When people think of the Renaissance, they most often consider shifts in art, architecture and a period of calm European advancement. In reality, the Renaissance was an upheaval. It was a rebuilding of an entire society, characterized by major new developments in social and cultural behaviors, science, art, trade and thought. This shouldn’t surprise us, because the word "renaissance" means rebirth. As old patterns disintegrated, an entirely new realm unfolded. The fertile soil of fresh thought provided a period of growth in fields of opportunity. Today’s renaissance in the insurance industry shares many of the same characteristics as the original Renaissance. Both represent fresh beginnings brought about by new ways of thinking, new methods, new technologies, new behaviors and new resources. The Role of IT in Rebirth — From Incremental to Incubative So, how is IT changing within the insurance renaissance? For the last 5-10 years, the primary focus of IT vendors and internal IT departments was modernization of the legacy environment … from the architecture and infrastructure to core systems as well as supporting the business with incremental new product development, enhancing agent channels and streamlining operations. The assumption was that the insurance industry was essentially the same year to year. Improvements were incremental. Competitive advantages lay in marketing, products and within the excellence of operations and underwriting. IT was successful if it just kept up with incremental operational needs. Today, competitive differentiation has moved well beyond incremental operational needs because the insurance industry itself, as a part of its renaissance, is undergoing a complete dismantling of industry foundations — and a rebirth that is restructuring the competitive landscape with a new set of ever-shifting guidelines. Like the first Renaissance, it encompasses major new developments in social and cultural behaviors, science, art, trade and thought. But its most striking development is the entrance of a thousand new interrelated entities. This would encompass greenfield companies, startup insurers, fresh investors, tech startups, industry incubators and new technologies that have never been used in insurance before. The industry isn’t just being reborn; it is being reborn into a different competitive landscape … one that will be dramatically different than the past. And IT is at the center of this new world. IT is a driver, a partner, an enabler and a competitive innovator — but only if it is prepared to fill these roles. See also: The Insurance Renaissance, Part 5   The new world of risk, customer expectations, new technologies and more will not allow, let alone succeed with unlimited incremental changes without a wholesale rebirth. When increments are built on legacy foundations – from legacy thinking, legacy customer expectations, products and legacy insurance technology solutions, the increments tend to pile on an already ineffective IT foundation…making it even more unwieldy, unmanageable, and costly.  IT can’t be an innovator if it is encumbered by legacy culture. The new world of insurance will, however, allow for and welcome incubation and innovation as alternatives. Incubation provides a space for the custom-fitted creation that will match new world insurance needs. It assumes quick-hit tests in smaller markets with niche products for niche segments. Incubation connotes a level of pre-design thinking that will anticipate quickly-changing market demands. Incubation isn’t tied to the past…it is creating the future.  An organization prepared to incubate its new ideas quickly is an organization ready to be reborn into the industry population. Its framework for transformation will have anticipated the need for a different insurance technology foundation. Incubation also allows for multiple ideas to grow, independent or connected. In the new world of insurance, savvy competitors will be marked by their ability to fill a perpetual pipeline of innovations with incubations created inside the organization, through partnerships or purchased from outside the organization. The Role of Tools in Rebirth — From Growing to Groundbreaking The magnetic compass and the nautical clock changed navigation. The transistor enabled most of our advanced electronics. The database improved every industry’s capabilities to know and interact with customers. Closer to home we recognize that innovations have often fueled our biggest changes in insurance. Blood tests allow life insurers to more accurately accept risk and price policies. Motor vehicle records allow auto insurers to validate their insureds’ driving records. Location-specific data makes commercial insurance underwriting much easier. These tools have allowed insurers to improve what they do … not reinvent what they do. But today’s new technologies offer an opportunity for the insurance industry’s rebirth, seen with the new business models and assumptions from startups and greenfields that are creating new leaps forward with products, customer engagement, service and much more. These new companies are redefining and simplifying insurance, rather than just layering on incremental improvements. There is a difference between tools that foster incremental improvements and tools that erase previous notions and create a new paradigm of competition and expectations In today’s technology climate, insurers will still use tools that foster improvements, but they will incorporate the new tools that will erase previous notions. See also: Inventing Your Future: A 3 X 3 Approach   The term “tools” is a catch-all for a mind-bogglingly wide range of devices, sensors, software, processes and data management and analysis capabilities. These items are creating insurance impact and they are a large part of the reason that insurance is undergoing a renaissance. As these new tools come into common use, insurers will use them to break new ground in product development and service. Connected home sensors are a great example. They are not in wide use yet. But once homes are truly connected for the purposes of both economy (power consumption) and security, they will dramatically impact residential insurance with the groundbreaking ability to protect, predict and prevent homeowner loss. Are residential insurers prepared for this rebirth? Is their digital footprint ready for connected policyholders? Are integration points ready? Can we capitalize on the new tools? These are the types of questions that insurers should be asking themselves now in preparation for their own rebirth. The Role of System Solutions in Rebirth Because greenfields, startups and incubators will play such a dynamic role in fostering change, we’ll look at their impact upon distribution, their potential as partners and the business models that will help them to succeed. We’ll look at how medium to large insurers are pursuing their own greenfields and building their own incubators and we’ll explore the types of systems and solutions that will enable them to thrive. We will also look closely at how insurers can blaze their own trails in customer service and channel development, while simultaneously giving their customers a consistently excellent experience. Innovation isn’t about entering a new world of complexity with sophisticated solutions. It is about finding the simplicity and relevancy that engages clients and prospects across their needs.

