Blue Marble Microinsurance, a consortium of eight companies established in 2015 with the aim of creating a market for microinsurance, is launching our first venture in Zimbabwe. While Blue Marble will initially pilot the venture in Zimbabwe to gain insights into how to make the insurance solution sustainable and impactful, we ultimately plan to scale the venture across Africa. Blue Marble is providing drought protection to smallholder maize farmers in Zimbabwe. The venture has three key features. First, the design of a proprietary index to support the insurance product is a collaborative innovation of data scientists and agronomists from the eight consortium companies. The second feature is the use of two-way mobile communication with customers to improve the overall proposition continuously. Third, the use of innovative point-sensor technology to measure rainfall and plant health throughout the growing season will complement traditional grid remote-sensing data to create a higher-resolution parametric insurance cover. See also: Microinsurance Model in Non-Standard Auto?   I am delighted that Blue Marble’s eight consortium companies have come together to launch this promising venture in Africa. By working together, we will bring insurance protection to the underserved in Zimbabwe, a region once known as the breadbasket of Africa but now constrained by food insecurity. Blue Marble’s venture in Zimbabwe should reveal insights into streamlining processes and building customer-centric business models. See also: 5 Innovations in Microinsurance  

The Department of Labor has issued a stinging report that, in effect, calls for a new federal commission to review how the state-based workers’ compensation system fails. The department throws down the gauntlet, challenging defenders of the current system to show how state oversight has not deteriorated in the past 25 years in the ways that matter to it —mainly, preventing financial distress to injured workers. The report’s title, “Does the Workers’ Compensation System Fulfill its Obligations to Injured Workers?”, signals that the department is interested only in increasing worker benefits. It doesn’t want to take over managing the system. The body of the 43-page report barely mentions employers and insurers. The department portrays itself as a vital stakeholder, in two ways. First, it cites a team of researchers with 70 years’ experience in workers’ comp who estimated that Social Security Disability Insurance spends $23 billion annually for benefits to beneficiaries injured at work. The SSDI enrollment rate for injured workers is double that of workers not disabled by work. See also: Time to Focus on Injured Workers Second, not large in the text but strikingly so in the press conference, speakers suggested that the nation’s entire economic safety net is out of kilter because of poor performance of the only part of the safety net run by the states. There should be no doubt that ProPublica's series of articles, which commenced in March 2015 with its initial broadside, “The Demolition of Workers’ Comp,” makes it easier for DOL to pitch its views. But DOL doesn't have much problem finding evidence, some of which is sound, some speculative and some questionable. The report’s power of persuasion is greatly enhanced by the fact that neither states nor private sector participants in workers’ comp seriously attempt to demonstrate that injured workers fare well, or even just no worse than in the past. The industry does not try to demonstrate that its immense investment in doing business, such as medical management, improves the lot of these workers. The executive summary says, “Working people are at great risk of falling into poverty as a result of workplace injuries and the failure of state workers’ compensation systems to provide them with adequate benefits.” The force of this sentence warns that if state regulators and private parties want to respond, it will take quite an effort. The risk of financial distress is rarely addressed, as WorkCompCentral did in The Uncompensated Worker report of January 2016. States need to consider the extent to which the state system is responsible, such as by barring or erecting hurdles to claims for disease and post-traumatic stress disorder. Certain workers’ compensation benefits, such as for atomic weapons workers, have already been federalized because of failed efforts deliver benefits. (Some financial distress is beyond the scope of a workers’ compensation system, such as lower incomes years after a worker sustains a temporary medical-only claim.) See also: States of Confusion: Workers Comp Extraterritorial Issues  DOL’s report argues extensively that benefits have worsened since the 1980s. That’s when state reaction to 1972's so-called Burton Commission (named after its chair, John F. Burton Jr.) began to falter. States made improvements primarily out of fear of federal take-over. Since, then, according to the report, it’s been only downhill. The report even questions how evidence-based medicine guidelines have helped workers. This worsening of benefits is a complex argument, arising from Burton himself, still in the game. For some 40 years, frequency of work injuries (the number per 100 workers) has steadily declined. This seems a spectacular gain for workers and employers.  Indemnity benefits per $100 payroll also declined by a lot. In 2010, Burton asserted that benefit payments fell far more because of restricting access to benefits than from fewer injuries. Much in the report can be picked apart by informed critics. Does anyone want to do it? The report does not end with a crisp list of action items to critique, other than a bland one for more research. But the obvious aim is another federal commission. Those who want to drown this surfacing proposal might consider what allies they have in Washington. Will either of the presidential candidates be opposed to a commission? Would congressional Republicans want to come to the defense of a state system not ready for this battle? The Department of Labor and others in Washington want, it appears, to federalize enough to increase benefits but not to be in charge of every wheel spinning every weekday at 9 a.m. To achieve change, one has to propose something that most stakeholders will see as better or no worse. And you first have to destroy the reputation of those guarding the status quo. That’s the 50 states, and that's the goal of this report. This article first appeared at WorkCompCentral.

