In a recent article published by The Insurance Lead, “Insurance innovation moves at a glacial pace. Mile Auto’s Fred Blumer thinks that’s about to change.” Author David Kaplan explores Blumer’s perspective on why the industry struggles to move forward and what might open the door to meaningful progress.
Key insights from The Insurance Lead interview with Mile Auto CEO Fred Blumer
Insurance leaders across carriers, MGAs, agencies, and operational teams will recognize many of Blumer’s observations. The perceived “slowness” of innovation is not just a cultural hesitancy — it is a structural reality shaped by fragmented regulation, entrenched systems, inconsistent data, and decades of technical debt. What his interview makes clear, however, is that these barriers are not immovable. Some of the industry’s deepest constraints can become catalysts for change when paired with simpler, privacy-forward approaches to data and underwriting.
Why insurance innovation feels stuck
For carriers and MGAs, this matters because so much of today’s modernization ambition collides with the weight of legacy technology. Even well-intentioned innovation efforts — usage-based pricing, real-time data ingestion, telematics integrations, machine learning underwriting — can get stuck in years-long pipelines because the underlying systems were never designed to support them. Leaders who feel caught between strategic pressure and operational immobility will find Blumer’s framing especially relevant.
Data quality is the real innovation bottleneck
A core insight from the article is that data quality and data philosophy are at the heart of this innovation bottleneck. Blumer’s argument is straightforward: the industry often collects more data than it can use effectively, or collects the wrong types of data altogether. Telematics programs, for example, depend on highly granular behavioral inputs that trigger privacy concerns, regulatory scrutiny, and customer distrust. Even when the data exists, carriers may struggle to integrate it into pricing engines, policy systems, or billing routines. The result is an innovation model that looks sophisticated but operates under brittle foundations.
A simpler path forward: clean, privacy-forward data
Blumer suggests an alternative approach — one that centers on clear, high-quality, minimally invasive data. His example, mileage-based pricing, offers a simple but powerful case study. Blumer argues that mileage alone accounts for a significant portion of underwriting variability for many drivers. If insurers can reliably verify mileage without hardware devices or invasive monitoring, they unlock a fairer, more transparent rating model while sidestepping the privacy and integration challenges that slow down telematics innovation. The insight here is not just about pay-per-mile; it is about designing products around data inputs that are clean, predictable, and operationally realistic.
This becomes especially relevant when considering the accumulation of technical debt across the industry. Many carriers operate on policy systems built decades ago, patched and expanded with new modules, vendor add-ons, and custom workflows as market needs evolved. Every new integration adds complexity. Every exception adds operational overhead. Every modernization project competes with maintenance of the existing stack. The resulting environment often makes “innovation” feel like a luxury rather than a practical path forward.
Yet emerging accelerators — the ones Blumer’s perspective hints at — suggest a way through. Privacy-first data models reduce both regulatory friction and consumer resistance. Light-touch digital tools allow carriers to introduce new pricing methods or intake processes without replacing entire systems. Growing low-mileage customer segments create natural proving grounds for targeted innovation. These are not moonshot technologies; they are strategic levers that reduce the cost and complexity of moving forward.
What leaders can do now
For leaders considering their next steps, this raises immediate opportunities. Auditing the current book of business to identify low-mileage or occasional-use drivers can reveal mispriced segments that would benefit from a usage-aligned product. Evaluating data collection practices — not just what data is gathered, but why — can help streamline decision-making and reduce operational burdens. Prioritizing data cleanliness over data volume can improve underwriting performance without requiring deeper integration projects. And running small-scale pilots, rather than large-scale platform overhauls, offers a realistic approach for testing new models within the constraints of legacy systems.
A brief excerpt from The Insurance Lead article captures the tension well: “Innovation in this industry doesn’t fail because people don’t see the opportunity. It fails because the systems underneath aren’t built to move with it.”
This comment reflects a truth familiar to many in insurance operations: ambition alone cannot overcome infrastructure that wasn’t designed for modern use. But as Blumer suggests, the goal is not to replace everything at once — it is to identify the areas where innovation is most feasible, most needed, and most aligned with customer expectations.
From ReSource Pro’s perspective, the article underscores a broader industry reality: successful innovation happens when product design, operational capability, and customer behavior are aligned. Many organizations feel pressure to “catch up,” but meaningful progress rarely begins with large, multi-year transformation programs. Instead, it begins with decisions about data hygiene, targeted segmentation, and operational clarity. It begins with choosing innovations that fit the system you have, not the system you wish you had. And it begins with understanding where customer needs — such as the growing population of low-mileage drivers — create opportunities for new products that are simple, fair, and scalable.
As insurers evaluate the next wave of change, Blumer’s perspective offers a practical reminder: progress doesn’t require reinventing the industry. It requires removing friction, improving data quality, and building products that make sense for how people actually drive and live today. When organizations shift from chasing innovation to enabling it, the “glacial pace” starts to melt.
Source: Insurance innovation moves at a glacial pace. Mile Auto’s Fred Blumer thinks that’s about to change.
Author: David Kaplan
Publication: The Insurance Lead
Original Publication Date: October 28, 2025