The second edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. Many, if not most, of these words have been used in the thousands of business books now in print. Our alphabet includes 26 letters. The popularity of Twitter shows how much can be communicated in only 140 characters. What follows is my best guess on the 26 words (ABCs) most important to business. It took me about an hour to make my list. It’s neither right nor wrong – it’s merely my best guess. This list is like manure – it may help you grow, or it may just stink up your operation. What will be important to you is your list. Take an hour or two and work through the process. I hope your best guess is better than mine and works for you.

1. Arrogance – it is the seed of failure – don’t let it take root in your organization
2. Be – Your “be” is the heart and soul of you, your team and your organization.
3. Commit – commit to your beliefs and vision. Don’t be involved, be committed.
4. Do – what you “do” is the decisions you make – Align your “do” and your “be.”
5. Expectations – know the expectations of your stakeholders and exceed these.
6. Focus – Zero in on your goals with laser-like intensity.
7. Goals – identify specific objectives that will ensure achievement of your vision.
8. Humility – you are only as good as your next (not last) success – stay humble.
9. Innovation – the marketplace is revolutionizing itself daily; you must innovate.
10. Jubilation – work hard and celebrate every effort and success – be happy!
11. Knowledge – convert data to usable information and then actionable knowledge.
12. Living – the world is changing; create a living system, not mechanical processes.
13. Mutual – it’s not about you or them but rather us – agree on a mutual purpose.
14. Negotiate – command and control is yesterday – negotiate meaning for tomorrow.
15. Observe – talk less - observe the marketplace, listen (squint your ears), learn.
16. Passion – nothing sells like success, have passion for who you are and what you do.
17. Quiet – take time for calm – stop, look, listen – learn – grow quietly.
18. Rebound – you will fall – pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.
19. Structure – create a framework for your team so their energies can be focused.
20. Technology – IT ensures efficient administration and effective relationships.
21. Unique – success is standing out in the crowd – be different – be unique.
22. Values/Vision matter - these are the foundation today and the horizon tomorrow.
23. Why? What? Who? When? – ask the right questions and discover best answers.
24.  “X”ceptional – provide exceptional service - exceed all expectations.
25. Yearning – never get complacent – always hunger to be the best by doing better.
26. Zealot – Align “who you be,” “what you do” and “what you want”; be fanatical.