Insurance is a complex purchase — policies are hard to understand, the reputations of insurance companies can be difficult to determine and what exactly you’re paying for isn’t always clear. Making an informed decision amid the overwhelming amount of information takes some effort, diligent research and, sometimes, a bit of luck. As it turns out, there’s an agency in your state government that should be able to help with all these things: your state’s department of insurance. But these agencies vary widely in their ability to give critical time- and money-saving information to residents, or even to answer a simple question about insurance in your state. A new NerdWallet analysis looked at insurance departments across the country, evaluating their online offerings and how helpful their websites are to consumers in their communities. We found most of these websites fall short in serving consumers by not providing key information, such as insurer rate comparisons and complaint data, as well as easy access to consumer assistance and educational materials. But we also identified states like Texas, whose insurance department website is a model of excellence that the lower-scoring states would do well to emulate. Key Findings For this study, NerdWallet examined the websites for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, looking for information that would benefit consumers the most. We also called consumer helplines and emailed each insurance department. We then graded each agency on more than 20 factors that added up to a 100-point scale. What did we find? The vast majority of departments had plenty of work to do to improve the consumer information they offer and how easy it is to find it.

• States are split on sharing rate comparisons: Twenty-seven department websites featured car insurance rate comparisons at the time of our scoring, and 24 did not. As for homeowners insurance rate comparisons, 21 websites shared the data, and 30 did not.
• Complete complaint data are scarce: Just nine department websites offered consumers the ability to compare 2015 complaint data across insurance companies for all four major lines of insurance — auto, health, homeowners and life. Twenty-three departments shared no complaint data.
• Calling for help can be cumbersome: We called all 51 departments and asked a basic, state-specific auto insurance question. Though 19 answered our question in less than two minutes and 36 in less than 10 minutes, 15 either didn’t answer the question at all or took long enough that consumers could have found another source of information during that time.

It’s important to note that state insurance departments do much more than provide help and information to consumers. They also handle licensing, monitor and regulate rates, and deal with complaints. Our analysis focused only on their websites and helplines. Spokespeople for many of the lower-scoring states said their website offerings are limited because of staffing and budget constraints. A handful of state spokespeople we interviewed said they didn’t see value in offering the things we scored. For example, Ohio Department of Insurance spokesperson David Hopcraft said the agency does “not view its website as a shopping mall for online insurance comparisons,” when asked about why the department didn’t post rate comparison data. Of the lower-scoring departments that responded to our requests for comment, several announced coming or in-progress improvements, including New Mexico, the lowest-scoring state in our analysis. See also: The Insurance Implications of Social Networking Websites, Part 3   “Your project has motivated us to improve the consumer elements of our website,” wrote Alan Seeley of the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance, whose department made several consumer-centric adjustments before publication. The Analysis In 1999, the Consumer Federation of America graded state insurance department websites and reported that three states lacked an online presence. Now, all departments have websites, catering to how Americans prefer to get information. But these sites vary greatly in their offerings, their ease of use, how well they’ve kept pace with advancements in design and how folks get information online. NerdWallet analyzed each website based on four categories:

