International Health Insurance Forum 2023 Middle East
International Health Insurance Forum 2023 Middle East was planned in Bahrain on 10th to 12th September 2023 and has discussed some of the prospects and challenges for the global insurance industry. Hash Piperdy, FIA (GM BADRI KSA) presented BADRI to give an outlook of the global wearable industry, its growth curve and how it is impacting underwriting and risk aversion decisions for Insurance Companies.
Over 1.1 billion devices estimated in 2022. Growth within the wearable devices market is largely being powered by sales of smartwatches but there is also huge growth in medical grade wearables for chronic conditions. On the flipside global wearable technology market was valued at USD 39 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.4% during the forecast period till 2030.
The foremost factors causing a substantial reliance of insurance companies on wearables include improved risk selection and pricing, innovate with wellness incentives, more frequent customer engagement and potential for additional revenue.
Likewise, the middle east market has also delved into the wearable marketplace as Tawuniya KSA launched last year, that depicts the huge potential for the region. Handling big data is not as challenging as it used to be as it can easily be incorporated into underwriting and pricing now (similarly to telematics for motor insurance). It allows for products tailored to chronic conditions with more affordable rates (e.g., diabetics). It was also emphasized that data privacy concerns should be addressed with transparency. Most importantly we need to ensure individualized data driven rating does not result in discrimination.