Italians want connected insurance policies; they are not afraid of “Big Brother.” According to the Ania-Bain Observatory, insurtech can take off in the home and health sectors. Now is the time for both the model and management of connected insurance to be structured. As of today, 22% of Italian households that have no home insurance are inclined to buy it—if it were connected insurance.

This was the starting point of July’s meeting of the Connected Insurance Observatory, an Ania–Bain think tank, which has put together executives from 30 insurance groups within the Internet of Things (IoT) sector to discuss the great potential of connected insurance, as well as the challenges it poses to the insurance business.

Among those challenges is the protection of auto insurance telematics data, a topic that the Data Protection Authority has recently tackled, promising to offer clients appropriate visibility into the usage of collected data.

But there are no real obstacles to innovation, because there has been an explicit acceptance of the validity of a try-before-you-buy application in auto insurance from the Italian regulator -- except when it comes to the rights of the insured, which have to be respected. (Of course, this includes the provision of a detailed explanation to insurance customers of the business purpose for which the data is being collected.)

In Italy, if there is the will, innovation can be achieved just as easily as in Silicon Valley.

See also: Not Your Father’s Insurance Industry 

A new model

On one hand, insurtech and connected insurance are transforming insurance business lines. On the other, it is essential to create the conditions needed for insurers and other specialized players to fulfill their role as providers, each in its own sector: from e-health to antifraud and from driverless cars to electronic payments and product design.

“A new and more connected insurance model has to be defined In order to achieve this, so that the full potential of the technology can be exploited,” says Luigi Di Falco, head of life and welfare, Ania. “In our opinion, there are many opportunities and areas to be explored within connected insurance that would allow for a more client-centric offering to be created. The demand would be easier to aggregate, and thus more client categories that are not insurable today would become insurable. Last, it reduces claims through the use of sensors with advantages for both the insurer and the insured.” 

Managing an ecosystem

There are still plenty of challenges. Chief among them, according to Ania, are the evolution of rules and regulations on privacy, the risk of data monopoly from players like Google, the arrival of new insurance start-up competitors and the danger of insurance disintermediation. Di Falco warns that “the Observatory has to look at understanding both the advantages and the dangers that come with insurtech.”

At the foundation of everything is the synergy between numerous partners that drives insurance toward becoming the coordinator of a highly complex system. Insurers today are aware that using external providers is simply not enough and that the orchestration of the whole ecosystem needs to happen. This is a relatively new trend that represents the next frontier of connected insurance and is essential for reaching full potential.

Less privacy, more services

Regarding privacy issues, the accepted principle states that if the client wants additional services, he or she needs to enable the insurer to provide them. As Di Falco says, “If the insured believes that a service is useful, he or she will be ready to renounce the privacy of his or her data. But this has to be reflected by a legal framework that specifies that the loss of privacy is strictly connected to perceived benefits on behalf of the client.”

Innovation is moving to the home and health sectors

Being aware of this, 76% of the insurance carriers participating at the Observatory expect to see significant innovation related to home products (the “connected home”) in the next 12 months. Also, 43% of companies believe the health sector—(“connected health”)— will be ripe for innovation, whereas, in the life and industrial sectors, the potential for innovation is expected only in the medium term.

Some specialized insurance companies are already offering health insurance coverage related to wearables, claim detection and sideline services, starting with health monitoring, second opinions and medical consultation via chat and continuing with access to networks of healthcare structures and drug stores.

Di Falco underscores the point: “In a country where the proportion of people over 65 will grow to become a third of the entire population, it is important to develop forms of insurance protection in rehabilitation and long-term assistance where the state is less present and the nuclear family is not holding together as it once did.”

See also: How Connected Will Connected World Be?

Forty percent of Italian brokers believe that connected insurance represents an interesting business opportunity in the medium term. A recent survey developed by AIBA and the Connected Insurance Observatory shows that, other than the growing interest of intermediaries in connected solutions, larger brokers are more likely to see the business opportunity within connected insurance: 67% of big brokers expressed this, compared with 60% of medium-size brokers and 40% of small brokers.

The original version of this article appeared in Insurance Review.

