Speed and efficiency have been words effective businesses have lived by for years, but they have come into greater focus in the last decade as the Internet has changed the way the world does business. Nothing is faster or more efficient today than the Internet, but to achieve the greatest benefits, companies need to rethink how they are going to use this tool. Thats a major reason the opening session of TechDEC will discuss the future of Internet technology in insurance.

Where Do We Go From Here? will feature Dennis Chookaszian, the retired chairman and CEO of CNA Insurance, who will serve as moderator. The rest of the panel includes Cathy Ellwood, director of corporate strategy for Nationwide Insurance; Judy Johnson, vice president of insurance information strategies with the research and consulting firm META Group; and Jeff Chookaszian, engagement manager with the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Dennis Chookaszian, who will also deliver the keynote address at TechDEC, believes the Internet will have two major effects on the insurance industry in the coming yearscost efficiencies and broader distribution. These efficiencies will come as insurers experience a greater availability of data collected over the Internet and the transfer of business processes from manual-related or computer-related systems to newer communication-related systems. Such Internet-style technology will reduce costs, it will reduce the level of effort, and it will improve accessibility to large-scale data, says Chookaszian. Data accumulation becomes much easier under the Internet approach, so that will affect costs and the value aspects of insurance.