While a lot of organizations are bringing in new technology to solve their legacy system problems, others aren’t willing to spend multiple millions without looking at alternatives. Many of these are finding “legacy modernization” brings much of the benefit without an eight-figure price tag. Why Modernize? Gartner’s recent survey; “Top 10 Technology Trends Impacting Life… Read more »
HR and Big Data: A Marriage Made in Analytics Heaven?
At a Business Analytics Summit in Toronto, the sponsor, IBM, opened one session by asking the question, “Which reporter was fired because she was ‘unfit for TV’?” The answer was “Oprah Winfrey.” The session, entitled “Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Outstanding Human Capital,” focused on the use of Big Data and Analytics to improve accuracy in … Read more »
Insurance, Technology, and Innovation: Cruising to Success or a Fast Ride to Nowhere?
Innovation is certainly the rallying cry for the current era. We wonder if, by trying too hard to innovate without looking at a bigger picture, we are pushing ourselves into uncharted and unprofitable territory. We’d like your thoughts. To boldly go where we might not want to be…. Insurance & Technology’s Nathan Golia alludes to… Read more »
Are You Asking Your Customers to Wait 2½ days for an Auto Quote?
There’s an old saying about how surgeons sometimes have a narrow view of success: “The operation was a success; too bad the patient died.” A recent report on insurers’ responses to digital consumers could update this: “The marketing campaign exceeded expectations; too bad we didn’t write any business.” It looks like marketers and communications people… Read more »
Brokers: It’s not Paranoia, They Are Out to Get You
Two recent announcements suggest that on-line retailer competition for consumers’ mind and wallet share is trending towards insurance. They are using the most potent weapon in the consumer market arsenal: Data. And they are targeting one of the central value points of independent distributors: Choice. There is a glimmer of hope, interestingly offered by a… Read more »
UBI and Brokers: Ticket to Ride or Highway to Hell?
By all accounts, telematics-enabled usage-based insurance (UBI) is making steady progress in the Canadian insurance market. In spite of active leadership by several broker associations, there does not seem to be consensus among front-line brokers as to what role they should, or could, play with new product and service models driven by UBI. We’re wondering… Read more »
The Internet of Things & Impact on Insurance: A Matter of Give and Take
The Internet of Things (IoT) has entered the mainstream and will impact many parts of our lives. Insurance will be subject to disruption at levels never seen before. The IoT will eliminate certain risks (good for insureds, not so good for insurers) but will also introduce new risks and new methods of underwriting existing risks,… Read more »
What Happens When Consumers Know More Than We Do?
A colleague of ours was recently bemoaning the lack of interest that insurers and brokers are taking in new developments such as social and usage-based insurance. Our friend suggested that without a working knowledge of operational tools, such as social media, and technologies such as telematics, we’re falling behind our customers and won’t be able… Read more »
Are Three Legs Enough to Keep the SEMCI Stool Stable?
We recently posted on the current state of Single Entry, Multiple Company Interface (SEMCI) between independent distributors and insurance carriers. In spite of consensus on objectives and serious time, energy, and money spent over almost five decades, we are nowhere near a critical mass which would allow realization of the benefits promised. In this post,… Read more »
AXA: Just a One-Bullet Digital Insurer? (We Think Not)
Recently, our friend Denise Garth from SMA posted a blog on a ‘game-changing’ announcement: AXA France and Facebook entering into a strategic partnership. This post has quickly made the rounds and caused the count of exclamation marks in emails and tweets to increase geometrically, as other insurers try to absorb the implications of a global… Read more »
Broker Connectivity: Can This Circle Be Unbroken?
A recent post on the popular Canadian Insurance Strategy Group’s LinkedIn site generated numerous comments that provided a recap of the past plans, present status, and future desires for broker connectivity. The result reminded us of the old quip: “When all is said and done, there is much more said than done.” We would like… Read more »
Changing Driver Behaviour – Can UBI Deliver?
Clearly audible amid the buzz surrounding UBI in Canada is the expectation that it will be effective in changing driver behaviour, i.e., it will help drivers improve their skills. This is exciting because a corollary of improved skill is reduced loss costs making changing driver behaviour an important selling point for insurers contemplating a push… Read more »
Insurance-Technology 4.0: Are We on the Cusp?
