Web 2.0 and the insurance industry

While many people refer to the Web 2.0 phenomenon as a technology, IT research and advisory firm Celent considers it more of an attitude which combines the need for more mobility, faster information flows, a higher degree of openness, and a strong reliance on collaboration and community. In terms of the importance of Web 2.0 to insurers, Nicolas Michellod, senior analyst in Celent’s insurance practice, believes that more than just adopting these technologies, insurers should focus on what the Web 2.0 attitude means for them and how it will affect their business and consumers’ behaviour. According to Mr Michellod, insurers need to carefully assess how Web 2.0 initiatives can impact their internal organization, what kind of risks are involved, and the probability of changes to their value chain in the long run. Here, Mr Michellod reviews the elements of Web 2.0 and defines the technologies supporting the Web 2.0 attitude. He also analyses the current status of insurers’ adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and attempts to identify how insurers evaluate the benefits generated by Web 2.0 initiatives. In addition, he looks at two examples of initiatives launched by European insurers in the Web 2.0 area

There are many ways to define Web 2.0 and in some cases, Web 2.0 is referred exclusively as a set of technologies. However, Celent does not think that Web 2.0 is only about technology. Celent defines Web 2.0 as the tipping point where consumer behaviour and activity and its enabling technology emphasize the Internet user experience and capabilities as engaging, interactive, and collaborative. Web 2.0 represents a departure from the Internet’s roots of one-way communication and static, desegregated data. Therefore, Web 2.0 is an attitude enabling and encouraging participation and social collaboration through open applications and services. In other words, some technologies enable the Web 2.0 attitude to be more easily nurtured, but we cannot restrict Web 2.0 to its technological aspects.