InsurTech and Mobile Insurance

On the topic: There has been a rapid growth in mobile insurance, especially over the past five years. Yet for a domain where so much is happening and where more players (e.g. mobile network operators, technical service providers) and regulators are getting involved, there is still little information about the potential risks and corresponding solutions. In particular, the topic of data protection – the regulatory measures taken to protect personal data – has not received much attention.

With the increasing deployment of information technologies for the provision of mobile insurance, more and more market players collect personal financial, geo-locational and lifestyle information on individuals. This raises important privacy questions related to the processing and distribution of personal data, consumer protection (e.g. insurance pricing based on lifestyle) as well as difficult competition questions.

On the 19th IAIS-A2ii Consultation call, technical experts Nicola Jentzsch and Andrea Camargo presented the data protection challenges of today and the future trends. They also gave an overview of how regulation could address some of these challenges and in particular what insurance supervisors can do. South Africa’s FSB and Mexico’s CNSF presented how they address the topic of data protection in mobile insurance.  Overall around 60 supervisors from 30 jurisdictions participated in the four calls that were held in English, Spanish and French.

Discussion evolved around the following points:

Options in the absence of an overall data protection regulation and how to address data protection issues in the insurance regulation.
Whether increased data processing and personalised targeting of customers could lead to a situation where low-income consumers are excluded 
The role of the insurance supervisor.

Presentations:

Report: