COVEA INSURANCE
“ If you are willing to accept the status quos then what have you achieved ?”
GRAEME HOWARD CHIEF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFFICER , COVEA INSURANCE
the core of his development philosophy : “ Less partnerships , but try to get deeper partnerships , so you get a true understanding of you , of each other . You can understand the business model that you are trying to support rather than it all being about your business model . I think it works a lot better when you understand what you need to do from each other , and you can really share that kind of experience to move forward .”
How insurance technologies put consumers first Howard joined Covea in 2019 and after three years remains impressed by innovative practises , technologies and people in the industry and the consumer-first approach being tackled by companies in the space . “ I think it ' s really important that the insurance offerings meet the needs and desires of customers . I strongly believe that subscription is something we should be moving into . There ' s some great companies that have done some amazing things with just consumer consumption based insurance . Providing solutions to questions likes - why do I need to pay £ 1,000 [ US $ 1,338 ] a year when I ' m only going to use the car for two months of the year , or how does my pet insurance work ? I think there ' s just so many different things that we can do with that data and pushing information out to people and giving them greater choice .”
“ It ’ s about choice ,” says Howard . “ There ' s a ground swell of change within the insurance market , not just about technology , not just about pricing , but around making products much more sticky for people and giving them what they really want and need .”
“ There ' s some great companies really growing very , very quickly , and I think when you see that kind of hyper growth that really tells you they ' re hitting a sweet spot in the market and will continue to grow .”
His time with Covea has made Howard an advocate for the industry and the huge change it can create .
“ I think insurance is an exciting place , technology ' s now right at the front and centre of what we are doing and how we ' re getting there . I think insurance has had a bit of a negative perception from people ,” says Howard . “ When I first joined a few people were asking me , ‘ why are you working in insurance ?’ But I think I ' m working in insurance because it ' s hard and has been historically slow and the opportunity for change is vast .
“ I think if you don ' t , if you don ' t put the hard yards in , if you don ’ t take that fight and that mantle forward , then nothing , ever changes . If you are willing to accept the status quos then , really , what have you achieved ?”