For starters, we need to redefine our expectations around privacy, by advocating for digital transparency.
Some of the protection starts with technology companies and startups.
It is critical to start with a philosophy on the executive team and founding team around data and privacy.
That has to filter to developers who then consider data protection at the time that technology platforms are built, not afterward, and build better encryption into technology products so that consumers’ data is no longer at great risk.
The other way of ensuring that companies are digitally transparent is to enact legislation that empowers consumers and requires companies to protect personal data.
In May 2018, the European Commission began to enforce GDPR, which speaks to consumers’ “right to be forgotten.
” Now, a person can ask companies to delete personal data for a multitude of reasons, including a company having no legitimate reason to keep such data.
If companies fail to comply with these regulations, they face large fines and potential bans on processing data.
This is a great step in the right direction, toward better data and privacy protection for consumers.
The U.
S.
has not followed suit in the same way, but there are much-needed conversations going on.
In August 2018, Bright Local published an article entitled “Is GDPR Coming to the USA?” The writer lays out how something like this would affect US businesses and what it would really look like in America.
In addition, it seems that some of the larger companies in Silicon Valley are on board.
In September, Apple and Google urged lawmakers to create new federal privacy legislation.
A month later, Apple CEO Tim Cook demanded new rights for American consumers.
At the time, Cook said, “It’s time to face facts.
We will never achieve technology’s full potential without the full faith and confidence of the people who use it.
” These issues are becoming more relevant to the Insurtech sector.
Between 2013 and 2017, more than 1,200 Insurtech companies in 14 categories across 61 countries received over $18 billion in funding, driven by automation, machine learning, and using data sources to make better decisions around everything from pricing and better customer service to selling more products.
The industry is in a state of massive growth, and the issues of privacy and big data are at the forefront.
Last year alone saw nearly $2 billion poured into Insurtech investments.
As data is exchanged between users, startups, carriers and hosting companies, it has never been a more exciting time to tackle some of these challenges and opportunities.
In the insurance industry, the need to collect census data is non-negotiable.
This data is then used to produce an accurate and timely quote.
Once that census is with the underwriter, data sets connected via an API can accurately price and recommend products.
Once the insurance plan is sold to an employer, the onboarding process takes place.
As on-boarding solutions are developed, automating the gathering and importing of data will retain a lot of personal data.
For this reason, privacy and integrity are a critical aspect of any successful platform.
CB Insights has said that 40 manual processes account for 25% of an insurer’s cost of doing business.
API’s (application protocol interfaces) allow systems to connect together- allowing them to talk with one another, share data, and spread the knowledge outwards.
How Does the Future of Privacy Look?.Big data is here to stay, whether we like the idea or not.
Big data is here to stay and our digital footprints will not easily be washed away.
But the Insurtech industry can certainly do its part to protect users by guarding privacy, being transparent about the ways data is used, and by developing infrastructure that will keep information safe.
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