As digital capabilities began filtering into consumer markets, most industries unknowingly placed their functions into two buckets. There were the applications where \u201cconsumerized\u201d digital experiences and services made sense. And there were those areas where digital service would just \u201cnever make sense.\u201d Except that most executives hadn\u2019t fully wrapped their heads around what consumerization would do to the buckets they had written off as not applicable.<\/p>\n
Pick any industry and you\u2019ll be surprised at what has been packaged into a set of retail-like, consumer-friendly digital services. Concrete makes a great example. Any contractor knows that you order concrete with a phone call. You tell the dispatcher how many yards of concrete you need and what kind of mix you need and where you are going to be located. It is a process that has worked the same way for 80 years or more. The industry was a dinosaur, slow to move.<\/p>\n
Until someone developed Truckast \u2014 SaaS software for concrete suppliers which is now linked to mobile phone and tablet apps for contractors. Truckast handles truck logistics, site management and real-time data feedback during the pour. Now concrete contractors enjoy a consumer-style ability to control their business and learn from it. Truckast helps suppliers improve their relationships, sell more concrete, lower waste and streamline communication, which lowers operational cost. Which begs the question, if concrete can be flexible enough to \u201cgo digital,\u201d are there any areas of the insurance industry that are outside of the scope of innovation?<\/p>\n
In Majesco\u2019s February 27, 2020 webinar, A New Digital Experience for Agents and Brokers<\/a>, we looked at digital transformation activities among some of insurance\u2019s most complex and deeply entrenched distribution channels. These channels are proving that there is no area that is outside of the realm of innovation.<\/p>\n Our webinar panel included myself, Martina Conlon<\/strong>, P&C Practice Analyst at Novarica, Brian Seanor<\/strong>, Senior Director of Digital Operations, Burns & Wilcox, and Nishit Shukla<\/strong>, Director of Digital Business, Majesco. We considered digital agency experience from three angles:<\/p>\n Together, we answered the question, \u201cHow are insurers, brokers and technology providers working together to innovate around the future of agency and broker channels?\u201d<\/p>\n While insurers are beset by a host of trends, constraints and strategies, Novarica has distilled transformation down to what is truly important to the business. Martina Conlon explained it this way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe there are only three ways to create value in insurance:<\/p>\n \u201cTechnology is a key enabler of all of these three. But as we look at digital distribution\u2026digital capabilities exposed to agents generates big value by helping insurers to sell more and cost less to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n In Majesco\u2019s latest thought-leadership report, Strategic Priorities: Insurance Transformation Gains Momentum<\/a>, we discuss the two-speed model for growth, acknowledging that many insurers are probably tackling their digital agency experiences from two sides: optimization of the existing business and systems, or potentially launching a new business model, products and processes on platform technologies to build the business of the future. Either side of the equation can improve digital service to agents and brokers, and either can apply pressure to the levers of value.<\/p>\n Two recent winners of the Novarica Research Council Impact Award, for example, found real dividends by investing in digital channel optimization. In one case, the insurer improved turnaround time for quotes by 40%. In another case, the launch of a customized insurance agent portal<\/a> resulted in 25% premium growth through a consolidation of quote and issuance processes.<\/p>\n Martina also spoke about the up-and-coming technologies that will be game-changers for customer, agent and broker interaction. These include: robotic process automation (RPA), voice computing \u2014 servicing agents through Alexa, Siri and Google by placing agent capabilities within the voice platform \u2014 and recommendation engines, which give guidance to agents about which product to position and which coverages make sense for prospects and clients. Martina also mentioned the rising use of APIs to assist in streamlining and improving processes such as comparative rating.<\/p>\n One of the most exciting, non-consumer facing applications of digital experience platforms is collaborative pipeline management.<\/p>\n \u201cMore and more we are seeing in the middle-market and commercial insurance space\u2026underwriters and marketing reps are working with agents on pipeline management using a shared digital platform in order to manage the mission through the pipeline, talk about which (accounts) they want and what they can do in order to acquire the business.\u201d<\/p>\n The second component of two-speed optimization is building the future business.