There are two high-level motivators in the case for actuarial transformation. First, there is insurance profitability. Insurance profitability has its roots in actuarial precision and efficiency. Insurers stand to lose profits (and reserves) if they do not properly understand risk and price it accordingly. Actuarial precision (and profitability) can be dramatically improved through better data management and the right technology tools. An insurer’s actuaries may be doing everything “right,” but they are hindered by their inability to tap into a well-organized warehouse of recent data that has been cleaned and structured. Second, there is actuarial expertise. Actuaries are trained to thrive on insurance’s unique mathematical challenges, but they commonly find themselves saddled with the mundane motions of finding the right data, reconciling the data and manually updating reports, spreadsheets and databases. For those actuaries who are wondering, “What is there left to be done that I haven’t done before?”— today’s actuarial responsibilities may give them a higher level of enterprise-wide value. Most insurers aren’t tapping deeply enough into their actuaries’ capabilities and expertise. Expanding their roles can happen once an insurer has reduced their manual processes. So, why do some insurers continue to postpone efforts that will make better use of their actuaries while giving their business increased precision and profitability? It may be that insurers DO know many of the benefits, but they don’t understand them well enough to make them a priority. See also: So What Is the Actuarial Value Of My Health Benefit Plan?   If insurance profitability and better use of actuarial expertise aren’t enough to push insurers into actuarial transformation, there is a relevant third dimension to actuarial need — actuarial speed. Faster actuarial answers are needed to meet the growing demand for quick product development, testing and rollout. But faster answers won’t work if they can’t be based on the best and most recent data available. Data integrity and quality are crucial to any modernization. Striking actuarial gold at the end of data rainbow The answer to accelerating actuarial processes is to begin by acknowledging that the insurer’s data house may not be in order. Starting from there, a program of process discovery, simplification and modern tool implementation will bring insurers into the proper actuarial realm to meet today’s business needs. In July 2016, Majesco released a white paper titled, Accelerating Actuarial Processes, that outlines some of the steps insurers need to take to create real actuarial innovations. Without going into the deep detail given in the paper, we can discuss what some of those steps are and how well they fit within an overall strategy for competitive preparedness. Evaluation An evaluation of the actuarial environment is deep because there are many facets of the current process to consider. Where does actuarial data come from? What tools are used, if any? What manual processes exist? Roles and functions need to be outlined. In some cases, observation or recording may be needed to grasp how long tasks take and where inefficiencies lie. It is important to recognize the value in this step. To create solutions that “fit like a glove,” insurers need to know both what they have now and where they would like to be when the process is over. Evaluation is also where the excitement begins to build for all of the opportunities in actuarial transformation. Data Architecture The core of a technology-based solution to actuarial modernization will be a unified data architecture that will improve reporting, collection and manipulation of data. The data will need to come from varied sources: the policy administration system, claims, reinsurance and other systems. But added to those core insurance systems will be the ability to accept data from all entry points, including external data sources. From various APIs to the Internet of Things and connected people, cars, homes and businesses — actuaries will develop a thirst for using the most up-to-date, relevant data. To meet the need, insurers will need to define standards and formats while building a framework for analysis that is easy to use. It is worth mentioning that the updated data architecture will bring value and relief to the entire organization…not just actuaries. The full range of benefits will start to be uncovered during evaluation, but they will continue to be found long after transformation is complete. Organizational Alignment The speed of actuarial processes is not merely a goal unto itself, but it is a contributor to interdependent strategic goals for the business. Actuarial transformation’s success will be measured against its support for meeting those strategic needs. Throughout all measurement, planning and implementation, it is important to keep business impact at the forefront of conversations and decisions. See also: Data and Analytics in P&C Insurance   Accelerating actuarial processes is really a win-win-win for actuaries, the business and an insurer’s data management program. As the company gains precision in risk and pricing, along with faster decisions that will support the business, actuaries themselves are able to open new doors of opportunity to provide impact and value throughout the enterprise.

