How the UK Financial Services Industry is Embracing Tech

Financial services such as mortgages and insurance are traditional businesses and the services have existed for hundreds of years. But today, providers are realising that they need to embrace IT and technology to gain a competitive advantage. 

Particularly in the 21st century, these traditional companies are using more technology to manage their workflow and sales funnel more efficiently, whilst providing better underwriting and funding processes. We hear from two industry leaders to understand how they are embracing technology.

James Anderson, Operations Director, MT Finance (Specialist lender) commented:

“As a customer-centric business, we would find it hard to operate in the way that we do without a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.” 

“Our CRM system provides a central view of all the interactions we have with our brokers, borrowers, and solicitors, so we can immediately see how a case has progressed, enabling us to provide a first-class service to our clients.”

“We have also used an internal messaging platform for the staff during the pandemic and this has proved extremely useful. This facilitates a channel for instant messaging which bypasses traditional email and can be more responsive and collaborative amongst the team. We really value this form of tech and for the team, it frees up their emails which are now external parties or clients only.”

“At MT Finance, there is a real thought process behind the technology that we deploy. It’s so important to make sure that tech always augments the one-to-one relationships which are at the heart of our growing business.”

Simon Taylor, Founder of Get Indemnity (Insurance broker) commented: 

“Technology continues to be the largest stimulant of change in the insurance sector. Growth opportunities have typically favoured organizations that have been able to adopt new technologies quicker than others - and this can be new companies, not the old, larger, corporate ones that are tied down by too many processes.”

“The largest barrier to implementing new technologies have been outdated systems. This has created opportunities for smaller and more nimble organizations to take advantage of a range of technologies from API’s, IoT, big data, AI, blockchain, advanced automation, and cloud computing.”

“The new wave of open has unlimited potential, but the untapped potential of the insurance market remains obvious. With changes to where we work, how we work, and the time spent completing administrative tasks well underway, the future looks increasingly bright.”  

“To grow the insurance industry further, we will need to make insurance more affordable to individuals and businesses that currently do not purchase it. The issue of underinsurance remains a real challenge and can have devastating effects when the safety net isn’t there to protect them or their customers.”

“The insurance industry is closely following the banking industry to allow for better connectivity. The chance to capture and transfer detailed risk information between third parties will create efficiencies and offer opportunities for participants that can pass those savings on to the customer.”