Michael de Waal

Insurers and homeowners are using IoT devices to optimize housing efficiency, streamline daily tasks and reduce urban household risks.

The integration of insurance solutions into smart cities is vital for creating a resilient and sustainable urban environment.

By examining the dynamics of teamwork, strategy, perseverance and personal growth in sports, we can shed light on leadership principles.

74% of insurance executives plan to increase investments in AI. Insurers that seize this opportunity early will have a critical advantage. 

A "light" boot camp provided a small insight into what our servicemen and women go through -- and the importance of teamwork in business.

Lead by example and embody positivity, confidence, humility and gratitude. You will have a significant impact on the success of your team or organization.

Carriers can bundle products, enable direct mobile sales channel distribution and offer relevant, affordable and flexible coverage to the underserved market of gig workers.

What does it take to be a successful leader? How can you lead change effectively? Here are 10 tips that can help you lead change in the insurance industry.

Navigating a business' ups and downs can be as challenging as steering a ship through a storm on the high seas. I’ve done both—and lived to tell how it can be done.

While the metaverse is still largely theoretical, providers of group and voluntary benefits might be able to capitalize on this emerging technology. Let’s speculate!

Personalized packages that support all aspects of an employee's physical and mental health are essential and now feasible with modern digital technology.

Social media data provides insurers with an opportunity to gain insights into a customer's risk exposure in real time. But it comes with many challenges.

AI-powered optical character recognition lets insurers unlock vast troves of data and streamline all processes.

Here are the insurance technology trends, such as automated underwriting and virtual assistants, that will shape our industry in 2022.

How insurers can use gamification to bolster customer experience, keep and win new clients with external and intrinsic motivation.

AI chatbots enable insurers to serve customers in their preferred language—whether English, French, Spanish or another language— at scale.

Chatbots can meet insureds’ routine needs immediately while cutting costs and freeing staff to work on more challenging issues.

Customers have more information at their fingertips than ever. The trick is reaching the right customer, at the right time, on the right device.

Insurers should emulate Uber, which has an ecosystem of 2,200 microservices. Here are three ways ecosystems provide a competitive edge.

Current, AI-based technology can cut response time for group benefits quotes by as much as 92%.

While we may not be playing golf or having an office party for a while, let your team bond over a virtual activity on Zoom or Skype.

AI can find the needles of insight in the haystack of data from the IoT and identify patterns that might otherwise be undetectable.

To fulfill insurtech's promise, insurers must get their heads around cognitive computing, big data and data exchange standards.

Cloud computing allows insurance SMEs, including brokers and smaller carriers, to offer enterprise services without the overhead.

While catered meals and an open office are appealing, it’s open communication, growth potential and team dynamics that keep good employees.

Pressure-testing the company's defenses can determine whether they can repel targeted, high-impact attacks, whether external or internal.

Wearables encourage insureds to become accountable, producing healthier clients--but also concerns on privacy and reliability.

AI and robotic process automation will transform operations, customer service, risk assessment and mitigation and regulatory compliance.

Although there’s still much work to be done, most insurers are now well-positioned to capitalize on their investment in technology.

Cognitive computing improves customer self-service, call-center assistance, underwriting, claims management and regulatory compliance.

Agents and brokers need to consider three things: multi-generational marketing, administration tools and digital strategy.

Insurers can connect with customers on a continual basis, providing valuable feedback – and prices – based on activity levels.

When we bring play into our day, it can energize us and encourage us to give more of ourselves to tasks.

Unfortunately, the insurance industry has one of the lowest rates of customer engagement. Too often, the only contact with the customer is the bill.

Customers are acquiring insurance policies much faster and easier with the help of automated processes.

Fraud costs insurers in the U.S. and Europe $60 billion a year -- but blockchain may make that fraud a thing of the past.

80% of insurance executives say innovation is critical for the industry -- but only 35% say their own strategy depends on it. Why the gap?

New variables and trends that arise can easily lead you astray from the original question you set out to answer.

Early adopters have the potential to reap greater rewards by improving efficiency and customer engagement but face challenges.

Often called out for being slow to change, the insurance industry is beginning to catch up quickly on cognitive technologies.

Today, continuous innovation is as important as the traditional disciplines of underwriting, financial management, marketing and service.

Building broker portals and exchange sites can make it easier for agents to quote and retain clients and have a better chance of return business.

In 2016, our entire industry went from one that was slow to adopt emerging technologies to one that is well on its way toward digital transformation.

Creating a team atmosphere can be very difficult with virtual staff, whether employees or contractors -- and 37% are now telecommuting.

The lessons I learned sailing the seas have served me just as well on land. Here are five tips about entrepreneurship that sailing has taught me.

You might have a plan, but be ready to make adjustments at any time -- our instructors always made drills just a little more interesting.

By automating parts of the process, you can help human underwriters deal with information overload and do their jobs more efficiently.

More online tools will be developed to help millennials, and more digital solutions will be developed for claims processing.

With CRM, start by identifying your customers -- policyholders and prospects, for sure, but don't forget your brokers and agents.

The days of doing cost-benefit analyses for many changes are long gone. We have to embrace technology as customers do -- like crazy.