meet regulatory compliance
- the increased pressure on profitability
- the internationalisation of insurance business
Rob Stavrou, Director of Consultancy at Northdoor, said:
“Despite the soft market, we think that there will be a number of new start-ups in the insurance market next year. For those companies that commence trading in 2011, compliance and regulation – particularly Solvency II – will be a real challenge. In order to comply, insurance companies must be able to ensure that their data is reliable, controlled and accurate, that financial reporting practices are being introduced to improve internal risk management and that the technology is enabling the management to make informed decisions based on trusted and quality data.”
“Start-ups have a real advantage here – they can use the regulatory demand to create value in their business by getting the processes and the technology right from day one – they don’t have the legacy issues to deal with. Our advice is to plan for the longer term so that the system is reliable and flexible to support the business as it grows.”
Northdoor also predicts that the pressure on profitability due to the soft market will drive stronger focus on process improvement and cost reduction. Finally, Northdoor sees increasing opportunities in the global market for insurers.
Stavrou concludes:
“We’re really starting to see increased awareness of the need to accommodate the international nature of today’s insurance market among those start-ups we’re talking to. As a result, demand for technology platforms that support multiple languages and can be accessed globally via the internet is increasing as well.”
Source : Northdoor Pres Release