Since the dawn of modern business computing, there have been three major generations: business scaled computers, personal computers, and the Internet. Each of these has had distinct characteristics and distinct implications for the insurance industry. A very wise mentor of ours refers to these as the ‘Generations of the Previously Unthinkable,’ due to the wide-ranging,… Read more »
Is IT’s Elevation of Role Raising Risk Levels?
The profile and influence of IT are expanding — rapidly. Business leaders speak about the integral role of IT in modern commerce. We see lots of articles saying that IT is one of the growing professions. Even the NASDAQ is supporting pretty aggressive multiples on technology stocks with little talk of a bubble. It’s a… Read more »
Independent Agents and the Disappearing Internet: The Road to Insurance 2024
Recent research suggests that the Internet, and related social functionality, is becoming ‘invisible’ — simply blending into, and augmenting, our normal activities. This is not just a theoretical construct for leading independent insurance agents and brokers, as the experience of a six-person independent insurance agency demonstrates. We’d like your thoughts on the phenomenon of the… Read more »
Who Owns the Client? A Modest Proposal
When we first started working with independent distributors in the insurance industry (around the time the wooly mammoths were roaming Southwestern Alberta), one of the first liquid lunch debates focused around the ownership of the client. We recall that the debate was long, intense, and came to no conclusion. At the recent Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference,… Read more »
ICTA2014: And the Winners Are … Portals? (Not)
When the votes were all cast, the winners of this year’s Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards (ICTAs) have one factor in common: All of the winners implemented portals. Does that make this the Year of the Portal? Not in our mind. We’d like your thoughts. First, who are the Winners, and what about portals… At a ceremony… Read more »
BMS Vendors bring their A-games to #ICTC2014; What do YOU want to know?
The challenge from Randy Carroll, CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario, was simple: “We want the brokers to see the BMS vendors’ best products for the present and their plans for the future. Tell them to bring their A-Games.” With the active cooperation of Randy and his team at IBAO, we think we’ve… Read more »
Cloud, Agility, Innovation: Is This the New Holy Triangle?
IT professionals are familiar with the sacred triangle of projects: Scope, Resources, Time. The idea is that, as in a right triangle, the scope of a project will drive the requirements for resources assigned and the time allocated for the activities. It seems that there is another triangle forming in the sky, suggesting that the… Read more »
#ICTA2014 – Celebrating Integrated & Customer-Focused Solutions
The 2014 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards (#ICTA2014) will be presented on March 17, 2014. Green will be the theme, not only in honour of St. Patrick’s day; all of the finalists are leaders in greenfield territory, implementing innovative solutions in support of insurance excellence. As we noted in this space in January, most of the nominations… Read more »
Core Modernization: Standard vs Bespoke Implementations
A large proportion of insurers are either planning or executing replacement projects for core business systems. The majority of these center around the soon-to-be “new” policy administration system (PAS), targeting the needs of internal users. After all, underwriting and policy issuance are really the core activities of insurance companies, aren’t they? And internal efficiencies are… Read more »
UBI: An Innovation in Insurance – Really?
In 2012, the top five connected apps projected by 2020 were: car, clinical monitoring, security, assisted living and . . . “pay-as-you-drive insurance.” In 2013, usage-based insurance stayed in the top 10 predictions for Machina Research. In support of insurance apps, telematics has definitely arrived! Globally, more than 130 insurers have launched UBI products. Will… Read more »
It’s a Big (Data) World Out There
Most of the buzz around big data focuses on marketing, for good reason. However, there are myriad additional applications for Big Data; separately, they are significant, and together, they can transform insurers’ external and internal activities. Big Data and analytics will be important topics at the 2014 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference next month. In advance, we’d… Read more »
The Road Ahead for Auto Insurance is Paved with UBI
Intact’s recent announcement that it will launch a UBI program in Ontario this April is a clear indication that the model has come of age in Canada. Other telematics-enabled auto insurance programs have come to market recently in Canada, including Quindell’s Ingenie and Desjardin’s Adjusto programs, but Ontario is the nation’s largest market and Intact… Read more »
2014 Imperative: Execute New Technology Initiatives Effectively
Over the last few years, it seems we have entered yet another era of dramatic changes in technology and applications in the insurance industry. We have seen new core administration systems based on modernized technology, applied analytics tools and engines, usage-based insurance programs, tapping into telematics devices, etc. There is increasing reliance on cloud-based services,… Read more »
Telematics: Thinking Beyond Discounts
Telematics insurance announcements continue for Canada. Up to this point, the enticement for drivers has been price. However, there are indicators that price efficiency is only a start for customer engagement with Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) programs. The Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference will provide a forum for examining alternative approaches. In a run up to that, we… Read more »
Google Embedding Innovation in its Insurance Foray
‘Innovation’ is becoming a key driver for business generally, and insurance specifically. While there has been some hyperbole around the topic, we have found a few insurance industry analysts who have looked hard at the disruptive innovations that are beginning to be seen in the insurance domain. We recently featured a post from Celent’s Mike… Read more »
Watson Revisited: Retired Jeopardy Player or Underwriter of the Future?
