COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF INSURANCE COMPANIES IN THE NEW ECONOMY

Abstract

The article is devoted to researching the competition of insurance companies, determining their competitive advantages in the conditions of the expansion of the spectrum of financial services thanks to FinTech, InsurTech, and general digitalization of business processes.
The essence of competition and its importance for the main participants of the insurance market: insurers, policyholders, and the state are revealed. The main factors determining the competition of insurers are the specificity of insurance as a financial service, a high level of state regulation, the complexity of insurance operations and processes, high dependence on the insurance literacy of the population; competition from other financial structures related to the financial needs of legal entities and individuals, etc. Attention is focused on the interdependence of the main characteristics of the insurance company’s activity, which determine its successful and long-term functioning: innovations, quality of services, customer orientation, solvency, financial stability, etc. In addition, they are important for consumers of insurance services when choosing an insurer.
Insurance companies, developing their strengths and successfully using external opportunities, can accumulate significant advantages over competitors in management, finance, assortment, innovation, and marketing spheres of activity. These can be both traditional strategies and new ones caused by technological changes and global challenges based on digital technologies. Modern strategies of using information technologies and their successful combination with the insurance processes of some insurers are considered. The main value created by an insurance company is the ability to compensate for losses received in the event of an insured event. Accordingly, digital interaction with the client, fast and high-quality processing of claims, establishing the size of losses and the causes of risk have become a competitive advantage for many insurers nowadays.
At the same time, insurance company managers should consider information security, data collection and analysis measures, readiness of staff and customers for innovations.