Getty ImagesBENGALURU: Indian insurance firms, which depend on technology services vendors to man their IT processes, are increasingly building inhouse technology teams, eyeing data and analytics as core to their business strategy. The insurers have stepped up hiring from premier institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Statistical Institute. Some are also expected to increase the number of freshers hired to more than a couple of hundred.
Apart from coders, freshers with data analytics skills are the most sought-after, senior executives at the insurance companies said. “Most of the software services and development work was provided by the outsourcing companies. There was no IP (intellectual property) advantage,” said Girish Nayak, chief of customer service, technology and operations, at ICICI Lombard General Insurance. “The initial work on artificial intelligence (AI) started a year-and-a-half ago and we took help from a couple of startups. Very soon, we realised it is core to us, and our core business data is used.”
Fresh hiring from premier institutes would focus on emerging technology areas, he added.
IT professionals hired directly by insurance companies “understand business dynamics better and complete projects on time”, said K Manjula, chief of HR and Management Service, SBI Life. “We do see a growth in campus and lateral hiring of technology professionals. We are increasing the number of internal hires as they not only understand the products and processes better, but also handle internal people dynamics better to complete projects on time,” she said.
Own technology teams with newage skills become a must-have as the insurance sector looks to transform digitally. “Our reorientation journey began two years ago and one of the projects within this was upgrading our tech and digital capabilities to be future-ready,” said Goutam Datta, chief information and digital officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.
Apart from coders, freshers with data analytics skills are the most sought-after, senior executives at the insurance companies said. “Most of the software services and development work was provided by the outsourcing companies. There was no IP (intellectual property) advantage,” said Girish Nayak, chief of customer service, technology and operations, at ICICI Lombard General Insurance. “The initial work on artificial intelligence (AI) started a year-and-a-half ago and we took help from a couple of startups. Very soon, we realised it is core to us, and our core business data is used.”
Fresh hiring from premier institutes would focus on emerging technology areas, he added.
IT professionals hired directly by insurance companies “understand business dynamics better and complete projects on time”, said K Manjula, chief of HR and Management Service, SBI Life. “We do see a growth in campus and lateral hiring of technology professionals. We are increasing the number of internal hires as they not only understand the products and processes better, but also handle internal people dynamics better to complete projects on time,” she said.
Own technology teams with newage skills become a must-have as the insurance sector looks to transform digitally. “Our reorientation journey began two years ago and one of the projects within this was upgrading our tech and digital capabilities to be future-ready,” said Goutam Datta, chief information and digital officer, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance.
Get Unlimited Access to The Economic Times
