On 21–22 May, the ICG Corporate Insurance conference was held in Saint Petersburg. Around 250 participants, including industry leaders, insurers, technology companies and brokers, discussed asset protection, claims settlement, digitalisation and cyber risks over the two days.
This was the twentieth anniversary conference, and one of the most notable in recent years.
Corporate insurance is on the brink of a large-scale technology transformation. Today’s technologies enable things that seemed impossible just a few years ago. We can now automate tenders, synchronize data between systems in real time, and remove manual work from processes that have run for decades in Excel and with scanned documents.
But one company alone cannot transform the industry. Moving from novelty to innovation takes more than technology — it requires trust, standards and a shared direction across the market. This is where the industry is currently struggling.
The difference between novelty and innovation
At one ICG conference session, moderator Nikolay Galushin, CEO of National Insurance Information System JSC (NSIS), raised an important question: what’s the difference between novelty and innovation?
At first glance, it may seem a matter of wording. A novelty is an idea, a concept or prototype intended to address a market challenge. An innovation is when the idea is implemented, scaled and changes outdated rules. In practice, there is a big gap between the two.
There is no shortage of ideas and ‘bright wrappers’ with little substance. But the industry lacks real innovation — novelties implemented at scale that fundamentally change how insurance is consumed, creating genuine value and driving the industry and wider economy.
To make this leap, market participants must take the hardest step — move beyond isolated corporate silos and join an open discussion about industry development.
How real innovation happens
History offers many examples of breakthroughs made not through competition, but by partnership.
Take the container revolution in logistics. Until the mid-20th century, cargo was shipped in mismatched boxes and barrels, with weeks lost on manual unloading. The breakthrough came between 1956 and 1961, when shipping companies, railways and ports agreed on a global standard for metal containers. Market players still compete fiercely for freight, but all use the same containers.
Another example is the USB Type-C connector. Electronics manufacturers competed for years, creating chaos with hundreds of unique cables and forcing people to carry bundles of wires. But the sector ultimately adopted one interface — because a universal standard was better for everyone. The competition stayed inside the products, while the charging infrastructure became common.
SWIFT is another case. Rival banks built a shared infrastructure for interbank communications because a common standard made more sense than building their own. Competition for clients remained — but the underlying infrastructure was a joint effort.
In Russia, under the Bank of Russia, the NSIS (National Insurance Information System) was launched as the single operator for automated insurance information. NSIS now consolidates data for motor classes (compulsory and motor own-damage insurance) and property insurance.
The Open Banking concept in Europe is similar. In 2018, PSD2 required banks to open APIs, driving explosive fintech growth. Competitors became partners within a unified ecosystem.
Russia’s Faster Payments System is another telling example. The Bank of Russia and NSPK built a single payment infrastructure and required major banks to join it. Sometimes regulation is needed to set a common standard. Industry players must lay the groundwork, and regulators can then support it.
Lloyd’s of London has operated since 1688 as a platform for competing insurers to pool risks that no single company could take on alone. This business model is built on the understanding that some tasks can only be solved together.
Corporate insurance in Russia faces a similar crossroads. Will the market choose to remain cautious observers guarding their local solutions, or drive collective transformation?
The illusion of competition and the power of synergy
Some companies develop closed solutions, hide behind NDAs, and fear that competitors will copy their ideas. But the paradox of the digital era is that real breakthroughs cannot be created in isolation. Data should not be duplicated — it should flow seamlessly between systems, delivering real value for clients.
A time for fearless collaboration
At AIINS from the start, we have chosen openness. We share ideas, show how we build the platform, explain the process and purpose of digitalising the insurance portfolio, and discuss our approach at conferences and in publications. We believe the only way to efficiently transform the market is to do it together.
At the conference, I saw something interesting. Several companies presented concepts close to what we have been developing and discussing for years. This is a positive sign — the trend we set is being picked up by others.
But these initiatives are still fragmented. Each company builds its own, stays closed, acts cautiously. This is understandable — it is a competitive environment with commercial interests. But at this stage, such behaviour holds everyone back.
If our work has helped you, or you use parts of it — excellent, we are proud of that. But let’s be open about it. Most importantly, we will stay open and welcome dialogue.
What will the corporate insurance market look like in 5–10 years?
Allow me to outline two scenarios.
First — the market keeps moving in isolation, a red ocean. Large insurers build their own solutions. Brokers create their own aggregators and interfaces for clients. Corporate policyholders must integrate with dozens of incompatible systems. Data syncs poorly, tenders run in separate interfaces. Automation exists, but it is closed and fragmented. Digitalisation is slow and costly for all.
Second — the market agrees on shared standards. Data on insured objects moves automatically between systems. Underwriting for complex corporate insurance is automated and uses big data. The policyholder gets offers from all insurers in a single format. Voluntary health insurance connects to HR systems without manual moderation. Tenders take just minutes. Company's insurance portfolios become manageable assets. The insurance market grows, trust increases significantly, all players gain more revenue and clients receive far greater value.
The second scenario benefits everyone — insurers, brokers, corporate and private customers. But it's only possible if we begin to talk openly with each other.
This is not a call to abandon fair competition. But agreeing on a common foundation is essential.
There are many possible formats: working groups, roundtables where professionals share cases and real challenges, propose solutions; open discussions on data standards; multi-company pilots.
The main thing is willingness to talk openly and take practical joint steps. We are ready for this.