In 2011, IBM launched Watson, a sophisticated intelligence platform, with much fanfare, driven in part by its ability to beat humans in the TV game show Jeopardy. However, commercialization of the product thereafter didn’t get the expected traction. Rather than pull back, IBM recently announced a further US$1 billion investment in the newly named… Read more »
Brave New Brokers in The Changing Reality
People ask me why I am so passionate an advocate for ORBiT. Simple: ORBiT members, me included, believe there is no “one” right technology solution for our industry, but there is just one best practice workflow that starts at the broker’s fingertips. Assuming that is in place, there are many options for technology solutions to… Read more »
Innovation in Financial Services Firms – The Leadership Gap
Last week, Celent held a webinar to report out on the results of a survey of 110 financial services professionals conducted in October 2013. The objectives of the survey were to: 1) gauge the importance of innovation to business strategy, 2) identify key benefits from innovation, and 3) detail the common barriers to implementation. The… Read more »
Balancing Digital & Personal Communications: Twitterus Vobiscum?
Pope Francis weighed in on balancing digital and personal communication last week. While His Holiness was focusing on good works and matters of the soul, His words reflect what analysts and consultants are finding to be good counsel in creating a balance between digital and personal communication concerning matters of insurable interest. Communication will be… Read more »
UBI Opportunities and Industry Consolidation: Find Both at #ICTC2014
It seems the potential demand for usage based insurance in Canada just got a whole lot bigger last week. And consolidation is accelerating the opportunities. The 2014 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference (#ICTC2014) will be a good place to get more information on trends and directions in this important area. UBI providers are consolidating Desjardins is already… Read more »
ICTA2014: The Total Connectedness of IT All
In preparation for an upcoming meeting of the Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Awards (ICTA) Jury, we have had the opportunity of reviewing all of the nominations for insurers. We are struck by two related themes. First, it is not a specific technology or implementation that is important, but how systems and processes can be brought together to… Read more »
Hybrid Clouds, Integration, and the Cost of Gas: A Modern Parable
Advancements in cloud computing have create new opportunities and real dangers for insurers. Lower cost of ownership, ease of maintenance, and the ability to focus on core competencies must be balanced against legal risk and data security. Regardless, I believe it is inevitable that our technology solutions of the future will be delivered in hybrid… Read more »
ICTC2014: Focus On The Core (Plus More)
Core Insurance Systems replacement will continue to be a major thrust for many insurers and brokers in 2014, according to virtually all insurance technology prognosticators (present company included). Data suggest a majority of insurers are at various stages from planning to almost-completed. Some projects are going well. Others need some re-examination. All can benefit from… Read more »
Insurance and The Internet of Things
Last week, we penned some thoughts on trends in insurance and technology for 2014. These included items which have received attention in this space and elsewhere: Modern Admin Systems, Cloud Technology, and Telematics/Usage-Based Insurance. We added in one that is just climbing out of the geeky world and hitting the horizon of business: The Internet… Read more »
Imperatives for the Next-Gen Insurer
A recent report from analyst firm SMA provides an update on business and technology imperatives that insurers are addressing in order to grow and compete. The fifth annual report – SMA Top 10 Imperatives for Insurers, 2014 – notes that the priority levels of various items have changed as the thinking in the industry has… Read more »
2014 in the Headlights
It’s time for our annual attempt to read tea leaves for the coming year. We’ve picked a few of the major developing areas. We also see a larger trend which may begin to manifest itself in 2014. We’d like your thoughts on our prognostications and we welcome your forward-looking thoughts. Have a read and let… Read more »
2013: Analytics, a Soupçon of Engagement, and Disruption
Back in the early hours of 2013, we took our crystal ball out and came up with some trends we saw forming on the insurance-technology horizon. Here’s a synopsis of what we thought then and what we know now. Megatrend: Purposive Analytics We saw the strategic and operational use of analytics as an overarching trend… Read more »
Which Comes First, Technology or Insurance?
