Advances in communications technology have allowed traditionally distinct
financial businesses to keep instantaneous track of developments in other
businesses and compete for some of the same customers. Some insurance
companies now offer deposit accounts and mortgages. In the United States,
life insurance companies now sell more pension plans and other asset
management services than they do conventional life insurance.
Developments in computer technology that have given insurance providers the
ability to quickly access and process information have allowed them to
custom-design policies to fit the needs of individual customers.
Though the Internet offers tremendous access to information about prices,
it has done little to simplify the process of comparing the offerings of
different insurance policies and services. Therefore, consumers have
increasingly come to view insurance as a commodity, differing only in price
from provider to provider. This attitude may lead people to buy insurance
that does not give them the kind of coverage they need.
Other types of technology and scientific developments may also have great
effect on insurance. By providing a broad scope of new information about
people's medical predispositions, genetic testing has the potential to
redefine how providers of life and health insurance determine risk. In
addition, improvements in geological and meteorological technology have the
potential to change the way property insurers calculate risks of damage.
For example, as scientists improve their abilities to predict severe
weather patterns, such as hurricanes, and geological disturbances, such as
earthquakes, insurers may change how they provide protection against losses
from such events. In order to describe how IT application will affect
insurance companies, this thesis includes a description of IT application
and its affect in increasing customer satisfaction and decrease costs in
Asia Insurance Company in Iran.
The analysis shows that the IT appli...
