Aviva's Paul Brencher has expressed his frustration with the slow take-up of digital medical records by GPs.
The director for UK insurance, health and protection said this had been one of this frustrations of 2017, saying it was putting off people from getting cover.
Mr Brencher said the increased use of digital technology would help GPs comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into effect later this year.
He said: "A reticence to change behaviour and reluctance to adopt unless mandated tells us that we may need a different approach in 2018. We need to continue to communicate the win-win benefits of a digital approach to medical records, benefiting customers, insurers and GPs, enabling improved efficiency and data security.
"It must surely play a part in helping the GP profession accommodate the requirements of GDPR, especially as our digital requests from them increase."
He said companies like Aviva must use its influence to encourage stronger medical industry support "or even mandate of a digital interaction as part of GP practice risk management".
"What is clear is that the current model is outdated and provides poor customer response, with the tragic risk of customers disengaging and never getting cover," he said.
Mr Brencher said that over the past two and a half years, the protection industry had been growth of around 17 per cent after several years of a "broadly flat" market.
He said: "Although this growth has slowed recently, the traditional market as we know it has moved on and there is innovation everywhere you look, from fintechs and new start-ups to sharing of digital medical records.
"It’s been a good year all in all and the groundwork has been laid for developments that look for new and creative ways to engage with the public."
As an example of this, Mr Brencher cited robo-advice, selfie quotes and the slicker use of digital medical records.
damian.fantato@ft.com
