Up until now, consumers have interacted with insurers through internet less than with any other industry and the insurance industry tends to lag behind others especially on the claims side, according to Mesut YETISKUL, General Manager of CREDIT EUROPE Asigurari.

He pointed out that there are various sources of data available now for insurers, including the company's own data, industry level data (such as TRAMER in Turkey or CEDAM in Romania) and country level - such as data coming from repair units, theft data from police, data that can be received from other industries/ institutions other than insurance companies - connected devices - even potentially from social media.

"Insurance is about using statistics. Knowledge is easy to reach and companies have good actuaries than can analyze it. Technology, the digital world and the are bringing us bigger data", Mesut YETISKUL said.

From a sales point of view the usage of data is already developed or developing. Also, underwriting, risk assessment, pricing is using more and more sophisticated data. That isn't yet the case on the claims side.

"The result of the usage of big data is not only better predictions and lower claim costs, but also better outcomes for customers. Now some of the insurance products are sold without any human involvement from an insurance company - through online services used by customers or intermediaries. How can we develop a similar process for claims management too?" he underlined.

"The insurance industry is on the brink of major technology-driven change. Companies which do not adopt their solutions and management culture to the new technology and instruments of the digital world are at risk of disappearing or shrinking dramatically", Mesut YETISKUL concluded.