Have you heard of the recent shopping trend, that consumers want experiences, not products or things? That’s been the inclination the last few years, and I bet it can even be translated to the insurance world. So whether your consumers are buying a service or a product, make sure the consumer experience is the one they want. The customer experience is a funnel. Think about the entire experience consumers have with you and the many touch-points along the way. There’s the experience they have visiting or shopping on your website, opening or reading emails and content, as well as any phone calls or in-person communication. All of these points of contact help form the consumer experience. Aim to optimize each stage of the funnel individually and make each touch-point as seamless as possible. Strive for consistency and ease of use. How do you go about doing that? Two main methods are personalization and data analytics. Personalization Is Key Personalization is essential to a quality customer experience. Use the information you already know about your consumers to personalize each stage of the funnel. This will show consumers how attentive you are and improve their overall experience. You may also be able to personalize touch-points based on the context of location or other known aspects of life. See also: Checklist for Improving Consumer Experience   For example, an email may refer to the coming harsh winter season in the consumer’s state and then offer advice on additional home or auto insurance options. A phone call may refer to the last time the consumer called, or the conversation may end with a mention of a coming event largely talked about in the consumer’s city. Your website can be personalized to “welcome back, (consumer’s name)” whenever they log in or visit, or a form can be pre-filled with the type of car the consumer previously entered. Additionally, if you hold local events, your consumers may receive personalized mail or email about the ones located near them. There are endless personalization opportunities to take advantage of that will help improve the overall consumer experience. Leverage the information you already have to make the consumer experience easier. You can also use data analytics to measure the success of the changes. Data and Advanced Analytics Use data and advanced analytics to measure and identify opportunities for improving the customer experience. One optimal method is to use A/B testing. With this method, you can test a change against a control group to measure whether the change had more successful results. This can be used to measure the success of personalization changes or for testing other opportunities. To determine testing ideas, take a step back and consider the consumer’s motives and needs. What are they looking for? What would be better for them—a more seamless online to offline transition, a different colored button, a two-page form instead of three? How can you make the consumer’s life easier? Whether you’re at an agency writing policies, working at an insurtech startup or delivering leads, set improvement priorities. Understand the company’s current consumer experience and then identify opportunities for positive change. Don’t rush to implement these identified opportunities, but do rush to test them. While ideas are great, turning them into assumptions is not. You may be surprised by how one individual’s assumption or way of thinking does not match up when you look at a total set of individuals. Don’t deploy any widespread changes without first testing the ideas on a reasonably small scale, and then on a larger scale. If the results aren’t successful, move onto a new set of ideas to A/B test. As time goes on, and technology and devices evolve, there will be a near infinite amount of improvements to make. You may find that consumers respond better to a different color form that improves their overall experience as they get in touch with an agent. Or they may open emails more often if the headline language is four words instead of eight. Different language in an email may lead to better results. Look at key data points such as the conversion rate onsite and click-through rate for emails to determine if that is the case. Once results are analyzed and changes are implemented, repeat the process and continue to optimize the consumer insurance experience. See also: Want to Enhance Your Customer Experience?   In addition to A/B testing, you can also streamline consumer data so that a customer will never have to answer the same question twice. The information will already be in one place. This will improve ease-of-use for your consumers so that they won’t have to repeat an answer that they’ve filled already filled out online or through the mail. Integrate systems to share data efficiently and securely to improve the customer experience whenever possible. The Key to Success The key to success is not a one-time adjustment to improve the customer experience. You need continuous updates and regular changes. EverQuote receives more than 5 million unique visitors per month. That means, based on the data, touch-points of the consumer experience may change month to month. Optimizing the consumer experience continuously and for the majority benefits us. Improving the consumer experience is a focus everyone in the company should know about, and all of the personalization and data analysis should naturally complement your other business practices. You may be surprised by how the profit follows. Bottom line: The center of success will always be the consumer experience. Everything else revolves around that.

