Insurance giant AIG (AIG), under pressure to break itself up from both activists and retail investors, could solve its profitability issues and shake up a stagnant industry by embracing modular insurance products, potentially even under the ownership of a major technology company like Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Citi analyst Todd Bault proposed Tuesday.

MODULARITY: With insurance giant AIG facing increasing pressure to break itself up, Citi’s Bault hypothesized Tuesday that greater modularity, and perhaps even a buyout by a major technology player like Google, could be “exactly what AIG and the insurance industry needs.” The convoluted nature of insurance has hindered innovation for decades and Bault argued that a modular approach — with components of complex insurance products assembled on the fly — would not just be cheered by investors but also advance the insurance industry and society itself. That said, despite advances in technology and data processing seemingly paving the way for such an approach, AIG remains prohibitively interconnected, the analyst said. One possible “audacious” solution, according to Bault, is for Google to buy the company and turn it into an “insurance FinTech laboratory.” Given AIG’s declining share price and its recent commitment to modular disclosure and data science, there is “real opportunity” for a major tech firm to target the company, though Bault concedes that “of course Google could not literally own an insurer owing to the volatility.”

PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of AIG are down 1.15% to $52.39, while its peers American Financial Group (AFG) and Chubb (CB) are up 0.9% and 1.75%, respectively.