Why Risk Prevention Is Insurance’s Future

In this conversation, Anders Sørbo of If Insurance outlines how the insurer is moving beyond traditional coverage models and toward a more proactive, prevention-led approach — powered by increasingly mature technology.

Sørbo, who leads partnerships in the non-mobility area and explores new business opportunities across the Nordics, explains that the shift has been gradual but deliberate. For several years, If has been experimenting with connected technologies and digital solutions designed not just to process claims, but to prevent them from happening in the first place. The difference today, he argues, is maturity. The technology is no longer experimental. It is becoming robust enough to scale for large incumbents.

While it may be too early to claim full-scale transformation, Sørbo notes that early adopters are already showing promising results. Positive effects are visible across customer engagement, retention, and risk reduction. Importantly, customers themselves are driving expectations higher. Policyholders no longer judge insurers solely on smooth claims handling or competitive pricing. Increasingly, they expect help in reducing risk, minimising damage, and lowering their environmental footprint.

Property claims — particularly water-related damage — remain a growing concern across markets. By deploying preventive technologies, insurers can detect issues earlier, reduce losses, and ultimately provide more tangible value to customers. In this sense, prevention becomes a competitive advantage, not just a cost-saving measure.

If is currently scaling its initiatives in Norway and exploring expansion across additional Nordic markets. However, Sørbo acknowledges that market conditions vary significantly. Compared to the Nordics, the UK market presents more aggressive price competition and thinner margins, making experimentation and large-scale rollouts more challenging. Distribution structures also differ, with the Nordics operating through more consolidated, direct-to-consumer models.

Despite these differences, Sørbo believes the underlying logic holds everywhere: giving more back to customers through proactive support is universally valuable. Although AI dominates much of today’s industry conversation, he maintains that IoT and preventive technologies are now sufficiently mature to justify broader experimentation — even in highly competitive markets like the UK.

The broader implication is clear. Insurance is gradually shifting from a reactive industry that compensates for loss, to a proactive partner that helps customers avoid loss altogether. Technology is no longer simply a tool for efficiency; it is becoming a means of redefining the relationship between insurer and insured.

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