I am so excited to participate in the InsureTech Connect 2016 Conference taking place in Las Vegas this week. If you haven't picked up your tickets yet, do so. It's going to be a blast! I am also honored to be speaking at the conference, alongside amazing entrepreneurs like Jacob Brody of Helpful Networks, Isaac Oates Founder of Justworks and Jeff Oberstein, chief customer officer and head of science, Global Consumer Insurance at AIG. I'm actually a little nervous. Our discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 5, is titled "Sharing Economy's Impact on the Insurance Ecosystem." We will attempt to unpack the implications of the rise of the sharing economy for the insurance industry, and how it's changing the nature of work, and workers. In this vein, I want to pave the road slightly with a few key insights that will help frame our discussion. The sharing economy has been termed many things over the years: gig economy, freelance economy, circular economy, collaborative consumption, and most recently "digital matching firms" by the federal government. No matter what you term it, this new industry has changed how we consume, much like insurtech has disrupted the traditional insurance industry. How products and services are delivered is changing before our eyes. And this is a good thing. See also: 8 Exemplars of Insurtech Innovation   To better situate our thinking for InsureTech Connect 2016, here are nine impressive facts about the rise of online marketplaces, something we now term the sharing economy. 1. PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that the sharing economy will grow to a $335 billion industry by 2025. In 2013, this industry was valued at $15 billion. Why it matters: We are in the midst of a transformation. 2. In 2013 alone, it was estimated that revenue passing through the sharing economy into people’s wallets was more than $3.5 billion. Why it matters: Can you imagine what that number is now? The sharing economy is becoming a new employment marketplace faster than we may think. 3. Airbnb has hosted 60 million guests since its founding and now has two million properties listed. This is almost double the hotel rooms currently owned by the largest hotel chain, Starwood-Marriott, which has 1.1 million rooms. Why it matters: Airbnb was founded in 2008. So, in eight years, Airbnb has more than overtaken the largest hotel chain in the amount of rooms available. This is disruption 2.0. 4. Sharing economy work is overwhelmingly part-time. Consider that the vast majority of Uber drivers work less than 30 hours a week, with 66% saying they have no set hours. Further, the average Airbnb host rents out her property for 33 nights a year. Why it matters: This is hardly full-time employment. It's exactly what we see at WeGoLook; people are leveraging our platform to supplement income through flexible part-time work. It's patchwork employment, and this is good because it gives people options and employment flexibility. 5. According to Time, 44% of U.S. adults have participated in the sharing economy in some fashion. The same study found that 22% of Americans have sold services in the sharing economy. And, the vast majority of those who offered services in the sharing economy described their experience as a positive one. Why it matters: Americans are using and selling in the sharing economy. Simple as that. 6. According to JP Morgan, working in the sharing economy boosts incomes by 15%. For Airbnb hosts, on average, JP Morgan found that sellers earn an extra $314 a month, or $533 for Uber and TaskRabbit. Why it matters: People are actually earning decent supplemental income, and they love it. 7. Although millennials use the sharing economy more than other demographics, we cannot forget about the Baby Boomers. According to research by Emergent, 18% of workers in the sharing economy are 55+. This study concludes that “the number of older Americans seeking this type of work will likely continue to grow.” Why it matters: We all think of innovative technology and equate it with millennials, but Baby Boomers are right in there as well and will require new tools as they retire and age. 8. There are currently 50 million freelancers, or gig workers, in the U.S. By 2020, 50% of the US workforce is expected to be a freelancer. Why it matters: We are moving to a freelancer workforce. People are craving flexibility and are willing to trade the certainty of a 9-to-5 job with benefits and pension, for the freedom of freelance and gig work. At WeGoLook alone, we've seen our gig workforce grow from zero to now more than 27,000 in just seven years. See also: How to Insure the Sharing Economy   9. The sharing economy makes people happy by making their lives affordable. For instance, 86% of respondents from a recent PwC survey agree that the sharing economy makes their lives more affordable. Why it matters: There's a reason people are gravitating toward access over ownership. It makes their lives easier, more affordable, and offers them income generation opportunities with almost zero startup costs. So, how will the insurance industry adapt to the sharing economy and growing disruption of the insurtech revolution? You'll have to meet me in Vegas to find out.

