How TPAs Can Prepare For The Future Risk Landscape

By Steve Davidson

The insurance risk landscape is changing — and third-party administrators (TPAs) with an eye to the future must make evaluating risk management practices a top priority.

However, TPAs should anticipate some difficulties in improving risk function. As detailed in a recent Accenture report, increased data volume, regulatory demands, legacy technologies, and the growing threat of cyber attacks all are affecting risk management.

Even so, these challenges can be overcome as TPAs begin to take on evolving risk. Here are two key tips to help TPAs dominate the future insurance risk landscape.

1. Take advantage of data

Big data might seem like a daunting challenge, but it can be extremely beneficial if you know how to use it. Because of the digital age, we now have tremendous amounts of data available at our fingertips. By using this data to enhance insurance offerings and improve automated claims management, TPAs can boost overall processes and enhance the customer experience.

But in order to be truly successful when using big data, integrate it slowly. As you use big data to tailor product offerings for each customer, more deliberate implementation will ensure each step of the process is effective.

2. Be an expert partner

Every individual customer is different, with their own set of needs. So it’s important that TPAs are able to provide highly-specific advice that directly addresses those needs. Identifying and researching market trends that will affect customers is a great way to use the changing risk landscape to your advantage. By doing so, you can educate customers on these trends, and enhance insurance offerings to best suit them. Sharing this data highlights your industry expertise and can help customers select options that really work for them.

The future might seem a little scary, but it doesn’t have to be. As you prepare to take on the changing risk landscape — and the challenges that come with it — focus on becoming an expert partner to customers and using big data to improve products and processes. By keying on these areas, any TPA can welcome the future of insurance risk.

Steve Davidson is vice president of warranty for Fortegra Financial Corp. Steve may be contacted at steve.davidson@innfeedback.com.

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