Mark Breading

12% of commercial lines insurer executives say their businesses are just in sustaining or surviving mode this year following a challenging 2022.

Nearly all say improving the customer experience for the agent/broker is one of their top business drivers for tech investments, up 20% over 2021.

Across the sales value chain, insurer executives generally have low satisfaction with digital capabilities, particularly in early stages of the sales process.

Given how quickly the landscape is evolving, we will likely have a very different channel environment in five years than the one we have today.

The most successful are focusing on one or two insurance segments but are offering solutions in specific areas across the P&C claims value chain.

Even though agents are thriving, direct distribution will significantly increase, insurtech will play a big role in reshaping distribution and big tech companies will enter the space.

While talent challenges are nothing new to insurers, new research shows they are prioritizing talent strategies more than ever in the post-pandemic era.

Personal lines insurers will continue to advance their digital transformation strategies in 2022, albeit with a new lens and several shifts in priorities.

Commercial insurers will continue to advance with their transformation strategies in 2022. However, their focus will look a little different than it did a year ago.

The insurance industry faced a wake-up call when the pandemic exposed just how unprepared insurers’ digital capabilities were in a crisis.

Without strategies focused on innovation and investment, MGAs could face business roadblocks as a distribution revolution unfolds.

Automation does not mean industry professionals will be left out in the cold. In fact, the opposite may be true.

There is tremendous momentum for leveraging technology in claims, but that does not mean the adjuster will become obsolete.

If nothing else, ITC2021 demonstrated that innovation is alive and well in insurance, and the transformation of the industry is accelerating.

Distribution partners are focused on two key areas – user experience and ease of doing business – and are looking to work with insurers.

Many carriers are aggressively expanding their distribution networks, focusing on making themselves easier to do business with.

Data pre-fill is the top project area for sales capabilities as it is a critical starting point for achieving straight-through processing.

It was almost as if someone flipped a switch on Jan. 1, and commercial lines insurance companies began accelerating technology plans.

The dramatic changes in customer behaviors and patterns fomented by the pandemic are new experiences for the industry.

Carriers are moving toward complex channel strategies, offering prospects, producers and policyholders a variety of ways to interact.

A survey revealed that four in five carriers in commercial lines have new plans underway for distribution, with less than 20% standing still.

Improving customer experience in P&C was already a marathon--now, the pandemic and other events have changed the race in significant ways.

Distribution in commercial lines is in play. Companies are rethinking strategies to reach preferred segments and drive more profitable business.

Customers, risks, operations and the workforce all have been transformed over the last year. This makes strategic planning a challenge.

Personal lines insurers are focusing on self-service capabilities for policyholders, especially for policy service and claims.

Not only is capital abundant, but the pandemic and insurtech maturity kicked up the pace of takeovers and IPOs. There are no signs of slowing.

Commercial lines had been left behind in the industry's wave of digital, mobile and insurtech activity. That is no longer true.

There will always be a need for intermediaries who deeply understand customer needs and can create that right combination of coverages.

How employees will be recruited, trained and retained will be quite different – and organizations need to start on that journey today.

Have events of 2020 permanently altered the trajectory of the insurtech movement and thrown predictions out the window?

Changes are occurring as personal lines insurers consider the new realities of the business environment, risk landscape and workforce shifts.

The key question: Will insurers continue to pursue innovation in P&C commercial lines, or will they scale back and focus on optimization?

The extraordinary events of 2020 have accelerated four themes: automating operations; AI for insight; augmenting experts; and new ecosystems.

There are eight different models or options for insurers to consider -- but it's fair to ask if these distribution models are really new.

For every line of business across P&C, there are compelling reasons to expand distribution beyond the tried and true channels.

The value rankings indicate that user interaction technologies fueled by AI are at the top of the list for personal lines insurers.

In 2021, there looks to be a major increase in overall tech spending and a rapid acceleration of digital transformation plans.

Will the dramatic change to work and life patterns unleash innovative startups and new rounds of funding?

The big question – how have initiatives that leverage transformational technologies changed due to the pandemic?

In the increasingly digital world, providing a rich set of communications options is important for improving experiences.

