#TechVision

Insurance Technology Vision

Meet Me in the Metaverse

The continuum of technology and experience, reshaping business

From insights to action, the path to extraordinary value starts here.

Meet Me in the Metaverse

Insurance Technology Vision

Businesses in every
sector are entering
the new frontier of the
metaverse continuum.
Enabled by technology, creativity, and human and
social norms, the metaverse continuum will bridge
physical and digital personas, properties, and space.
The four trends of Accenture’s Technology Vision
2022 will drive expansion of the metaverse over
the next decade and present insurers with imminent
opportunities and challenges in the next five years.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

What insurers need to know

about the metaverse

The metaverse is ushering in the next wave of digital change.

Early entrants into the metaverse are building with various
intentions, purposes, and ideas for how to get it right.
Whether for an enterprise or consumers,
the metaverse has different platforms,
partners, and technologies at its core.

As the next evolution of the Internet, the

metaverse will be a continuum of technologies,
working together, to create immersive content
and experiences. The metaverse continuum
will elevate expectations for how insurers interact
with customers, what products and experiences
they design and distribute, and how they
operate their organizations.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

The foundational technologies Creativity is essential “Anything goes” doesn’t

of the metaverse continuum in the metaverse go in the metaverse
The metaverse continuum is being built The metaverse is still largely the domain of Regulations and respect for social norms
on a wide range of mature and emerging gamers. Their influence in these formative stages will be central to playing and working in the
technologies. These technologies include and demand for ever more imaginative content metaverse continuum. Insurance customers
artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and and experiences mean that the metaverse in the metaverse will be subject to many
virtual reality (AR/VR), blockchain, digital twins, continuum won’t be shaped by technology of the physical world’s norms, and insurers
edge technologies, cloud, digital currencies, alone—it will be shaped by human creativity. will be expected to help users engage safely
non-fungible tokens (NFTs), social platforms, with all kinds of virtual experiences.
ecommerce, and digital marketplaces. Insurers creating metaverse experiences will
require 3D artists, game designers, and experts Insurers will need to balance free expression
Many insurers are already deploying these on the platforms on which they plan to build with the imperatives of safety. The implications
technologies for a variety of business or partner. Interactive and spatial design, artistic will span security, marketing, customer
applications. What is new is how these direction, storytelling, and production design relations, claims, underwriting, and beyond.
technologies intersect, creating innovative will all play a central role in delivering compelling As was the case early in the rise of social
ways for people and organizations to interact, experiences for customers and employees. media, we might not yet foresee all ethical,
and giving rise to the metaverse continuum. reputational, and legal risks the metaverse will
surface. Insurers will need to remain vigilant
as regulations and customer expectations shift.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

Four trends shaping the future

In this Insurance Technology Vision, we explore how today’s innovations are becoming
the building blocks of the insurance industry’s future. Insurers who understand these
trends and what they mean for customers will gain a competitive advantage.

WebMe The Unreal

Putting the Making Synthetic,
Me in Metaverse Programmable Authentic Computing
World the Impossible
Our Planet, New Machines,
Personalized New Possibilities

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

WebMe
Putting the Me in Metaverse
The advancement of the metaverse and Web3— Given the seamless, decentralized nature of
and the convergence of the technologies upon Web3, formulating partnerships will be essential.
which they are built—may create the largest Leading insurers will accelerate their cloud
shift we have seen in digital technology since transformations, rebuild applications with
big tech platforms were mere startups. microservices architectures, and deploy open
Insurers face a daunting but exciting task application programming interfaces (APIs)
in building new platforms, products, and to accommodate upstream and downstream
services; securing technology; and identifying data flows with ecosystem partners.
the use cases and business models.

Given the seamless, decentralized

nature of Web3, formulating
partnerships will be essential.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

Programmable World
Our Planet, Personalized
Technology exists in our physical environments Items not thought of as programmable today
in increasingly sophisticated ways, with the may become programmable in the future.
borders between the real and digital worlds A car might be able to use sensors and AI
starting to blur. Technology advances like 5G to determine which parts are damaged and
are changing the way businesses access and initiate contact with a repair shop. Cars may
relate to the physical world, offering new levels even fix themselves. One innovative example
of control, automation, and personalization. comes from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) and Lamborghini who have
In insurance, devices such as AR glasses created a self-healing prototype that can repair
are transforming how insurers and their damage to its own carbon fiber components.1
customers interact with physical assets
or infrastructure. For example, a mechanic Today, we have sensors embedded in pipes that
could use AR glasses to inspect a vehicle can alert us to a leak, which can then be repaired
damaged in an accident, instantly accessing before it causes major damage or wastage.
data on parts needed for repair, including Tomorrow, these pipes could repair themselves.
inventory and costs. The adjuster and customer This could lead to less risk exposure for building
could watch remotely from their VR headsets owners that take advantage of programmable
or mobile devices. Or a customer that needs technologies and fewer claims for insurers that
to insure a building and its contents could encourage customer uptake.
don AR glasses and walk around the home or
business as an agent, sales rep, or even a virtual
assistant evaluates the items to be covered.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

The Unreal
Making Synthetic, Authentic
As technology advances, it will become more As bad actors take advantage of new attack
difficult to differentiate between real and fake. surfaces in the metaverse, insurers will play an
Consider the remarkable advances in deepfakes, essential role in mitigating the risk. Consider the
videos in which a person’s face or body has example of Attestiv. They use blockchain and AI
been digitally altered so that they appear to to authenticate uploaded photos, videos, and
be someone else. Deepfakes are typically documents.2 The platform helps organizations
used maliciously or to spread false information cut fraud losses, reduce reputational risks,
by making it seem as if someone said or did and automate with confidence.
something they didn’t say or do.

