National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) officials are espousing the benefits of industry personnel exploring developments in autonomous vehicles and cybersecurity, categorized as two different challenges for the insurance sector.
Industry members met in Santa Clara, California, earlier this month for demonstrations and discussions of autonomous vehicles, then participated in a forum on cybersecurity at Stanford University.
The west coast sessions were on the heels of the InsureTech Connect conference, which serves as the largest gathering of its kind to focus on technology innovation in insurance. Officials said more than 50 insurance regulators attended the two-day forum.
“Innovations in technology and other industries are injecting exciting ideas into the insurance marketplace,” Eric A. Cioppa, NAIC president-elect and Maine Insurance superintendent, said. “It is incumbent upon those of us who supervise the industry that we encourage the new ideas that fuel progress while keeping our pledge to the consumers we protect.”
Last year, the NAIC released a three-year strategic plan called State Ahead, described as a blueprint to modernize technology platforms and provide new and improved resources for regulators. The plan addressed core data architecture, information technology infrastructure, training, culture, and additional expertise to increase the state insurance regulatory system’s analytic and processing abilities.
“We’re improving the state insurance regulators’ toolkit,” NAIC CEO Mike Consedine said. “And while infrastructure and expertise improve, speaking with the idea-makers and ground-breakers gives us a head start in understanding and supervising the industry’s adoption of the next big idea that comes along.”