How well do insurers know their customers? Consider Maria, a 30-something woman living in a large city with her fiancé and his two children. Their household income is between $50,000 and $75,000, and they own one vehicle and a three-bedroom townhouse. Historically, this could have been enough information for an insurer to provide adequate customer service. However, digital disruption has changed many customers’ expectations and how they interact with service providers. Maria and her family would likely respond more favorably to an insurer that knows that her route to work is less dangerous than the average commute, that she is a safe driver who rarely speeds and that the family never leaves the house without setting the alarm. See also: The Case for Personalization   Accenture research found that 77% of customers are willing to provide usage and behavior data in exchange for lower premiums, quicker claims settlement or tailored coverage recommendations. Watch this Insurance Insight of the Week video to learn why it is imperative for insurers to offer a personalized experience. Five stages to offering more personalized insurance experiences Leading insurers are beginning to take this approach to deliver more personalized insurance experiences. One major insurer is combining customer profiles, transaction histories and social media data to generate a personalized experience via mobile app. Another is leveraging customer data to create customer microsegments to fine-tune customer retention and cross-selling campaigns. This much is clear: Existing and emerging digital capabilities will only bolster the push to personalization, and insurers cannot afford to ignore the opportunities provided by personalized services. Learn more:

• Download Satisfy the Craving for Insurance Personalization: Delivering highly relevant, omni-channel customer experiences (PDF).
• View other Insurance Insight of the Week videos.
• Email me to discuss how Accenture can help insurers successfully progress through these five stages of personalization and agility.

Perceptions about conflicts of interest in the insurance industry frequently damage reputations. Profiling clients’ risks before recommending insurance reduces conflict-of-interest perceptions surrounding issues like sales commissions, over-/under-insurance and inappropriate/inadequate insurance. Risk profiling can improve the insurance industry’s reputation, letting insurance professionals:

• Engage with clients as trusted risk advisers rather than insurance product sellers.
• Demonstrate more intelligent matching of risks and insurance.
• Tailor the insurance product to specifically identified risks.
• Provide greater clarity on both uninsured and insured risks.
• Reduce under- (and non-) insurance through greater focus on higher risks.
• Ensure that insurance products are offered for the highest risks and that premiums are spent on areas of highest risk accordingly.
• Eliminate perceptions of over-insurance by using risk matching.
• Identify client risk management controls, thereby assisting insurance underwriting.

The inclusion in risk profiles of independent risk benchmarking for specific industries and multiple risk areas also assists in ameliorating perceptions of conflict of interest. Independent benchmarking provides quantifiable and empirical guidance that is not aligned to an insurance adviser’s commercial self-interest. See also: Digital Risk Profiling Transforms Insurance Until now, in the absence of conveniently accessible  benchmarking, hundreds of thousands of advisers have typically found risk profiling to be a time-consuming manual process. For this reason primarily, the use of risk profiling for commercial insurance buyers globally has been very limited and sporadic. The Risk Advisor digital risk library of 160,000 exposures and controls and 6,000 benchmarks, for 600 industries and 60 risk areas has been built to make risk profiling easy for insurance advisers and their clients. Risk profiling can improve insurance adviser reputations, and it can reduce compliance breaches and negligence. All of the outcomes from risk profiling contribute to enhanced reputations and help achieve regulatory compliance. An Economist survey highlighted that these are the greatest areas of concern across many industries, not just the insurance industry. LRN  (lrn.com ), which has E&C (reputation risk) training for more than 25 million employees of organizations globally, does annual surveys that suggest that conflicts of interest are a major area of reputation risk concern across a  wide range of predominantly U.S. companies, industries and business sectors, as shown below. The digital technology era presents a wonderful opportunity for the insurance industry to elevate its reputation, which has heretofore been hurt, often unfairly. The insurance industry pays billions of claims every year, and insurance advisers play an invaluable role in the sustainability of business through risk protection. See also: Customers’ Digital Expectations As longtime practitioners in the international risk and insurance sector, the Risk Advisor team members are excited about the opportunity for digital risk profiling to support the insurance industry and its dedicated professionals in getting the great reputations they deserve.