• Insurance rate comparisons
• Complaint data
• Consumer assistance
• Consumer education and resources

For a comprehensive look at our methodology, including weightings, click here. Here’s why we chose these metrics: Insurance Rate Comparisons States accept rate filings from insurance companies, which alert the department to changes in pricing and coverage. Typically based on these filings, premium comparisons shown on insurance department websites are not meant as quotes — as numerous factors go into pricing a policy — but consumers can use them to get a general idea of what they might pay for coverage or which company offers the lowest price. Complaint Data States are tasked with accepting and investigating consumer complaints against insurance companies. Comparing complaint rates across companies can be a useful shopping tool for auto, homeowners, health and life insurance customers. Consumer Assistance When insurance customers have questions about coverage and laws in their state, they should be able to call the agency responsible for insurance regulation and receive answers. For this metric, we called all 51 departments by using the phone number that consumers would be most likely to dial. We asked a basic state-specific insurance question: “What are the minimum auto insurance requirements in this state?” Consumer Education and Resources Insurance is a complicated topic, and with so many resources online, it’s difficult to know whom to trust. People should be able to go to the state agency tasked with insurance regulation to get unbiased information to help guide their insurance decisions. Why It Matters Insurance in the U.S. is regulated at the state level. This is in contrast to many other financial service providers, such as banks, other lenders, credit card companies and debt collectors, which operate under significant federal oversight. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is also looking out for the interests of customers by accepting and resolving complaints, as well as serving as a liaison between citizens and financial institutions. However, the trillion-dollar insurance industry is by and large an exception. Fifty-one different regulating bodies make for a widely varied approach to insurance regulation and consumer services. Generally, however, these state insurance departments have the task of regulating the industry to protect consumers, the primary goal of state insurance regulation, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC. Robert Hunter, director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America and former insurance commissioner for Texas, led an analysis of state insurance agencies in 1999 that was similar to this study. The motivation then: Consumers were complaining they couldn’t find crucial information, which Hunter says these department websites are in a unique position to provide. See also: ACA: Complication for Websites   “These departments are — at least you hope, and it’s almost always true — independent of insurance companies,” not subject to biases that might come from state commissions staffed by industry insiders, Hunter says. “Plus, they have a lot of information for consumers that no one else has, information that no one else can really help you with.” Departments of insurance are clearinghouses for consumer complaints against insurers in their state. Most also require insurers to file rate changes and policy form updates, making them an ideal primary source of insurance policy information. These agencies, better than any national organization, know the unique challenges and legal requirements consumers in their state face, and they can provide this information without any self-serving interests. “Consumers shouldn’t have to rely 100% on the insurance company or its salesperson for information,” says Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, an insurance consumer advocacy organization. “There should be a neutral source of information available to the consumer to help them make good decisions surrounding this very complicated product.” In our analysis, we found many states’ websites rely on the NAIC for educational information and details about complaints filed against insurance companies. This trade organization was established almost 150 years ago to bring some uniformity to the patchwork that results from so many regulatory bodies, and has developed some useful consumer resources. States can save time and money by passing these resources on to their residents. But NAIC resources are no substitute for the kind of localized information that state insurance departments provide, according to Birny Birnbaum, executive director of the Center for Economic Justice. “It’s ridiculous to have an auto insurance buyers guide that lacks state specifics, that says, ‘In some states… .’ How does that help me?” Birnbaum says. “It’s wrong for a state to limit the resources that their insurance department has by simply relying on the NAIC. States need to supplement the tools that the NAIC provides.” NerdWallet contacted the NAIC for comment but didn’t receive a response in time for publication. However, the NAIC consistently refers consumers to state insurance departments for information specific to where they live, both on its website and its educational site InsureU. When it comes to complaint data, the NAIC’s Consumer Information Source does the same, directing visitors to their state agency for complete information and accuracy. The Results Here’s how each state’s department measured up. An asterisk (*) denotes a tie in the rankings. For details of what went into each score, click on your state’s name or navigate to this page.

