Insure Think

Whatever a company’s stated purpose, well-designed end-to-end experiences are essential to bringing it to life operationally.

As some insurers cling to the classic “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it theory”, IT executives face added pressure to update core.

Remarks at a Monte Carlo conference indicate the search giant is looking again at the insurance industry.

As automation increases, it’s not that jobs will be entirely eliminated, it’s more likely that jobholders will see the nature of their tasks shift away from repetitive tasks and toward people-oriented tasks.

Seizing the opportunity will require new ways of thinking, radically different operating models and entirely new capabilities--especially in the realm of customer experience

Insurers are responding to the increased frequency and complexity of cyber threats by inadvertently putting higher security burdens on customers when they release new digital tools.

Insurers can benefit from a re-orienting of traditional markers of business success for the digital age.

Insurers of all sizes are being forced to recognize and act on one of the greatest opportunities to date: to attract, source, train, develop and retain workers with skills in advanced computing.

The reality is the market for core system replacements is shrinking.

The challenge for insurance IT managers is to sell their workplaces and companies as cutting-edge opportunities for IT professionals.

VR can be leveraged to learn, travel, educate, and share experiences with others.

Many organizations, especially insurance companies, have been attempting to straddle the (little-D) "delta" between enormous stores of legacy assets and 2010s-era digital demands in recent years.

Teams that only look at time and budget inevitably end up with a significant backlog of functionality and tech debt that may or may not be funded and addressed.

Insurance technology is increasingly resembling that of the Amazons, Googles and Facebooks of the world – responsive, smart and adapting from sub-second to sub-second to changing realities.

With all the attention and funds now being poured into insurance industry innovation, software providers must help insurers “get ready" before it's too late.

The insurance industry has witnessed particular trends in innovation that highlight a unique claims approach.

The sweet spot for insurers' online distribution efforts and startups looking to innovate may be the small business insurance market, study finds.

Not all carriers are completely ready to lock in to a cloud-based service model in which core systems’ computing resources are shared and maintained on the Internet.

Metlife’s goal was to use advanced analytics to manage liquidity and optimize the use of highly liquid assets.

Insurers have many options when it comes to marketing via the mobile channel, but the most underused is the art of texting.

Carriers will continue to invest in managing and analyzing both structured and unstructured data from telematics, wearables and weather, Celent predicts.

More insurers are treating data, business intelligence and analytics as a functional area of the business, resulting in increased technology investments and staffing.

AI may not be a perfect fit for insurance companies, at least not yet.

Having a vision statement and defining the future state of each business process can greatly aid insurer's core replacement efforts.

Opportunities arise for insurers to catch customers as Pokemon GO users wander into dangerous places.

In a world in which insurers are considering using wearables like FitBit to validate claims data, apps like Pokemon GO offer the same information in much greater detail.

Front office and back office apps need to talk to one another to make sure companies are able to win, serve, and retain customers.

New commercial shows a world without windstorms, traffic accidents, building fires, and emergencies -- and that State Farm and its agents will be in the lending, wealth accumulation, and retirement income businesses.

The insurance industry is known to be conservative when it comes to new technology paradigms, but may not be alone when it comes to data analytics.

Legacy systems are not a Y2K problem – there’s no ticking time bomb.

Policyholders will always make questionable choices and exhibit unsafe behaviors, but insurers at least have a running start at reducing frequency or severity of loss.

The cost of a data breach is going up, and quick responses can save savvy organizations.

The UK's departure from the EU highlights the importance for companies to maintain flexible, globalized IT operations to handle unforeseen events.

After a five-year high, a recently released J.D. Power study finds overall satisfaction with auto insurers has significantly dropped.

Insurers should increase their understanding of and investment in this particular section of the market, including thoughtful client segmentation, marketing efforts, and application of technology.

Allianz’s recent implementation of a blockchain-based CAT bond shows how the technology can build trust and accountability in an existing marketplace.

The predominant approach will be one in which startups coexist with, not replace, insurers.

Carriers are faced with more options than ever when it comes to housing and transmitting data, but a majority are switching to cloud.

Keeping the best employees engaged for decades is the goal of forward-thinking carriers.

Regardless of which one, it is still a significant step forward towards the acceptance of autonomous vehicles.

New industry trends and tech ventures are presented in the language of disruption, but aren't a radical transformation of the insurance business.

New types of solutions are reshaping the way technology services are delivered, both internally as well as to customers.

It takes more than just technical know-how to steward an insurance company into the digital age.

Existing data centers cannot handle all consumer data alone. Ultimately, a multi-layer hybrid approach needs to be considered.

The Internet of Things might be in danger of stalling out if insurers weren't promoting connected devices.

The blockchain would reject multiple claims for one accident because the network would know that a claim had already been made, for example.

In the age of Fintech startups, it no longer makes sense to be a “fast follower”: Novarica.

Legacy systems are no longer able to support the flexibility and time to market necessary to compete in today’s market, and insurers are taking action.

Insurers are focusing on data mastery for the customer experience and more, but there's a lot of work ahead.

Insurance companies need to identify the next generation of female leaders.

How can an insurer increase in agility, speed to market and flexibility while keeping the support and maintenance costs manageable?

I had the opportunity to moderate two panels that highlighted the very different views on digitalization in insurance.