Insurance isn’t being disrupted because it lacks technology — it’s being disrupted because it hasn’t fully learned how to use it. In this episode of the Scouting for Growth Podcast, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Annap Derebail, IBM’s Global Insurance Industry CTO (at the time within IBM Global Business Services, now in IBM’s Payments Center), to unpack what the future of insurance really demands: simpler operations, smarter use of data, and technology-led growth grounded in real business outcomes. Annap brings more than 20 years of deep architectural and industry experience, working with insurers worldwide to redesign systems, reimagine customer experiences, and modernise the very foundations of how insurance operates. His lens is refreshingly pragmatic: technology is not the strategy — business outcomes are. The conversation begins with the most visible pressure point: customer expectations. Today’s policyholders compare every interaction to Amazon or Google. They expect immediacy, relevance, and personalisation. For insurers, this means moving beyond static products and fragmented service journeys toward responsive, data-driven experiences that adapt to individual needs in real time. Yet Annap is clear: incumbents are far from disadvantaged. They hold two powerful assets that new entrants can only dream of. First, scale: retaining an existing customer is up to six times easier than acquiring a new one. Second, data: decades of transaction histories, interactions, and behavioural signals. The challenge isn’t access — it’s activation. Fewer than 10% of insurers, Annap notes, have truly realised the “data dividend” because data remains siloed, underutilised, and disconnected from decision-making. This is where reinvention becomes essential. Annap argues insurers must rethink not just risk models, but the relationship they want with customers. Instead of showing up only at claim time, insurers can become risk partners — offering personalised advice, preventative insights, and proactive engagement. By injecting intelligence into core processes like underwriting, claims, billing, and customer support, insurers can materially improve outcomes. One real-world example? A 15% reduction in customer churn through data-driven churn detection models. Operationally, the opportunity is massive. Around 60% of insurers’ costs are tied up in legacy IT systems. Modernising these environments — moving to cloud-based, API-driven, and SaaS-enabled architectures — unlocks flexibility, scalability, and speed. Cloud platforms allow insurers to respond dynamically to market demand, access global services, and dramatically simplify complexity that has built up over decades. The discussion also tackles automation with nuance. Underwriting and claims processes remain heavily manual, often requiring multiple hand-offs. Annap explains how AI and advanced analytics can triage cases intelligently — routing straightforward decisions to automation while escalating complex risks to human experts. The goal isn’t to remove people, but to ensure the right insights reach the right decision-makers at the right time. This episode is essential listening for: Insurance executives modernising legacy operations CIOs and COOs aligning technology with growth outcomes Leaders seeking to unlock value from enterprise data Insurers building resilience in an increasingly digital market As Annap makes clear, the future of insurance belongs to those who simplify relentlessly, use data intelligently, and modernise with purpose. Technology is the enabler — but growth comes from how boldly insurers choose to reimagine what they do with it.