Why agility is the new competitive currency in insurance

In an industry built on managing risk, transformation often feels like a contradiction. For decades, insurers have taken a cautious, long-range approach to operational change, favouring multi-year initiatives and top-down strategies. But the landscape has shifted. Disruption is coming from every direction: digital-native competitors, evolving customer demands, and shifting regulations. In this environment, speed and adaptability aren’t optional, they’re critical. 
 
Agile transformation offers a way forward, not just for IT teams, but for the entire enterprise. And it's not about chaos or shortcuts. It's about creating a way of working that is responsive, iterative, and deeply aligned with value delivery. Insurers who embrace agile approaches can launch new products faster, respond to regulatory changes more effectively, and continuously refine customer experience. McKinsey found agile insurers are up to five times faster at bringing innovations to market.
 

Agile in action 

Across the industry, the proof is building. A major U.S. auto insurer working with Insight used agile and Scrum to modernise its claims platform, improving delivery speed by 58% and realising $123m in combined benefits. Another major UK health provider cut the cost per quote by 44% and doubled its portfolio size after an agile-led IT overhaul.  

But agile is more than a framework, it's a mindset. A major European insurer rolled out agile training to cross-functional teams. The result? 80% saw improved collaboration, and 40% felt ready to apply agile practices to new areas. Meanwhile, an Asian insurer using agile boosted both customer satisfaction and employee engagement scores by over 20% based upon their prior year survey results. 
 

Barriers to agile and how to overcome them 

There are, of course, barriers: entrenched hierarchies, legacy systems, and regulatory caution. Yet these can be addressed. Pilot programs, agile governance, and executive sponsorship are helping insurers make the shift.  

To get started, insurers can launch an agile readiness assessment and pilot agile squads in one business unit or functional area. Moving from “doing agile” to “being agile” requires embedding flexibility and continuous improvement throughout the organisation and into organisational culture. Tools like agility maturity diagnostics and retrospectives alongside moving operating models to align with agile pods can help insurers create a foundation for sustained competitive advantage. 
 

A future operating model 

As we peer into the future of the insurance industry, we envisage an archetype that is profoundly different from today's standards. The future insurer will not be a single monolithic organisation, it will be modular, adaptive, and built for change. Agile will be the default operating model, not siloed. This adaptability is not just about speed; it's about being able to reconfigure and align different parts of the business to respond effectively to new challenges and opportunities as they arise. 

Imagine an insurer that operates like a series of interconnected, yet independent modules. Each module, whether it's underwriting, claims processing, customer service, or product development, functions as a standalone unit capable of rapid adjustment without disrupting the other segments of the company. For instance, should a new regulatory requirement emerge, the compliance module could quickly adapt its processes, while the other parts of the business continue without interruption. 

This modular approach allows for unparalleled swiftness in decision-making and execution. When a new technology disrupts the market, a modular insurer could incorporate this technology into its operations with minimal downtime, much like how smartphone apps update seamlessly in the background. 
 

The ever-learning organisation 

Moreover, the insurer of the future is an ever-learning organisation, continuously absorbing data, insights, and lessons from both within and outside the industry. Armed with advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities, it would constantly refine its risk models, customer engagement strategies, and operational efficiency. For example, by learning from customer interactions on social media, an insurer could tailor its products and services in real-time to meet evolving consumer preferences. 

Agile methodology is the bedrock of this advanced operating model. It's not simply a process or a set of practices, but a mindset that permeates the entire organisation. From the C-suite to frontline employees, everyone embraces the principles of collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. By doing so, the insurer remains flexible, resilient, and responsive, an entity that not only survives in a rapidly changing world but thrives. 
 

Embracing agility in the insurance landscape 

In my experience, the adoption of agile principles can be transformative for insurance companies, providing a host of benefits that can lead to increased competitiveness, happier customers, and a more engaged workforce.  

In a fast-moving world, agility is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s the new competitive currency.