Customer insight (CI) teams can take different forms in different businesses (partly rightly, to reflect the needs of that business). One such variation is reporting line. Some CI teams report into operations, sales, IT or even finance. However, by far the most common reporting line is into marketing. See also: 3 Skills Needed for Customer Insight   That makes sense to me, as over the years I have seen more and more applications for customer insight across the marketing lifecycle. Increasingly, marketing teams are realizing that use of data, analytics, research and database marketing techniques is part of their role. Sadly, these technical teams are, too often, still separated. But at least there are signs of collaboration. Marketing Automation: Companies and leaders also recognize different applications of insight to marketing. Some focus on early-stage roles in strategic decisions, some on proposition development and some on campaign execution or marketing measurement. Very few appear to use customer insight in all they do. Meanwhile, one of the trends of recent years has been the adoption of marketing automation systems. In some cases, the term has almost been used to replace the infamous customer relationship management (CRM) system. But, for many businesses, it is more about bringing a structured workflow, resource management and quality controls to the work of marketing teams. Talking with consultants who specialize in helping businesses implement marketing automation systems (none appear to work straight out of the box) reveals a sadly lacking focus on customer insight. This is such a missed opportunity. The marketing workflow needed by today’s business requires input, validation, targeting or measurement at almost every stage. But it seems that marketing automation designs are not routinely embedding customer insight deliverables into marketing processes. Regulation: It is perhaps surprising that more focus has not been put on automating routine use of insight in marketing, given the regulatory environment. Whether you consider certain vertical markets (like the role of the Financial Conduct Authority), or the higher hurdles coming to all data uses (with the adoption of general data protection regulation, or GDPR, principles), marketers will need more evidence. Those data marketers keeping up-to-date with their professional responsibilities will realize they need to evidence suitability of their offerings, targeting of their communications and appropriate use of data. Where’s the gap? So, in what parts of the marketing lifecycle are marketers neglecting to use customer insight? Where are the most important gaps? Based on my consultancy work, often helping companies design their customer insight strategy, I would identify the following common gaps: Participation decisions:

• Either not having a clear understanding of market segments, or not making participation (product categories or distribution channels) based on segment fit or size of appeal.

Communication design:

• The use of insight generation has grown for product design (as per our recent series), but too few marketing teams also use that same insight generation to design their communication.

Communication testing:

• Quite often this is left to ad hoc qualitative research, with insufficient use of techniques like eye-tracking or quantitative experimentation at concept stage.

Event triggers:

• Identified as important to targeting in two recent research reports, from the DMA & MyCustomer/DataIQ, event triggers deserve to be more widely used in targeting marketing campaigns. For further thoughts on why you don’t just need propensity models, see previous posts on both events and propensity models.

Holistic marketing measurement:

•  As more and more marketing directors are expected to report on their return on investment (ROI) or return on marketing expenditure (ROME), once again insight can help. Not just the traditional role of database marketing practices, in reporting incremental return against control groups, but also, increasingly, the design of holistic measurement program (converging evidence from brand tracking, econometrics and other data sources). This previous post shares some more detail on that.

Will you be insightful or ignored? In closing, I’d encourage all customer insight leaders to get closer to those leading marketing in their businesses. Marketing will become increasingly challenging over the next 12 months. CI leaders have the potential to become trusted advisers who can support marketing directors in navigating those choppy waters. See also: The 4 Requirements for Customer Insight   To return to the theme of regulation. I once more advise readers to not underestimate the potential impact of the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) on their businesses. Despite Brexit, every commentator seems to agree that this regulation will affect U.K. businesses. The most eye-catching element may be the scale of potential fines (as much as 4% of global annual revenue), but the changes to consent may affect marketers more. The new hurdle will be proving positive unambiguous consent. Many businesses may conclude they need to move to opt-in for all marketing content. So, going forward, the biggest threat to marketers (those not embedding insight into their processes) may not just be losing customers. It may be losing the right to talk to them!

