Disruption, information revolution, robo advice - something big and transformative is happening in our industry, something that is changing the way insurers do business, forever.

We keep hearing how new technologies could cause insurers to be disintermediated altogether. At best, the story goes, the way insurers respond to the changing habits of consumers is going to determine their success.

But a lot of what insurers understand by 'disruption' is fragmented or abstract - or perceived as just not relevant to their marketplace. So what is actually happening?

We decided to find out what the future holds for the global insurance business, as mobile technology, artificial intelligence and telematics permeate consumers' lives.

Instead of taking the route of presenting and sharing our thoughts first, we went into listening mode talking to clients, thought leaders, top academics, established insurtechs, start-ups, accelerators and innovation labs around the world about what important changes are taking place that will shape the future of the insurance business.

Our team visited London, Edinburgh, Dublin, New York, Stamford, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Cape Town and Johannesburg to conduct the research. The result is a fascinating picture of how customer relationships are changing and converging - and, importantly where they are diverging because of demographic or cultural differences.

Many of our clients will already be familiar with the documentary film we created to showcase the research called The Incredible Curious Adventure. In this 10-part podcast series we delve a little deeper into some of the key themes uncovered.

And there's a lot to take in - how apps are driving the 'transformation economy' and how there is a switch from visual to auditory interfaces like Siri, for example; how the personal avatar is evolving and how the battle to own it is underway.

But, we didn't do this research just for 'infotainment'. We want to spark discussions with our clients and encourage them to become thought partners with us. We want to be challenged and, if we see the potential for a new approach, we're prepared to take the extra steps needed to help realise a new concept.

The time is right. As one of our interviewees says, millennials are starting to trust neo-banks; they're starting to trust insurtechs and fintechs, more than they would trust established brands: "Technology is showing that it can solve the trust issue better in most cases than brands and history and even regulators."

But the future doesn't have to be dystopian. We can get it going together - in a way that benefits everyone. Indeed, we are already working with a number of companies that we believe offer brilliant solutions to many of the complexities involved in shaping insurance 4.0.

Find out more about the Gen Re approach and how you can start your own dialogue with us here. In the meantime we hope you enjoy the first podcast.