With its spectacular IPO, Lemonade has the attention of the insurance world, but Tesla may be the bigger disruptor in the long run.

Messaging and platforms, business texting, chatbots, voice and even augmented reality can help customers--while cutting costs.

As insurers develop plans for 2021, the question is, where to start? Traditional processes may need to be supplemented with scenario planning.

With AI and high-resolution geospatial imagery, it has become possible to achieve high-precision, nationwide, building-based geocoding.

Many insurers report no changes to their plans, with some reshaping and a few accelerating but very few pausing or retrenching.

Big gaps have been exposed, mostly related to manual, paper-based processes. The need for a fully digital business has become crystal clear.

Insurtech has been touted as the ultimate disruptor of the insurance industry. But might COVID-19 disrupt insurtech?

The more that people and businesses get used to operating remotely, the more it will be expected – even after the virus is contained.

The second half of 2019, in particular, demonstrates how strong the insurtech movement is at this stage in its evolution.

Many insurers that thought they were undergoing transformation are realizing that they are only making incremental improvements.

It’s safe to assume that the potential of AI technologies is overhyped for the near term but underestimated for the long term.|

While 8K TVs are intriguing, many other tech products and advancements at CES2020 have important implications for P&C insurance. |

Machine learning, social media and aerial imagery, relying on massive amounts of new data, can change the game on insurance fraud.

Progress has mostly been an evolution of technology that has been around a while, but the industry will still look quite different in a decade.

Many are rushing into the space or redoubling their efforts and focusing on small commercial, so it is hyper-competitive.

The competition for retaining small business customers and acquiring new ones is intense. Here are five prevalent strategies.

Excitement tends to center on transformational technologies, yet today's No. 1 task is a foundation for efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility.

While some see scenario planning as academic, it typically yields surprising insights that inform short-term and mid-term strategies.

Insurers find it difficult to manage data at rest (in databases). Now layer in all the real-time data from sensors, connected devices, etc.

Technologies such as drones are often classified as emerging but are, in fact, relatively mature--and being widely adopted.

The big Google investment suggests it sees a great future for independent agents. So, what's the verdict after six months?

What might a future world look like where all transportation is via autonomous vehicles? Here are 10 possibilities.

There are many initiatives in the works that will meet new customer needs and help to solve some of the world’s most important problems.

Property/casualty claims is destined to transform more than any other area of the insurance business over the next decade.

Five technologies have emerged as “power players” for personal lines insurers, based on insurer activity and the potential for transformation.

A few recent examples illustrate the new interest in insurance from those both inside and outside of the insurance industry.

Some individuals still want to receive information in the traditional ways, but the tide is turning, and insurers must catch up with customers.

Insurtech names could provide a whole meal (Oyster, Pineapple, Cake, Pie) or fill a zoo (Blue Zebra, Bold Penguin, Rhino, Hippo).

The potential business use cases and high business value of geographic information systems (GIS) warrant serious attention.

Nearly 60% of insurers expect major disruption by insurtech, and half see global tech companies like Amazon and Google invading personal lines.

Offering a variety of options can lead to increased customer engagement and retention, but poor execution can have the opposite effect.

The experiences show why human intermediaries will be around insurance for a long time in most lines of business.

To paraphrase George Orwell’s quote from Animal Farm, “All technologies are equal, but some technologies are more equal than others.”

While insurtech remains nascent, in many ways, a subset of firms is producing results, gaining momentum and making an impact.

Property/casualty personal lines are under pressure unlike at any other time in history; the industry is responding with a dozen initiatives.

Insurers must consider how to incorporate digital transformation, insurtech, emerging technologies and others into their strategies.

Distracted driving has major negative implications for insurers and society. But this is not the only type of distraction that can cause problems.

The technologies are great, but the key for insurers is to understand what they mean for customers, risks and operations.

Many of the futuristic devices unveiled at CES2018 are relevant for insurance in one way or another (okay, maybe not the talking toilet).

New and perhaps unforeseen risks are likely to emerge, including significantly increased cyber-exposures and the potential for mega-accidents.

Imagine a world without passwords, where TV remotes are rare, and mice only show up in the barn.

In the context of the roughly $5 trillion global insurance industry, insurtech has not yet perceptibly changed any important metrics.

