Fight “The Great Resignation” With The Greater Digitization!

By Mike Fieseler

InsurTech tools have driven a lot of the efficiencies and time/ cost savings being realized lately in insurance. They enable much of the workflow streamlining and operational improvements happening in the industry. Most insurers have come around to seeing the advantages of technologically transforming their business.

However, I get the feeling that many of us are still not aware of the impressive depth and breadth of meaningful change that methods like robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning can attain. In fact, it can touch and improve every stage of the policy lifecycle and reach each area of your business. Many (Digital) Hands Make Light Work Making technology work for you is more important than ever these days. Like other employers, insurers on both sides of the pond are struggling with a shrinking labor force.

Early retirements, increased movement between companies/ positions to perceived greener (more remote-friendly, presumably) pastures and even people just leaving work entirely – all have become commonplace in the movement variously called The Great Resignation or The Great Reprioritization.

Workflow automation is not intended to put people out of jobs. The ideal situation is that it makes manual processes easier, and then the team members who were saddled with laborious tasks can be reassigned to more meaningful endeavors. But it works just as well if folks are leaving or you are facing a candidate shortage that leaves spots unfilled.

SLASH DATA ENTRY & DRIVE EFFICIENCY Start at the very beginning: a prospect or policyholder goes to your website (as is increasingly likely, rather than picking up the phone) for information, a quote or ID card. Do you have:

• A chatbot in place to facilitate? • Self-serve options for today’s DIY, want-it-right-away consumer? • Email routing to simplify and speed responses?

If not, that’s the start of a pain point for an existing customer or a turningaway point for a potential one.

See The Great Resignation Pg 32

About the author, Mike Fieseler: Mike’s focus is on helping clients achieve operational efficiencies and cost savings. His career has spanned IBM, ARC, DataTrak, and for the past 10 years EOX Vantage. Last year he achieved the CPL - Certified Program Leader designation through Target University of the Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA).

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HOW CAN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY APPEAL TO GEN Z?

space, which works to a certain degree,” Zeornes mentioned. “The problem is Gen Z doesn’t necessarily see or hear that from existing industry professionals.”

“Our talent study highlights that the essence of strategic intent is resource allocation,” said Pieroni. If you have the strategies in place to attract young talent - such as marketing spending, providing access to mentorship programs and refining how to approach younger generations on an annual basis, you are more likely to be successful.

The industry could also make better use of social media platforms to promote authenticity. Knowing Gen Z does not go to Facebook for information, there are other platforms not being taken advantage of, such as TikTok or Instagram.

“Facebook may be more appealing for baby boomers and older millennials and TikTok gears more towards Gen Z. We haven’t figured out a good way to utilize TikTok in the insurance space but it’s a big opportunity,” said Zeornes.

Instagram is the in between of the social media marketplace. The platform is more developed commercially, but the insurance industry still lacks an overall social media presence.

“Over the next couple of years, it will be interesting to see how insurers take advantage of social media experiences,” said Zeornes. “Baby boomers have been running insurance for 40 years. The fintech revolution 10 years ago changed the banking community and that’s what’s happening right now with insurance. It’s one of the most disreputable industries in our economy and a lot of it is still run-on legacy systems.”

Pieroni noted the alignment digital maturity has with attracting new talent – something he described as a “profound correlation.” New graduates don’t want to work with obsolete technology or deal with paper anymore.

It’s not about how much money you invest into technology it’s about where you invest it. Being highly digital lets you deliver good pricing, products, and experience in an innovative way

“You have to have state of the market capabilities to attract talent whether you’re a carrier, broker or reinsurer,” said Pieroni.

“Gen Z is more open to change than any other generation,”

Zeornes added. “They have the opportunity to build on what previous generations have done, revolutionize and change the world of insurance. It’s the responsibility of the current people in the industry to recruit new talent with fresh ideas - the future of insurance lies on the shoulders of Gen Z.”

Generation Z, colloquially also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha.

Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2010s as ending birth years. Most members of Generation Z are children of

Generation X.” - Wikipedia

Continued From Page 10 HOW SCHOOLS, SPORTS AND REC HAVE FARED THROUGH COVID-19

their insurers, and I think a lot of insurers were willing to do whatever they could to help each individual insured. At SMIC, we looked at it on an individual basis, providing solutions depending on what state the insured was in and how much their risk had changed.”

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL Three-quarters of the way through 2021 and there’s now some light at the end of the long COVID-19 tunnel. Schools, sport, and recreational organizations are slowly reopening, armed with new best practices and safety protocols to keep everybody safe. However, with the Delta variant of the coronavirus actively spreading across the US, the big reopening remains “a moving target,” according to Walker. Some insureds have had to apply the brakes and reassess how they’re keeping students and athletes safe through this most recent wave of the pandemic. coverages or reducing their insured limits.

“Over the past year, insureds have “We’ve seen organizations trying really learned how to tighten up to cut costs wherever they can their risk management protocols,” because they’ve suffered a big drop said Walker. “Almost all carriers in revenue over the last 18 months,” now have a communicable disease Walker commented. “Many insureds exclusion or an organic pathogen are looking to save on premiums, exclusion on and if they their policies, haven’t been and insureds happy with their understand that current carrier’s [a pandemic] is response, service, not a covered or coverage risk. So, they’ve throughout had to pivot in the pandemic, terms of how they’re definitely they operate […] shopping the and rely heavily market. At SMIC, on what the we’re willing to individual states work with our are mandating and insureds and what the CDC is help them in any advising in order way we can as to keep everybody they try to get safe. It’s also back to ‘normal’ vitally important operations and get that insureds their participation maintain tight numbers back up.” communication and be very With insureds transparent shopping the with parents of students, athletes, market, retail agents are also looking and campers, so that everybody to write new business. Walker added: is comfortable with the safety “That has created a big opportunity measures and protocols they’ve put for a lot of market movement in this in place.” space. There are also carriers that, depending on the line of business, There are some concerns in the have been very aggressive in 2021, underwriting community that and are underwriting and using cash-strapped schools, sports, and competitive rating to try to win new entertainment businesses might look business. There’s a lot of movement to save costs by removing insurance going on.”

Over the past year, insureds have really learned how to tighten up their risk management protocols,” said

Walker. “Almost all carriers now have a communicable disease exclusion or an organic pathogen exclusion on their policies, and insureds understand that [a pandemic] is not a covered risk. “