Back in the day (the first decade of the 21st century or so), there was a lot of talk about ‘alignment’ between technology and the business of insurance. We got some sense this year that alignment might be turning into interleaving, with technology and the business of insurance becoming a more singular entity. We’ll offer… Read more »
Real-Time: Can Marketers Drive A New Business Model for Insurance?
Real-Time is more than a slogan for inter-connectivity between insurers and brokers. It has become a marketing imperative which insurers as well as brokers need to include in their business and technology plans. The 2014 Insurance-Canada.ca Technology Conference will be the place to be to understand these developments and the roles that need to be… Read more »
Latest Prediction on Agents’ Future: Old News or New Challenges?
In September 2013, McKinsey & Company published a report on the future of agents in P&C insurance distribution. It contained some dire predictions for both captive and independent agents in the US. The major independent agent associations disagreed with the premises and conclusions of the report. We think that there are some important truths in… Read more »
Which Next-Generation Technologies Hold Promise of Innovation for Insurers?
What’s a good way for insurers to jump-start the innovation gate into the land of customer experience? The answer, according to recent SMA research¹, is utilization of five next-generation technologies. We’re wondering if there is a direct line between technology and innovation, or if some insurers are getting a little seduced by technology. We’d like… Read more »
A Unique Broker Opportunity: Technology, Customization, and Zero Distance
Increasingly, consumer-facing organizations are using technology to offer a customized experience to their customers. It is part of a trend referred to as mass customization aimed at delivering products and services reflecting customers’ individual tastes and preferences, at prices that translate into superior value. Mass customization and zero distance Companies’ adoption of mass customization is… Read more »
Insurance Marketing Word of the Year
Oxford Dictionaries has just announced its word of the year. We would like to nominate this for the Insurance Marketing Word of the year as well. We invite your thoughts. And the word is … … ‘Selfie‘. For those who didn’t know, the definition of Selfie is: “a photograph that one has taken of oneself,… Read more »
SalesForce.com and Insurance: Putting a Many-Headed Hydra into the Game
After attending Dreamforce — the annual Salesforce.com in-person event — and listening to several presentations from insurance users, we believe that the use of SalesForce.com products and services has the potential to be as powerful as the business strategy it supports. If you are using or evaluating SalesForce.com, we are interested in your impressions. A… Read more »
Can Brokers Create and Seize the Future?
After attending recent industry meetings and planning sessions, we are convinced that independent brokers in Canada are at a pivotal point. On one hand, there are increased threats to the broker from a number of fronts. At the same time, brokers are seeing the market space with fresh eyes and a stronger commitment to serving… Read more »
Can Insurers Break Through to a New Plane of Digital Engagement with UBI?
Reports indicate that insurers have hit a low plateau in the implementation of consumer engagement strategies using digital technologies. There may be a unique opportunity, in the form of Usage-Based Insurance (UBI), which could allow a transformational breakthrough into the brave, new, digitally-engaged world. We’d appreciate your thoughts. What’s causing the blockage? As reported on… Read more »
Bill Berkley: Technology’s Influence on Risk and Insurance
Lots of people have strong opinions about insurance, business in general, and the state of the world. A small number of these people have a four-and-a-half-decade track record of success putting their opinions into practice. Bill Berkley, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of W.R. Berkley Corporation, is one of the select few. Given the opportunity… Read more »
Lies, Damned Lies, and Spreadsheets
When the only tool you have is a hammer, lots of things can begin to look like nails. And when the only tool you have is a spreadsheet, even mistakes can look good in pie charts. Some recent examples in financial services and government suggest better discipline is needed. While we like the convenience of… Read more »
