Examining the Opportunities and Challenges of the Digital Transformation of Iran Insurance Industry

Authors: Dr. Tahereh Saheb, Vahideh Nurani, Seyed Mehdi Fatemi, Sogol Jalali, Abbas Emami, Mahdieh Chupani, Zahra Ashrafi

Coordinator: Dr. Ali Shayan

The ever-increasing expansion of digital technologies has changed the way organizations manage and make policies. Therefore, organizations face a phenomenon called digital transformation, which has become one of their most important concerns. One of the industries that is heavily influenced by this concept is the insurance industry, where a comprehensive assessment of the current situation and its capacities can help in effective policy making.

This research, by identifying the stakeholders and the value chain in the insurance industry, investigating the communication and interactions of the stakeholders of the insurance industry, evaluating the current situation of the digitalization of the insurance industry, evaluating the capacities of the insurance industry in the field of digitalization, identifying the obstacles and requirements of the digital transformation of the insurance industry, following the investigation Challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in Iran's insurance industry.

- Due to the breadth and diversity of the value chain of the insurance industry, policy making in this field is multi-dimensional and inclusive and requires the cooperation of all related actors.

- Various functions are involved in the development of digital transformation policies, which include guidance and goal setting, coordination and integration, formulation of laws and regulations, standards and licenses, evaluation and monitoring, etc. For this, the support, operational, middle and policy departments should work in an integrated manner.

- Entrepreneurship, research and development, innovation and its dissemination are of key importance in digital transformation policies, and part of it requires the activation and networking of institutions beyond this industry.

- The policy of digital transformation should lead to the preparation and improvement of the performance of supervisory bodies, insurance companies, agencies and even customers. According to the obtained results, it seems that the preparation of customers is relatively suitable and in case of organizational strengthening, we can expect a favorable performance in the future.

- The current focus of insurance companies and agencies is on digital marketing, online sales and CRM, and they have not gone much towards improving internal processes for the development of digital transformation. A large part of policies in the future should lead to improving the performance of organizations in using digital transformation in their processes.

- The point of view of many industry managers in the field of digital transformation is not complete and they do not consider it an inevitable and continuous process that the necessary training should be done for managers to conceptualize this matter.

- In the survey conducted in companies, the dimension of insight was the weakest dimension, which shows the weakness of top managers and the lack of top-level documents, so top managers should perform better in this field.

- The cultural aspect is the strongest aspect of insurance companies and agencies. Therefore, this opportunity should be used to strengthen organizations.

- Insurance agencies are extremely weak in the organizational dimension, and their small size and lack of appropriate structure has led to an obstacle for the development of digital transformation in them. Part of the policies in this area should be in the field of developing the organizational dimensions of these agencies.

- Due to the distance between the country's insurance industry and advanced countries in terms of technology, it seems necessary to simultaneously use role models and also the direct entry of advanced foreign companies into the insurance technology market (in the form of companies and other cases).

- Specific rules and regulations are necessary for the development of digital transformation at the level beyond the industry, industry and industry components.

- Public culture building for the development of digital transformation by involving community members and customers is an inevitable part of the development of digital transformation.

- At present, the situation of startups in this field is not favorable and it is necessary to encourage and provide financial and non-financial support to this field in order to be a stimulus for the development of this industry.

- Due to the importance of attracting and hunting digital talent, extensive policies and programs should be implemented to encourage talented people in this industry to provide the main source of this.

- The development of information infrastructure, especially networks and related systems, can be another area of the digital transformation policies of this industry.

- It is necessary to justify managers for the importance of allocating funds and financial support for digital transformation; Because some of them have not understood the importance of this field well.

- The need for pluralism and diversity in the field of service companies, digital mechanisms is felt by insurance companies so that this market is more competitive than before.

Keywords: digital transformation, Iran, insurance industry.

