by Brian Coulton Head of Sales (Source Insurance)

21st October 2015 is back to the future day, the day Marti McFly gets to see his future in the hit 80’s movie “Back to the Future II”

Although some of those technological advances seen in the movie may still seem a little far-fetched, there is no question that we are probably closer than we think to the technological advances highlighted even working prototypes of the hover board and flying cars are now being developed.

The ‘Millennials’ age (UK residents aged between 18 and 34) are today’s heaviest technology users and adopters of new tools and ideas. It doesn’t take a time machine to predict that technology will continue to drive future society and buying habits.

Buying insurance is no different if we took ourselves back 10 years, the thought of the mass population having the ability to quote their insurance needs on tablets and phones would have seemed highly unlikely. However today it is something we take for granted.

The difference between Insurance and other markets is that it isn’t a tangible product, the value of the product is only really apparent when you need it the most, in the event of a claim.

Technology has certainly made distribution and access to information much easier for the consumer, however that same technology has also given the insurers greater access to data enabling them to become ever more sophisticated in the underwriting of the risks they want and indeed those they don’t.

We have already started to see changes to existing archaic question sets from insurers as they start to implement the data new technology is able to give them.

Although this means clients will at least be insured correctly and for the rate risk factor for their personal needs, it will mean that they will either need to brush up on their insurance knowledge considerably or seek advice of a professional. My futuristic crystal ball predicts the latter may be the case in the majority.

I embrace technology working for a leading software house in the industry and would advocate all advisers have an online presence.

I think however in the coming years it will be more back to straight forward advice that is needed. Probably not as catchy as the hit 80’s movie franchise, but a lot more realistic in my opinion.