Description: This second session in the series examines responses to the changing workplace landscape from outside the insurance industry. Using a question-and-answer approach with our panelists, this session focuses on practical approaches to identifying new opportunities, and ways in which traditional products and sales channels are changing to meet emerging needs. Compared with other vertical financial services, the life insurance industry has a very low level of 'touch' with its customers. Communication with customers is often limited to the annual mailing of premium invoices. Wellness platforms offer life insurers a means to increase customer engagement, building stronger brand affinity and improving persistency. Life insurers can also leverage customer data collected through the wellness platform to streamline the underwriting process for cross-sales, increasing volume and efficiency.

Description: Align carrier, agent, and consumer definition(s) of DTC to establish a collective understanding for the affected parties. Understand why a direct-to-consumer approach may be important for carriers’ and distributors’ growth and development goals, tactics and strategies. Use the agreed-upon baseline and understanding of DTC’s importance to establish and agree upon reasonable expectations for its role in marketing, distribution, and product development and performance. Position carriers and distributors together to align sales, marketing and performance expectations and incentives for all parties to increase the possibility of outperforming in (and outside of) the DTC space; design sales, marketing and distribution systems and approaches to meet consumers where they are at; and expand current sales and cultivate new markets to remain relevant and magnify profiles in an ever-changing industry.

Description: The collective investment in transforming the life insurance proposition exceeds anything seen in the last thirty years — a working lifetime. As one would expect, reinsurers are playing a major role. The past five years have seen global reinsurers raise the bar on client experience to new levels, while also investing, expanding and re-organizing to support the transformation of the primary insurance industry, and in so doing also their own.

Description: This summary of presentation given at the 2019 Annual Meeting covers a personal perspective on factor behind innovation in insurance. Four key themes are discussed: 1. Customer focus 2. Value of partnerships 3. Experimentation 4. Obstacles to innovation