Investigating the Solutions of the Insurance Industry in the Face of Climate Change

Authors: Dr. Mohammad Reza Farzaneh, Faezeh Bani Mostafa Arab, Dr. Mohammad Javad Khordadi

Coordinator: Dr. Asma Hamzah

Climate change means any specific change in the expected patterns of average weather conditions that occur over a long period in a specific region or for the entire global climate. This phenomenon has caused an unusual change in the earth's atmosphere and has very diverse consequences that can start from the increase in temperature and ultimately affect the social foundations and security of societies. The climate changes will also increase the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events. One of the most important effects of climate change is the change in the intensity and frequency of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, storms, etc. In the conditions of the impact of different climatic and nonclimatic components on the phenomenon of climate change, various industries will not be immune from these consequences. One of the industries that are particularly affected by climate change is the insurance industry. The current research is defined according to the importance of this issue and to provide solutions for Iran's insurance industry to face climate change. For this purpose, while reviewing the state of damages caused by climatic events and its increasing trend and examining the effects of climate change on the insurance industry, to explain the necessity of the insurance industry's attention to the phenomenon of climate change, to examine international experiences regarding the solutions for the insurance industry to face the change We discuss the climate in developed and developing countries. Also, the current situation of the country in the field of risk management and attention to the effects of climate change has been examined, and preliminary solutions for the insurance industry to face climate change will be extracted, and finally, the general solutions for the insurance industry of Iran in the face of climate change will be extracted and the possibility of their implementation will be reviewed.

Keywords: climate change, global warming, insurance industry.

Study in Macro Economic Models and Comparison of Trends in Macroeconomic and Insurance Variables in Iran

Authors: Dr. Saeed Madadi, Dr. Farbod Khanizadeh

Coordinator: Dr. Farzan Khamesian

Modern approaches of econometrics are mixed with economic theories and have expanded the field of modeling and quantitative studies. Macro econometric models have been developed with different approaches such as quantitative analysis of relationships between variables, policy making and forecasting to understand the country's economy. Understanding the structure of the country's economy and explaining the relationships within it and using it for policymaking is the supreme goal of these models. It is necessary to explain, the development of an economic model is based on the basics, principles and assumptions that should be carefully considered during modeling. In fact, quantifying economic relations and presenting a comprehensive picture requires understanding the structure of the economy, and this itself must be based on the necessary principles and foundations and be designed based on the equilibrium function of the market system, the lack of effective demand, the level of prices, the level of wages and interest rates, etc. In this report, the connections and interactions of various macroeconomic and insurance variables have been investigated in order to choose the correct assumptions and to select and introduce the optimal model for modeling.

Keywords: macroeconomics, Iran, insurance industry.

The Mechanism and Regulatory Rules for Unit-Linked Life Insurance

Authors: Dr. Farzan Khamesian, Mahbubeh Abbaszadeh, Dr. Hassan Heidari, Jamil Seidi Moradi

Coordinator: Dr. Aziz Ahmadzadeh

Unit-linked life insurance policies (ULIPs) are known as plans composed of two components of insurance and investment, which their investment component is directly managed and measured through the purchase of units of an investment fund. This instrument can connect the insurance market and the capital market and cause the development of both of them. Because, it has priority over the capital market instruments through guaranteeing a minimum return, and it is superior to the current life insurance products via connecting the benefits of the insurance policy to the market return and the ability to hedging the benefits against inflation. Studying the regulatory rules and regulations governing the ULIPs shows the emphasis on transparency, the necessity of separation of the accounts, the necessity of retaining precautionary reserves, and tax exemption. However, launching this type of insurance in Iran is associated with challenges. In Iran's tax system, unlike many countries, almost all returns from capital gains are not subject to taxation. Inflation and high interest rates in Iran, in combination with the lack of tax inclusion, cause that the purchase and holding of durable assets, gold and foreign currency, to become a serious competitors of productive investments. The profit of underwriting in Iran is also low, which reduces the motivation of companies regarding this instrument. Therefore, despite its advantages, the motivation for demand and supply of this product is evaluated lower in Iran in comparison with other countries. The primary step to effective supervision on the ULIPs is the coordination and interaction with the Stock Exchange Organization (SEO) as the Iranian capital market supervisor. Also, the maximum transparency expected from investment funds requires the use of online software to calculate the NAV of the funds and provide daily reports for the fully disclosure of the funds' information in a mechanized manner. It is also necessary to conform the tax arrangements in such way that these investment units will not be subject to the laws of inheritance and inheritance tax as the property of the policyholders; otherwise, the motivation of the applicants for this product is suppressed.

Keywords: life insurance, unit-linked life insurance, inflation.