Insure Think

Big or small , claims happen. How you handle crises and customers, how quickly you respond, and how long it takes to resolve the claim make all the difference. You need to be sure that your claims operation from its core claims system to your call center, repair networks and more are up to the challenge and that you have a partner to support you and your business strategy.

Data virtualization holds a lot of promise for minimizing data center woes, but it needs to be taken one step at a time.

An outline of where and how insurers should be looking to use big data analytics throughout the enterprise.

Shouldn't digital be part of everyone's job description by now?

Insurance can be complicated and even the best-informed consumer wants advice — from family, friends and professionals. And that's where the opportunity for differentiation lays for insurers.

Passive observation and exploration are generally not enough in a complex business environment — innovation requires experimentation.

Portals have come a long way. They serve a wide range of stakeholders, from prospects to policyholders to distributors, adjusters and others. They are the go-to places for information dissemination and collaboration, creating an experience of easy to do business with them. If you aren't providing a portal to your customers and partners today, time is running out.

An insurer upgrades its data architecture and finds a competitive advantage through faster insights.

Whether it will get you closer to your career goal or you just need a change, there are six factors to examine before deciding to make a cross-functional move.

Five tips for developing an intelligent big data storage system.

When "modern era" computer systems were developed decades ago, many didn't realize that they would still be running insurers' business in the 21st Century. Developers hardly foresaw what was to come. To compete today, insurers have two options: patch or replace. Well there is a third … obsolescence.

The shift to digital means carriers must focus on sales and service portals, agency management and compensation systems.

The more an agency embraces technology and offsite/cloud storage of critical data, the better off they will fair.

Front-end systems and devices for customer engagement are getting more sophisticated, but back-end integration challenges are preventing insurers from taking advantage of them, survey shows.

Auto insurance today isn't as simple as it used to be "back "in the day". Technology has changed that paradigm, making it an all new high-tech ballgame! Telematics is here, it's real, it's growing, and you need to be ready for it.

A guide to get insurers up to speed in social spaces, which aren't going away any time soon.

Being a leader means remaining calm during stressful times. But does it come naturally or do we need to learn and develop it?

When insurers buy a new core system, they're not just buying the technology, they're buying an underlying model for how an insurer should operate.

Social media and digitization have made it easy to get closer to customers; the question is how to use that knowledge and access without becoming invasive.

Here are some practical steps carriers can take toward instituting a management program to support customer self-service.

Catastrophes are now a part of the New Normal. While there's nothing we can do to change the weather or other natural disasters, there are steps insurers can take to prepare themselves and their customers for what may come.

Insurers in the Software Business: The line between software providers and consumers is blurring

The decision announced last week by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct a market study of add-on financial products is raising one or two eyebrows within the industry.

Years of heavy reliance on vendors to deliver agency systems integration means less responsiveness to customers.

The hyper-connected consumer of the next generation will expect a highly tailored customer experience, and it can't hurt to start anticipating these needs now.

If you lead, they will follow, or so the saying goes. Leaders need exceptional qualities such as vision, knowledge, determination, and innovation and they need to lead by example. Through careful evaluation, innovative thinking and deliberation, a leader sets a course towards the future whether it is a well worn path or uncharted territory.

Delivering major technology projects in a timely, cost-effective manner is becoming table stakes for insurers.

Certain bits of common wisdom are falsely being presented as reasons for insurers to avoid an all-in commitment to innovation.

While big data operations based in the cloud are attractive, there is at least one voice out there urging executives to be wary of moving away from on-site data storage.

Advice on improving communication between business people and data professionals.

Several recommendations for using advanced technologies to make communications simpler and more secure.

Or, do carriers' attempts to humanize themselves on social networks strain relations?

We can control ourselves, not our environment. We need to decide whether to stay and try to blaze a trail for change, or we can get out and find a more suitable environment.

Recent estimates put the average hit a business takes as the result of a data breach at more than $4 million.

Some call it nostalgia. Others call it stuck in a bygone era. No matter which, we all have to come to terms with the fact that the world has changed due to technology and we all need to evolve or be lost in history.

Where once underwriters called the tune, it is now the distributors who have leverage and are setting the ground rules.

Insurers are encountering two obstacles in employing more predictive analytics: a lack of both top-level support and appropriate skill sets.

A recent study shows few female film and television characters holding science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. With the media perpetuating gender stereotypes, how can we expect there to be a natural shift toward more women in leadership?

A guide to the various options insurers have when attempting to tackle lacking data quality, inconsistent formats and fragmented sources.

A three-year move of 97 percent of a major insurer's applications and data is saving the company millions in the long-term.

Carriers seeking new solutions must dig deep into the IP supplied with modern insurance software to be sure they understand the commitment required to fully deploy these solutions.

Most if not all of us were raised believing you say what you mean and you mean what you say. But somehow, this seems lost when it comes to technology implementations today. In survey after survey, and article after article we read that what companies want are Cloud, Mobile, SaaS, and BPaaS solutions. Legacy systems are problems. Technology leaders want to modernize and become agile. Well that’s what they say anyway.

There are many systems written in many languages, but with open-source languages getting all the attention in recent years, are there enough people to support them?

Agents and carriers are working steadily toward more efficient interactions, but to reach their goal, it will take a collaborative effort.

The first step in resolving a problem is identifying the problem. Make sure you aren’t using any of the reasons listed above as excuses to avoid developing women.

While big data possesses transformative potential, investments alone won't elevate business, it takes close coordination and cooperation.

It is no secret, and it is supported by many recent industry studies - attracting and retaining customers is the primary or secondary priority for insurance companies. To do so, insurers need to provide product innovation and get customers excited about new product concepts, protection offers and superior service. Insurers can work with the customers to create the solution to meet their needs and make it about them. This is an opportunity for insurers to disrupt and capture market.

A watershed year is shaping up for insurers and their use of technology, and IT/business relations are more important than ever.

Storage continues to be the biggest chunk of the investment in virtualization projects, which includes both server and desktop initiatives.

The days of social media strategy meaning you open a Facebook page and staff it with someone young and bright are over.

Underwriting is helping insurers improve accuracy and cycle times, but third-party data could have a profound impact on the industry.

Sometimes, the stars all seem to align and that light can bring things into sharp focus. This year's IASA conference focused on knowledge and innovation. The COO Roundtable topics challenged traditional views and challenged the participants to focus on innovation, change, differentiation and competitiveness. All of this combined to emphasize how we - as an industry - must rethink, transform and innovate the insurance industry in response to the many different changes we are experiencing.