And as they interact via a chat window on

a website, customers are not always certain
whether they are talking to a virtual assistant
or a person. Unreal occurrences like these
create the potential for identity theft and fraud,
especially in the nascent years of the metaverse.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

Computing the Impossible

New Machines, New Possibilities
We will need staggering amounts of Items not thought of as programmable today
computing power to deliver on the promise may become programmable in the future.
of an interconnected, seamless metaverse. A car might be able to use sensors and
The outer limit of what is computationally AI to determine which parts are damaged
possible is being redefined as a new class and initiate contact with a repair shop.
of machines emerges. Quantum, biologically Cars may even fix themselves.
inspired, and high-performance computers
will soon enable companies to tackle once
intractable challenges in their industries.

The ability of insurers to quickly process

Items not thought of
enormous datasets from multiple sources
will transform risk modeling and decision as programmable today
effectiveness. Insurers stand on the precipice
of being able to take complicated scenarios, may become programmable
in the future.
such as weather models and climate change,
and assess risk with unprecedented accuracy.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

The five-year view: how the metaverse

will transform insurance

Over the next five years, the rise of the metaverse will begin
to influence every facet of insurance—from operations and
the workforce to distribution and revenue pools.
Here are some of the early ways we expect They will be able to offer training experiences
to see the metaverse transform insurers’ operations that are not otherwise possible and that offer
and their customer and employee experience. process enhancement and cost reduction in
areas like risk assessment or damage evaluation.
New workforce training experiences
An insurer can’t burn down a skyscraper in the real
Some insurance companies are already
world to train claims adjusters. In the metaverse,
experimenting with VR/AR as a way to train
an insurer can vividly show employees, individually
and upskill the workforce. As metaverse
or in a collaborative virtual group, what to look
technologies mature, carriers will seize the
for in the aftermath of a building fire or a natural
opportunity to scale these efforts up and
catastrophe. Or imagine the potential of using
offer deeper, richer experiences.
AI and VR to create training simulations, where
managers can learn how to navigate difficult
conversations with their teams.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

Shifting revenue to and within Distribution in the metaverse

the metaverse In much the same way the COVID-19 pandemic
One of the first opportunities many insurers will altered how most carriers conduct their
seize is creating parametric insurance products business, the metaverse could bring about a sea
that cover metaverse-specific risks, especially change in how consumers and insurers interact.
those around digital assets like blockchain-based The metaverse could offer an experience that
tokens and NFTs. According to Chainalysis, maintains the personal feel of face-to-face
fraudsters stole over $7.7 billion worth of interaction in a digital environment. Recreating
cryptocurrency in 2021, an 81% rise from 2020. the trust and human touch of the agent sales
Life insurers may branch into insuring virtual experience could help accelerate the move
lives—for example, digital avatars and characters to digital channels, offering brand value and
that users build, often at great expense, that access to new, tech-savvy customer segments.
could “die” inside the game or simulation.

According to Chainalysis,
fraudsters stole over $7.7 billion
worth of cryptocurrency in 2021,
an 81% rise from 2020.

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Meet Me in the Metaverse #TechVision

The expansion of the metaverse

While it is early days yet, the expansion of the metaverse

is inevitable. The metaverse continuum will bring
significant shifts in the way insurers do business.
As with any technology advancement, new areas
of risk will emerge. And customers will demand that
insurers be there to offer holistic risk mitigation
to help protect their interests as well as their assets.

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Authors Contributors About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company
Steve Murphy Allison Cone with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security.
Senior Managing Director Client Account Senior Manager
Accenture Technology, Insurance Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills
allison.cone@accenture.com
across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and
Consulting, Technology and Operations services and
Andre Schlieker Accenture Song—all powered by the world’s largest
Thought Leadership Research Senior Principal
network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent
Silvia Milian andre.schlieker@accenture.com
Managing Director Operations centers. Our 710,000 people deliver on the
Insurance, Europe promise of technology and human ingenuity every day,
Bidisha Chakraborti serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace
Research Associate Manager
the power of change to create value and shared success
bidisha.chakraborti@accenture.com
for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and
Todd Staehle communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Managing Director
Insurance, Accenture Song References www.accenture.com/insurance

1 “The Lamborghini Terzo Millennio concept is the poster

child for self-healing cars,”HotCars.com (May 20, 2022)
Venkat Viswanath
Managing Director 2 Attestiv (2022)
Technology, Advanced Technology Center,
Insurance Lead, India

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