Fear keeps the digital insurance ecosystem from its full potential
Insurance-technology innovators must safeguard against building exclusive systems that are accessible only to a privileged few.
These days, we all count on instant access to information. In the insurance business, that means instant access to data. It’s something that many people in business take for granted. We can find almost anything simply by typing or asking Google, Siri or Alexa.
The technology powering all of this data is massive. It controls everything. Although there are some perceived downsides, one primary benefit is that data is the key to greater knowledge and increased productivity.
This is especially true within the commercial insurance industry. A once paper-intensive industry in which transaction time was days and weeks, has been transformed by the power of technology and data sharing.
Despite this truth, many companies are fearful of losing control of their data. As a result, they are preventing the digital insurance ecosystem from reaching its full potential.
Insurance technology innovators have a responsibility to develop and advance systems for the greater good of the industry. They also must ensure that the systems they build will facilitate the creation of an inclusive community that allows the free flow of data rather than an exclusive club guided by fear and accessible only to a privileged few. Far too often, the latter is happening and it is stymieing growth in our industry.
Who owns the data?
We all know that data is the heart of insurance. It’s what determines how policies are priced, sold, and serviced. But who are the guardians of insurance data? The answer is, everyone, from agents and carriers to agency management systems (AMSs) and technology providers.
The independent agent sits at the point of sale, gathering all of that data and inputting it into their AMS. Carriers collect the data that agents share with them, combined with public information they are able to gather. And technology providers? They recognize the power of data, often creating their own collection of information.
Data-sharing across departmental and corporate boundaries has helped to improve and propel many industries into their next level of growth. So why doesn’t it happen freely in commercial insurance?
This is a question that I find so perplexing in my own business. I often ask colleagues: What are those opposed to sharing data afraid of? Is there something so sacred that sharing information would negatively impact our industry?
Time and again, I arrive at the same conclusion: The answer is unequivocally NO! In fact, the exact opposite is true. With more data, more access and more understanding, we can ALL better serve our customers and create a cohesive and collaborative system for commercial insurance to function flawlessly.
The digital ecosystem
To ensure a thriving digital insurance community, value must be inherent in everything we do. For commercial insurance, this means adopting technology and making insurance technology the cornerstone of transactional-based operations in a way that is effective, accessible and efficient.
It is incumbent on us to allow data to move freely, unobstructed by fear.
Technology solves a variety of pain points, offering efficiency and convenience. But what makes all of the various insurance systems work is the data flowing from one point to the next.
For example, when an agent adds client information to their AMS but that AMS doesn’t make it possible to extract, understand or communicate with the carrier portals, it creates an undue burden on agents to re-enter already collected information, increasing the likelihood for error and decreasing efficiency.
It is unclear why some large insurance corporations are unwilling to allow data to move from their system to others. Perhaps they believe that by holding on to the data, they can control their agency base. But they are in fact putting a stranglehold on agents who use their systems, forcing them to decide between using their systems (in which they have already invested time, money and their client’s data) or starting over with a different company that’s willing to connect.
Why is data blocked?
We know that technology and the free flow of information enhance the industry. So why are some technology providers unwilling to share data (even at a cost)? These providers placate agents by telling them they own the data but make it difficult to access, leverage or even remove it. Furthermore, many tech providers don’t do anything to empower agents to grow or manage their business. They offer little more than a digital organization system.
It’s no wonder you see some agents dumping technology like it’s a sinking ship and reverting to manual processes. It is difficult to believe, but it actually DOES happen.
In other instances, agents continue to cobble together a variety of tools and technology that serve very specific functions. Businesses have customer relationship management (CRM) systems, policy-quoting systems, website analytics, email management and so on. These systems often operate in silos without communicating with each other or sharing data. This methodology means higher costs, more work and less efficiency.
Solving the problem
In a recent conversation with my friend, Semsee CEO Philip Charles-Pierre, we were discussing the complexity of the data sharing issue. He told me that the most frequent question he receives from customers and prospects is, “If I purchase your system, how can you connect with my AMS so it can make the whole workflow more efficient?” The next question agents are asking is, “How can all of my solutions connect to streamline my workflow?”
These are important questions, and they deserve an answer that has been carefully considered. Technology providers have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between these systems by working together to ensure what is being created can work harmoniously, making the lives of agents, and ultimately business owners, better.
Data, the heart of insurance, is needed to make all the systems work. For it to work well, it needs to be shareable, not a black hole where it is inaccessible at best, or vanishes at worst.
At the end of the day, agents will sell more and the industry will continue to flourish, with better tools and unrestricted access to data shared seamlessly across tools. I encourage all technology providers to find ways to work together to build up the digital insurance ecosystem.
Adam Kiefer is CEO and co-founder of Talage, which powers digital quoting and instant bindable quotes. To reach this contributor, send email to hello@talageins.com. These opinions are the author’s own.
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