Representatives of insurance companies worldwide say they know they must innovate, and quickly, if they are to remain competitive. But nearly half of those in a new survey say their employer is not supportive of the level of innovation that current market conditions demand. KPMG gathered online input from nearly 300 insurance executives worldwide, and dug deeper with one-on-one interviews with more insurers.

What the researchers concluded was that a group of innovation-driven insurance companies will likely take the industry lead as others struggle to break out of tradition-bound ways of doing business.

Fully 83 percent of respondents acknowledged the need to innovate internally. But 48 percent said they feared their employers weren't sensing the urgency of the situation. "While insurance executives overwhelmingly know that innovation will drive future competitive advantage and growth, most seem to be struggling to kindle the spark within their organization," KPMG said. The push for innovation is coming from many quarters.