<\/strong> In some cases, such as with start-up businesses or greenfield developments, these business processes, products and technologies are completely new and fresh, designed \u201cfrom the ground up\u201d to reach new heights of digital experience for agents and brokers. We expect his kind of cutting-edge insurance experience from new industries, such as the gig economy represented by Uber. But can these experiences also grow within the older, more entrenched corners of the industry?<\/p>\n When we look at Excess and Surplus (E&S) lines, we find a great example of an industry that looks a bit like the Concrete industry, from the outside. It is high touch, very manual, takes lots of communication and sometimes, guesswork. Most insurers wouldn\u2019t hesitate to tell you that acquiring and underwriting E&S business is unlike any business in terms of complexity. Can a consumer-like digital experience survive in a world where nearly every policy is somehow unique?<\/p>\n Burns & Wilcox, a broker\/MGA for E&S insurers, sees things differently. According to Brian Seanor, there are some advantages to be found in the E&S business. Using those advantages can make it easier to bring the digital experience to a complicated business.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not connecting to a gargantuan policy admin system,\u201d said Brian, \u201cWe\u2019re leveraging multiple connection points from the carrier partners and effectively, just carving out the rating and rules logic across a larger ecosystem. In the E&S market, most of our business is not admitted, so within the non-admitted space, you\u2019ll see a lot of product rule and rating changes a little more frequently, but ideally, we do have the flexibility to quickly adapt to changing markets, without the regulatory restrictions that inhibit you from doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n Burns & Wilcox conceptualized a digital vision that was contingent on three main points of differentiation:<\/p>\n \u201cSo, as a result of that, after doing extensive due diligence, and exploring different vendors, we ended up choosing Digital1st Insurance\u00d2<\/sup><\/a>, and that was real the result of four drivers, \u201c Brian said.<\/p>\n Currently, Burns & Wilcox is in a beta launch phase with a small group of retail partners, and they are ready for a full-scale launch in Q2.<\/p>\n From the developer vantage point, success means supplying all of the tools and methods that an insurer or broker needs to creatively construct a digital experience like Burns & Wilcox. This means not only providing the technologies necessary in the format that works, but also packaging those components within a scalable framework that fits the needs of the business.<\/p>\n Nishit Shukla, Director of Digital Business, Majesco, explained how these components fit the need.<\/p>\n \u201cTo make this strategy successful, it is very essential for the organizations to move away from a stand-alone, single product-based approach, to a whole platform-based economy \u2014 an ecosystem of partners serving the customer by leveraging all the modern technology that can provide a solution for customers\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/p>\n The foundation for constructing the digital experience relies on three key components. Majesco Digital1st Insurance\u00d2<\/sup><\/a>, which Nishit classifies as \u201ca fully cloud-enabled API first, and micro-surfaces-based full-stacked local platform, supporting visual modeling as well as the creation of compelling user experiences, providing end-to-end integration capabilities to connect their hubs and APIs.\u201d<\/p>\n The framework also needs out-of-the-box insurance content, which is offered through Majesco\u2019s ready to use engagement apps<\/a>. This provides a much-needed \u201cjumpstart and acceleration.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd finally,\u201d said Nishit, \u201cthe EcoExchangeTM<\/sup><\/a>, which is the openness of the platform, focusing on microservices and cloud-enabled ecosystems.\u201d When used together, all of these components answer the need for a digital experience platform in a launch-ready package that fits business requirements for scaled-investment growth strategies.<\/p>\n Are you ready to provide cloud-enabled digital experiences to your agent and broker channels? For a more extensive look at trends and possibilities, be sure to view the Majesco webinar, A New Digital Experience for Agents and Brokers<\/a>. For a deeper look at the relationship between digital experience and Platform-as-a-Service capabilities, learn more about Majesco Digital1st Insurance\u00d2<\/sup><\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As digital capabilities began filtering into consumer markets, most industries unknowingly placed their functions into two buckets. There were the applications where \u201cconsumerized\u201d digital experiences and services made sense. And there were those areas where digital service would just \u201cnever make sense.\u201d Except that most executives hadn\u2019t fully wrapped their heads around what consumerization would…<\/p>\n\n
Novarica\u2019s Three Levers of Value<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Digital Optimization Pays Off<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Building the Business of the Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Digital Experiences Begin with a Digital Vision<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Digital Vision is Enabled to Key Digital Components<\/strong><\/h3>\n