As with pretty much every industry sector, the insurance industry is faced with a new world due to the COVID-19 virus. Confronted with consumer fear of exposure to the virus, old business models relying on physical property inspections, paper documents and manual signatures suddenly feel obsolete and in need of immediate update. Today, insurers face difficult decisions about how to move away from dated processes and platforms and instead embrace external integrations, third-party solutions and virtual operating models.

The options offer stark choices, present challenging opportunities and have a sense of immediacy beyond any normal annual planning exercise. As a result, there is a long overdue, headlong rush to digital insurance models occurring at most or all insurers in the U.S. and around the world. As compared to other industries, legacy insurance has been slow to get on the digital bandwagon, and insurers are now scrambling to catch up with early adopters and InsurTechs.