By: Pratik Menon, Consultant, CSTG - LTI

The rapid digital evolution in wireless coverage has changed the landscape, pace and dynamics of doing business in the last two decades. Remember the dial-up connection days? Today, we are living in the 4G age with ground-breaking technologies like IoT, ML, robotics, AI, big data and analytics, which are all set to power the businesses of tomorrow. The million-dollar question is whether these next-gen technologies can leverage the 4G network of today for connecting future-ready enterprises? The simple answer is no.

A prime example of an industry which has lost ground thanks to challenges in connectivity and technology is insurance. Here’s why:

• Higher latency requirement in IoT devices
• Increased risks and disasters due to lack of real-time exchange of data
• Inefficient claims management process

5G connectivity might well be the solution. If 4G was the ‘everyone connected’ era, 5G is going to be the ‘everything connected’ era.

The 5G assurance for insurance

5G can fortify an entire ecosystem of smart connected devices and IoT intelligent sensors to communicate and share vital data. Here’s how the insurance sector can leverage the power of 5G and IoT:

• Proactively reduce risks or prevent disasters from happening with improved data communication between IoT devices and insurers
• Commercial and marine insurers can harness 5G network to track shipments in real-time, which could potentially transform risk assessment in this sector
• Healthcare insurers can leverage 5G by improving data exchange between healthcare providers, fitness and medical trackers, patients and health insurers. This will enable them to create customized health and life insurance products for consumers

Here’s a case for 5G in insurance. Imagine a fire hazard takes place at an insured’s house. Superior broadband speed and reliability of 5G can communicate to both the insured and the fire brigade with minimal TAT and 0% failure rate.

Autonomous vehicles shift into fifth gear (5G)

Automobiles will leverage 5G networks to communicate and share data with other vehicles and insurance companies in real-time resulting, in advanced UBI solutions, which can trace real-time traffic and geospatial analysis with 10X lesser network latency than 4G resulting in accident-free roads. 5G could transmit messages between sensors and computer systems to make decisions in less than 2 milliseconds. In case of an accident, autonomous cars will generate real-time data and reports, which will assist auto-insurers to investigate and make expeditious settlement of claims.

The rise of drones

5G technology will also make drones more reliable and efficient thanks to better cellular connectivity, resulting in seamless operations through low-latency and high-speed communication. Insurers will be able to capture and process images in real-time for underwriting and claims segments.

5G – the flipside

Like every new digital technology, 5G has the power to revolutionize the insurance sector but it also comes with its set of risk factors. According to Swiss Re Institute’s SONAR report on emerging risk trends, 5G network poses a potential health risk because of its electromagnetic fields and Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) waves. In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified RFR as a potential 2B carcinogen. Another area of concern is cyber risks, as hackers can steal large volumes of data between devices and sensors in a matter of seconds.

The network for tomorrow

These concerns apart, 5G is set to be the lubricant for all exponential technologies. Unlike its predecessors, 5G is far more secure, stable, reliable, faster and energy efficient which is the need of the hour for claims settlement. It’s almost 20 times the broadband speed of 4G technology and can connect to a million devices in less than a mile thus, enhancing customer experience. No wonder then, that entities ranging from Amazon to SpaceX are in the process of launching a plethora of new satellites that have the potential to carry extra bandwidth. Various telecom companies are planning to rollout 5G chips by 2021.