Trend watching at Ageas

How do we prepare ourselves and our customers for the future? Watch the results of our 2021 Horizon Scan exercise and discover which trends will likely impact the insurance sector, and how we act upon them.

Trend watching at Ageas

Ageas thinks long term, and that thinking is structurally embedded within our strategy. It’s very natural for an insurer with long-term liabilities to think this way. Afterall, insurers need to be able to fulfil promises to customers even if it’s years from now. But its more than that… 


The world is changing at a rapid pace and the lives of our customers are also changing, with so many new trends emerging that have the capacity to impact and influence the status quo. And a similar degree of change applies to market dynamics and customer behavior in insurance. While there is a plethora of data available, working through the data and hype can be a complex proposition.

The 2021 Horizon Scan exercice

Trend scanning to stay future-proof

Through the work of our Think 2030 initiative, we are constantly looking to the future. An important part of that work is our annual Horizon Scan exercise allowing us to develop a vision on what trends are likely to impact the insurance industry. We scan and analyse numerous trends, helping the Group and our local entities to build scenarios and prepare for the future to come. While some trends may trigger challenges, others present opportunities to engage. 


In the most recent scan, we mapped 148 trends clustered into 10 megatrends. We combine the results of a large-scale internal survey with AI technology, screening the trend life cycle and its relevance to insurance. The comparison between these two viewpoints enables Ageas to capture the speed and significance of trends in an actionable manner.

Each trend is therefore categorized: 

  • No brainers: Short-term impactful trends that should be embedded in our current business plans. 
  • Speed-ups: Trends evolving faster than we think, which may demand immediate action. 
  • Alarms: Trends for which further investigation may be urgently required.
  • Observatory: Trends with considerable impact, but only to materialize mid/long-term.
  • Parking: Trends with very low impact on the insurance industry.


Trend monitoring, a matter for all

In 2022 we launched a brand new TrendTracker tool, which allows anyone at Ageas to access the results of the Horizon Scan any time and to benefit from the wealth of insights provided by our AI engine. This helps our people to identify new business opportunities and feed local strategic insights.