Justin Stephani

In anticipation of the announcement of designations for non-bank systemically important financial institutions, Howard Mills, director and chief advisor of Deloitte’s insurance industry group and former New York State Insurance superintendent, shares thoughts about some of the last-minute speculation and what options insurers will have if designated.

Hear enough examples of companies employing technologies for reasons beyond serving the same old markets, and you begin to see some trends.

This week, the insurer found itself at the mercy of the Internet. While social analytics is set to take off in coming years and monitoring social networks for feedback is increasingly seen as essential in this era of consumer-centrism, this is an uncanny example of why these initiatives need to be fully embraced.

At Monday’s morning session on the FIO at the Insured Retirement Institute’s Government, Legal and Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C., John Fielding—a counsel in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the Government Affairs & Public Policy practice focusing on insurance and financial services legislative and regulatory matters—speculated that a tiff between the Office of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) and the FIO may be stalling the document’s release.

Automakers’ recent move to incorporate smartphone hubs into production and the recent outcries against distracted driving could put insurers in precarious position.