How can a 100-year-old insurer transform its business? Pinnacol Assurance has established Cake Insure, a subsidiary startup, to combine the strengths of a startup with the knowledge and scale of an incumbent. This model of innovation, an incumbup, offers a valuable alternative to more traditional transformation approaches.
Multiple Celent surveys have identified the top barriers to successful innovation / digital transformation. There are multiple innovation models from which to choose -- incubators / accelerators, insurtech startup partnership/ownership, hackathons, laboratories / centers of excellence, listening posts, and greenfield startups. Leading firms use multiple approaches. Choosing which are best for a firm is an individual decision which must account for the type of innovation sought (incremental vs. disruptive), the level of opportunity and/or threat, tolerance for risk, and cultural biases.
Given the barriers which insurers identify at in play during transformation, the greenfield approach has particular value, especially for disruptive transformation.
