Deb Smallwood

Eighty-nine percent of insurers are planning or applying automated workflow technologies to their small business operations.

96% of insurer executives see personal lines underwriting undergoing significant changes within five years – remarkable given the shifts that have already occurred.

87% of insurers said in a survey that they expect big changes to occur in underwriting within the next five years. In 2020, only 69% said the same.

A recent SMA study shows that 41% of personal lines insurers are revisiting their digital transformation strategies in 2022, a significant jump from 19% in 2021.

Research finds that insurers in small commercial lines are further along in their digital transformation journeys than their peers in mid/large commercial lines.

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

The reality is that almost all insurers believe that digital transformation is essential. This belief has only been reinforced by the pandemic.

Transformation has advanced five years in eight weeks, and P&C insurers need to keep up with digital platforms, payments and communications.

Here are 10 moments of truth that insurers face as they continue to serve as a safety net for society, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the midst of the COVID-19 upheaval, insurance is a financially strong, resilient industry. And this is our moment of truth.

Every effort made by insurers to put themselves in the shoes of the customer will result in better customer experiences.

Everyone is innovating, but not everyone is transforming. To transform, you have to think big and remember to think beyond the traditional.

The journey requires an outside-in view (prioritizing customers) and an inside-out view (prioritizing operational optimization).

The amount of low-hanging fruit with few costs and high impact for both the customer experience and optimized operations is incredible.

It is. The great thing about innovation, though, is that we will see another wave of a different size and color in the future.

How do you ensure that you are doing the right things at the right times and in the right sequence?

The digitization of assets is just the first step on a pathway that will lead to the next phase: creating the digital experience.

Key priorities are clearly centered on the agent/broker for growth, with some early investments in the customer and emerging technologies.

The key shifts and top priorities are centered on the customer, new technology platform investments and new world initiatives.

One of the biggest challenges for insurers is linking and balancing the initiatives of the traditional world with those of the new world.

It’s hard to change when you’re going 100 mph every day. Yet, despite challenges across the industry, a lot of innovation models are appearing.

As innovation work matures in corporations, leadership is now initiated more and more in business units and less and less in IT.

Best practices include: "Pivot, and Pivot Again," "Expand Your Failure Appetite" and "Make Innovation Continuous."

You'd expect Disneyland to be the examplar, but it makes a common mistake: It doesn't think through the whole customer experience.

Failed attempts at personalizing the customer experience have the exact opposite effect that they are supposed to when the data is bad.

The eight winners of the SMA Innovation in Action Awards include Figo Pet Insurance, Meteo, Motorists Insurance Group and Texas Mutual.

Here are seven suggestions for how to bridge to a Next-Gen Insurer model.

There are six major ways that insurers are gearing up to prepare for the challenges and bridge to tomorrow.

Should insurers innovate, or should we transform? Should we do both? What’s the difference?

Most of the lessons from the primaries aren't pretty, but they do offer some insights into how to think about modern customers.

Where do you place your bets moving forward? Will other solutions just fill the void that Google Compare is leaving?

In 2015, a third of funding for strategic initiatives came from capital investments. In 2016, funding from new sources will increase to more than 40%.

The top trends include: 3) "Huge $dollars$ are being poured into start-ups" and 4) "New ecosystems are emerging."

The tools can improve communication between insurers and agents, removing problems holding the industry back for decades.

Two examples of innovation, one on the East Coast and one on the West, show how ideas can be tested and then spread across the country.

Truly? Many organizations unintentionally put up roadblocks to new ideas. Five questions will help you make a realistic assessment.

Here are 10 facts that show why it is crucial for companies to innovate now, to reimagine and reinvent the business of insurance.

We will see more mergers, to strengthen offerings, broaden footprints, position for growth and ultimately seize the pot of gold in insurance.

Exciting technologies are delivering automation directly to the underwriter's desk.

Yes, policy admin systems need to be modernized, but that's just the start. Underwriters need more to optimize the use of their expertise.

Modern underwriting can best be described with the 5 I’s: Intuitive, Intelligent, Interconnected, Informative and Insightful.