when leveraging blockchain technology smart contracts can be triggered to execute when specific criteria is met this eliminates the human element for needing to handle the contract and this allows an unbiased neutral party i e technology to evaluate the criteria of a contract and decide the appropriate course of action 
as mentioned earlier big data can be used to gather analyze and summarize information this includes analyzing a customer s historical activity or assessing a broad range of claim types based on the information gathered insurers may be able to detect fraud protect against unsuitable risk or better understand where they may be most exposed according to grand view research the total insurtech industry value in 2022 was 5 4 billion the revenue forecast for 2030 is 152 billion 1innovations driving insurtech changethere continues to be a growing evolving range of technology used in insurtech that changes the way insurance is being performed here are the following most notable technologies being leveraged artificial intelligence functions allow certain tasks that previously required human interaction to now be performed exclusively reliant on technology for example customers would previously have to interact with representatives to have questions answered now interactive discussions with chatbots may allow a customer to receive help without talking to a human a subset of artificial intelligence is machine learning the ability to extract historical data and compile predictive models these models are then used to distribute information and may be set to a feedback loop if future data in fed into the model the model may learn and continually evaluate how to calculate appropriate premiums based on demographics or risk profiles insurtech change relies on efficiency this means that when insurance clients fill out a document online that record is automatically stored in a data warehouse or used to automatically compile a policy ready for signature automation tools are utilized to avoid manual human intervention when technological tools can carry out a process on its own big data refers to the collection of massive amounts of information this includes a broad range of data the fast collection of real time data and a variety of data sets big data collection techniques allow insurers to gather a broader set of data used to analyze the risk profile of a customer to better understand their characteristics and habits in addition this information can be gathered for millions of customers and fed into predictive models discussed earlier though most known for cryptocurrency the fundamental basis for blockchain technology is immutable distributed legers this allows for unalterable record keeping to ensure security and reliability in information storage it also allows for smart contract execution to reside on a blockchain remaining dormant until specific conditions are met to release insurance proceeds or validate an insurance client insurtech also relies on innovative hardware technologies as well drones can be used to assess properties evaluate property damage where it might have been physically unsafe for humans to traverse or audit a site for a claim drones are now becoming increasingly reliant on high definition photo and video quality allowing for assessors to heavily rely on photographs and stored images from flights another insurtech innovation that relies on physical innovation is the internet of things iot though a digital concept iot relies on the interaction between physical goods and software for example auto insurers now commonly offer devices that gauge vehicle speed handling and driving habits that can be used to reward positive driving habits or penalize negative driving habits while this level of information has never been available before insurance companies can now base premiums on the smallest of details according to hourly there are over 3 400 insurtech companies up from 1 500 companies in 2018 2insurtech companiesbelow are examples of real insurtech companies and the ways each are innovating the insurance industry lemonade directly sells insurance coverage via a custom mobile app this coverage is sold directly to the customer as opposed to being transmitted via brokers insurance policies include renters insurance homeowners insurance pet insurance and auto insurance all insurance claims processing is performed through the digital platform dacadoo leverages consumer devices such as phones and smartwatches to gather information via an integrated api this information crafts individual consumer profiles that allows dacadoo to assess risk in real time and adjust profiles based on positive or negative life improvements bdeo leverages artificial intelligence to improve the claim processing experience bdeo relies on chatbots to interact with customers to gather claim information the chatbot gives direction on what information is needed how to photograph the damage and where to input information then remote adjusters analyze the information provided the company also leverages a computer vision model that utilizes technology to minimize adjustor misevaluations etherisc leverages blockchain technology to utilize smart contracts etherisc gathers information from third party providers then as events unfold the company is able to have their contracts automatically perform tasks based on outcomes that are compared against this third party information for example agribusiness insurance claims may automatically process when specific natural conditions occur these natural conditions such as rainfall are compared with third party data to ensure no fraudulent activity may occur avinew is a pioneer in the insurtech industry regarding internet of thing technology the company offers lower premiums to customers who change their driving habits choose less risky routes or use an automatic driving system this information is all possible by onboard devices that track vehicle useage and tendencies criticism of insurtechalthough many of these innovations are long overdue there are reasons why the incumbent insurance companies are so reluctant to adapt insurance is a highly regulated industry with many layers of jurisdictional legal baggage to deal with as such the major companies have survived this long by being incredibly cautious which has made them shy away from working with any startups let alone startups in their own very stable industry this is a bigger problem than it sounds as many of the insurtech startups still require the help of traditional insurers to handle underwriting and manage catastrophic risk that said as more insurtech startups garner consumer interest with a refined model and a user friendly approach they may find that the incumbent players warm to the idea of insurtech and become interested in buying up some of the innovation there is also a certain level of privacy that is relinquished when adopting insurtech methodologies consider tracking devices that can detect whether you actually stop at stop signs these devices also track your location the places you visit and how long you are at those locations for some this level of data collection and personally identifiable information is less preferable than the benefit received from the efficient innovation of insurtech 