Today, artificial intelligence appears in use cases here and there. Over time, AI will contribute to solutions everywhere in P&C.

Life insurers, take note: It is too difficult to ask questions on how to submit a claim and get clarification about the options.

Blockchain may well become pervasive in insurance, but it is likely to evolve gradually over the next decade.

Should insurers view insurtech as a threat or opportunity? Will insurtech disrupt the industry, or will the movement fizzle out?

Before we rush headlong into new customer service options, let's look at the reality of technology-based interactions today.

Many insurtechs and their insurer partners are on the verge of rollouts and implementations that will produce major results.

We will be expected to turn over the controls to AI-based machines while recognizing that the AI in use, at least today, can be unreliable.

The concept of smart cities is gaining momentum; many cities around the world are developing strategies and implementing projects.

With machine learning, geospatial analysis and more, firms can predict, prescribe and even perform actions without human intervention.

Insurers use historical data for pricing, then reconstruct an accident. In the real-time, connected world, this will not be good enough.

And could a platform-based company dominate insurance without holding any risk or employing any underwriters and adjusters?

Often, new technologies and solutions are tried for personal lines first. Insurtechs are moving to small commercial.

The idea of a unified, all-risks coverage for an individual has long been theorized. Is technology finally making these bundles possible?

Not everyone wants a connected life. Some will always want to go their own way. Insurers need to be ready.

It is remarkable that the insurance industry has been taken by surprise by the advance of online shopping. That can't happen.

The insurtech movement is maturing, and there is convergence happening between the traditional industry and the startups.

The potential implications for insurers are great, but they must focus on what has too often been a lousy customer experience.

Insurers across all lines cite underwriting as the biggest opportunity, while claims is also promising, with many use cases.

We are headed toward a future of robots all around us – on land, sea and air; in our homes, businesses and communities.

How can we trust the AI in a driverless vehicle when the relatively simple interactions we experience today are botched so badly?

The initial phases of “smart” saw many objects becoming connected; now, they are adding intelligence.

More and more people won't take an inbound call, answer an unknown email or communicate with a company on social media.

Gains from projects are being optimized as insurers look to solidify their tech infrastructure and prepare for new initiatives.

We foresee a convergence that will create an updated generation rather than the disruption (and perhaps destruction) that some predict.

The reshaping of the industry is likely to be a blending of the best of the old with the best of the new. This is the notion of convergence.

There were important new products announced, along with the usual assortment of head-scratching items such as levitating speakers.

This list of 20 hot products includes: an airbag in the form of a jacket for motorcyclists, horse riders, the elderly and others at risk of falling.

Let’s look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for a world where all things are instrumented, monitored, analyzed and automated.

Blockchain is likely to play a major role in the reshaping of insurance – but the big implications are two to three years out.

The ingenuity and sheer variety of the 11 participating startups was astounding – and will ultimately be great for the industry.

The traditional, incumbent part of the industry is now actively participating in insurtech. Let's call the phenomenon MatureTech.

New ecosystems provide tremendous opportunities to transform risk management, the customer experience and operations.

History will be the judge, but the many insurtech companies are bound to play a major role in industry transformation.

It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that virtually every type of property/casualty insurance will be affected.

Despite the emphasis on glitz and action games, virtual reality could help insurers with adjuster training, underwriter education and more.

The way insurers manage data and leverage analytics capabilities is improving slowly, but steady progress is being made.

The notion of a connected world is not an academic one for the future. It is a here-and-now issue affecting every industry, including insurance.

North American insurers could offer a wide range of services based on telematics data, like those already offered in other countries.

Maybe, maybe not. But the connected world will certainly change people's habits in ways that insurers should be tracking.

We may evolve to a world of highly connected cities and loosely or marginally connected rural areas. Insurers need to start scenario planning.

'Smart' devices are ubiquitous, but the technology is way ahead of the desire and ability of consumers and businesses to use it.

As the smart home gains momentum, insurers need to do three things to begin to understand the implications and opportunities.

While insurers use telematics to price better, Verizon is offering a connected car app with services that customers really value.

A single view of the customer is now paramount. Three questions must be addressed.