Abstract

Insurance are considered as one of the essential financial services. It reduces uncertainties and stimulates investment and innovation. However, many people still do not have access to this service due to the poor suitability of the product to the public, especially those of lower income, high costs and lack of knowledge. Based on the analysis of online services of 74 Brazilian insurers we argue that ICTs potentially mitigate these problems and bring customers closer, expanding insurance contracting and financial inclusion. We contribute to the ICT4D literature, related to financial inclusion, shedding light on the subject of insurance and benefits of online services. In methodological terms, we contribute with the presentation of techniques and models based on binary data which were applied to build an index that measures the degree of online service offering. Finally, to the practice, we identify different groups of insurers based on their digitalization stage.

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Transformação Digital das Seguradoras no Brasil: Uma possibilidade para Inclusão Financeira

Insurance are considered as one of the essential financial services. It reduces uncertainties and stimulates investment and innovation. However, many people still do not have access to this service due to the poor suitability of the product to the public, especially those of lower income, high costs and lack of knowledge. Based on the analysis of online services of 74 Brazilian insurers we argue that ICTs potentially mitigate these problems and bring customers closer, expanding insurance contracting and financial inclusion. We contribute to the ICT4D literature, related to financial inclusion, shedding light on the subject of insurance and benefits of online services. In methodological terms, we contribute with the presentation of techniques and models based on binary data which were applied to build an index that measures the degree of online service offering. Finally, to the practice, we identify different groups of insurers based on their digitalization stage.