What is metaverse?

This would be the internet of the future, where we would no longer navigate online on a two-dimensional screen thanks to web browsers, but through 3D avatars. It would be an immersion in 3D with the help of virtual reality helmets.

This universe has been designed to mirror the real world, where each participant will have the feeling of a "real presence". The appropriation, consumption of unique goods and investment in financial assets would then be possible after payment.

Metaverse: how did this virtual world come about?

The term "metaverse" is a literary concept that first appeared in 1992 in the novel "Snow Crash" by American writer Neal Stephenson.

This visionary work develops a theme that was new at the time: States are collapsing, dragged down by a loss-making economy. A handful of companies or giant firms take most of the power and rule over humans. To escape this fate, citizens use digital avatars to evolve in a virtual world.

The word metaverse is a contraction of "meta" meaning "beyond" and "universe". The theorization of the virtual world was therefore born, and from then on taken up by many films.

Video games have greatly facilitated the rapid evolution of this world. They offer participants in these games new experiences, notably with the introduction of certificates of digital authenticity (Non-Fungible Tokens, unique and therefore extremely rare goods).

Video games allow a certain immersion in this virtual universe. This is the case of Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Sorare, Illuvium or Ultra, to name only the most popular.

Development of metaverse

The GAFA [6]s are also keeping an eye on the virtual world. Facebook [7] is promoting it and investing in it. October 2021, the Silicon Valley company announced the recruitment of a task force of 10 000 employees to develop the "IT platform of the future".

For Facebook, this evolution is inevitable. As evidence of its commitment to this futuristic path, the company has changed its name to "Meta" instead of Facebook, as of last fall.

Since the 90s, the IT world has been forging ahead on the road to digitalization [8]. Technological innovations impact our daily lives at all levels. The rapid progress in telecommunications, which has gone from 2G to 5G in less than thirty years, is pushing the movement.

Entire areas of our environment will experience the same evolution. To move forward, not only must content be born directly in digital form, but the elements of the past must also be digitized.

It is thanks to this dynamic that the metaverse is growing. It is about providing customers with products, content and services on connected platforms through the Internet or the use of a connected object.

Businesses of all types, including insurance companies, will have to transform and integrate the digital age in all its aspects. Employees will be equipped with new tools, offer new kinds of products, and this will be reflected in the culture and services of the company.

For insurers, these digital developments stand as a challenge. It is essentially a question of evaluating the changes brought by the Metaverse to the profession. Another question is when should insurance products be introduced into the digital market? How and when will companies be able to participate and benefit from this virtual world?

The market value of metaverse

The market value of virtual objects, currently estimated at 50 billion USD, remains relatively small. According to specialists, the market potential allows a rapid development of its turnover which could quickly become quite significant.

According to specialists, the average annual growth rate of the metaverse is poised to reach 23% in the coming years. It is a safe to determine that insurers will not make the same mistake as they did during the first digital wave, on which they surfed late, thus sustaining a considerable delay on other industries.

With big data [9], insurance companies already have access to a multitude of data, which allows them today and even more tomorrow to analyze hazards and calculate premiums according to the risk incurred. Moreover, with artificial intelligence, the use of this virtual model will become more and more fluid. The metaverse is set to have a bright future ahead of it.