The recent vote for Brexit will by no means destroy the U.K. insurance industry – if managed properly, the industry can emerge more resilient and competitive than ever. While insurers in the U.K. proceed with caution as they prepare for the country’s exit from the European Union, we at EY see this “Brexit moment” as an opportunity to foster innovation and transformations in the industry. See also: Thoughts on Insurance After Brexit   Insurers agree that Brexit does present a number of challenges, including instability and legal uncertainty that may arise from a delayed exit. However, we believe that with diligence and imagination, the U.K. insurance industry can use Brexit to secure its future and maintain preeminence as a leader by:

• Investing in developing expertise in emerging areas such as big data and the Internet of Things
• Creating attractive product lines that stand out from potential rivals in Europe
• Developing services and products that will be attractive to growing regions beyond the EU

The industry should use the opportunities created by the Brexit vote to help London remain the best place in the world to conduct business and take steps to make London insurers the most innovative and customer-focused. For more information, read EY’s new report.

American adults working full time spend an average of 47 hours per week at their workplace (Gallup 2013). For those dealing with a mental health issue or thoughts of suicide, employers have an important opportunity to create safeguards to protect those who may be at risk. There are many reasons why an employee may keep concerns about his or her mental health private. Stigma, fear of losing one’s job, and lack of awareness can prevent an individual from seeking help. It can also prevent someone who is concerned about a co-worker from reaching out when they may be needed most. Research shows that 70% of those who die by suicide tell someone or give warning signs before taking their own life. Coworkers see each other every day and are more apt to notice changes in mood and behavior. For this reason, they play a key role in identifying potential suicide risk and mental health crises in their peers. See also: Blueprint for Suicide Prevention   Mental health education and awareness programs can help to create an environment where employees feel comfortable reaching out for help and should be a primary component of workplace wellness initiatives. Employers can implement the following strategies that not only connect their employees with help but also promote a culture of mental health awareness: Health Promotion Health promotion programs enable employees to take action to better their health. While employers often use health promotion to encourage physical health changes, employers can use health promotion to discuss mental health issues and encourage a culture of employee engagement and connection, as well. National Depression Screening Day, held on Oct. 6 this year, raises awareness for depression and related mood and anxiety disorders. The annual campaign provides employers with an opportunity to start the conversation with employees about mental health. Online Screenings Anonymous online screenings are a proven way to reach those in need and help direct them to appropriate assistance. Employees can take a screening to determine if the symptoms they are experiencing are consistent with a mental health disorder (i.e., depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, an eating disorder or a substance use disorder). Upon completion of a screening, employees are provided with immediate results and linked back to employee assistance program or local community resources. If your organization does not currently have an online screening program, a more general anonymous screening can be taken here. Suicide Prevention Awareness The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released data showing a 24% increase on average of suicide rates from 1999 to 2014. It is critical that employees learn how to talk with someone about mental health, understand how to recognize warning signs of suicide and know the actions to take to get themselves or a coworker the help they need. The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Workplace Task Force champions suicide prevention as a national priority and cultivates effective programming and resources within the workplace. The task force provides support for employers and motivates them to implement a comprehensive, public health approach to suicide prevention, intervention and "postvention" in the workplace. Programs like the Workplace Task Force are important sources of knowledge and assistance for employers. See also: 6 Things to Do to Prevent Suicides   Employers can provide resources such as Stop a Suicide Today, which educates individuals about the warning signs of suicide and steps to take if they are concerned about a coworker or loved one. There are also other lifesaving resources, like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK (8255)). The World Health Organization estimates that depression will be the second leading cause of disability by 2020. Employers have the option to act as catalysts for early detection and prevention when it comes to mental health disorders and suicide, which can lead to improved quality of life for individuals, as well as for the organization itself.