The IASA 2016 (Insurance Accounting & Systems Association) event hosted more than 1,300 attendees and more than 200 product and service exhibitors. Through their mantra of Progress through Sharing Knowledge they were able to draw a crowd that embodied the same open approach to learning and sharing - which fueled some great discussion.
Being lucky to step off the exhibiting floor and take part in learning sessions and round-tables, I discovered that there was something for everyone. From career advice (for the greener attendees) to Technology Super Sessions (for the more advanced).
In a session sponsored by Majesco, entitled Digital Disruption, the panel discussion between Bolt Technologies, compare.com and Westfield Insurance offered some conflicting ideas about IoT but definitely some food for thought.
- Sue Seager Maier, Westfield Insurances’s Enterprise Integration IT Leader, made mention that their key focus and driver has always been their agents. She spoke about their unique approach with a more agency-centric model.
- Rob Tyrie, SVP of Professional Services at Bolt Insurance, touched on mobile being a key focus for them - thereby conflicting with Sue’s ideas around emerging technologies and still having a place for agents in the P & C insurance space.
- To mix it up even more, Chris Ritter, Head of Business Development for compare.com, spoke about their more consultative approach and methodology when working with both agencies and customers - mixing in technology to boost sales averages.
True to the title of the session, there was a lot of sparked discussion on these different approaches and everyone in the room was thoroughly engaged in discussing the gaps that still need to be filled in the agent vs. mobile vs. consumer technologies conversation.
The most recent research and data this year is pointing to customer-centricity as a key indicator of overall organizational success; which was a resonating theme in many of the sessions surrounding security and data on cloud-based solutions. Even with these clashing ideologies, the underlying business strategy for all of these organizations was always tied to a customer-centric view.
This theme was highlighted in Yahoo! Tech Columnist, David Pogue’s Technology Super Session in which he mentioned that his group publishes everything from reviews to how-things-work, but their x-factor is that they want everything to be funny, authoritative and helpful to customers.
The take-away from all of these sessions was that even though there are many strategies that are being discussed surrounding technologies, data, and security, we are all in agreement that customers should always be our guiding light.
The tone of passion and a desire to improve customer’s lives resounded through most sessions, and I walked away noticing that the Insurance Carriers and the vendors that attended IASA are committed to stepping up their game and finding effective technologies to make that happen.
The positive shift has taken place. This disruption is great news for the customer and the other companies who follow suite and step up to the plate. Want to discuss further? Contact us today!