Carpoolers and hitchhikers were the original ridesharers. Now, ridesharing has become much more sophisticated. Riders and drivers can now be partnered through smartphone applications, which is changing how we think about insurance and liability. The promise of the sharing economy, people making money from things they already own, is a noble one. Especially during tough economic times such as the 2008 recession, flexible job options in the sharing economy provide many with a financial safety net. But what do these new collaborative marketplaces, particularly ridesharing ones, mean for traditional insurance carriers? This is a great question, and one I hope to help unpack here. The Rise of the Sharing Economy People were tired of waiting long periods for unreliable taxis and poorly run public transportation. The idea of ridesharing quickly caught on and has grown steadily ever since. There's a reason why ridesharing giant Uber has been valued at more than $60 billion; it's serving a significant customer demand. And whether we like it or not, sharing economy companies like Uber are here to stay. See also: 9 Impressive Facts on Sharing Economy   Although sharing economy platforms have caught on quickly, laws and regulations have been sorely lagging. Many sharing economy companies currently operate in the legal and regulatory vacuum as decision-makers try to figure out how to handle this new form of economic exchange. The Growing Acceptance of Ride-Sharing The insurance industry is in a different stage of acceptance, however. Recently, we have seen a growing acceptance by insurance carriers of the ride-sharing phenomenon through the development of innovative policies and products. Why is ridesharing so popular? Convenience. Instead of having to pick a taxi company, calling them and waiting an untold amount of time, ride-sharers can now log into a smartphone app to book a ride. Once a driver accepts, you can see in real-time where your driver is, and even communicate with him. An advantage of ridesharing is that you don't have to exchange cash or card information for payment. Most ridesharing apps allow you to prepay into an account and simply deduct the amount of the ride from that account. Or, even connect your credit card to your account for a seamless transaction. And insurance carriers are catching on. For instance, Aviva, State Farm, GEICO, Intact and others, have introduced hybrid rideshare specific policies for those who want to drive for Uber or Lyft. But there are other aspects of auto insurance coverage that relate to the sharing economy: car-sharing. The Growing Acknowledgment of Car-Sharing For car-sharing, instead of sharing rides, users share the use of their personal vehicles in much the same way as a car rental agency operates. The biggest car-sharing platform is Turo, which allows people to rent out their vehicle to screened drivers for a fee. Think of it as a car rental agency, but on the individual level. Both car and ridesharing platforms have built-in insurance, but many questions have been raised as to liability in a sharing world. The Issue of Insurance Coverage There are certain stages of engagement in sharing economy work like ridesharing. When you are matched with a passenger, pick her up and drive her somewhere, there is no doubt you are "working." What about when you are waiting for a passenger? Or driving around looking for one? Are you covered then? And which coverage counts, yours or the platform's? But for the most part, these issues have been settled through innovative gap coverage and hybrid policies. A problem arises, however, in the form of insurer knowledge. Many sharing economy workers don't realize that they're not covered under traditional auto insurance policies. By definition, paying for the use of a vehicle, whether it's an Uber ride or renting someone else's car, is a commercial transaction. See also: Why to Embrace the Sharing Economy   That means that private insurance won't cover you for accidents or incidents involving the vehicle in question if the vehicle is being used for commercial sharing. That can be a rude awakening. Educating ride-sharers must be priority number one for sharing economy platforms and insurance carriers. Unfortunately, the law hasn't caught up to the sharing economy. In many jurisdictions for instance, ridesharing is still illegal even if you have the right insurance coverage. That is changing, however, as municipalities ease restrictions and slowly change laws to get with the times. Remember, the sharing economy is here to stay, and we must get on board, safely of course. The insurance industry is ahead of the curve, and will be much better once municipal, state and federal decision-makers better understand and intelligently regulate this new form of economic exchange.

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.