http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2011/10/07/insurance-it-innovation-whats-the-big-idea

Insurance IT Innovation: What's the Big Idea?

Tech Decisions October 2011 | Subscribe Now By Michael P. Voelker

Within every insurance company, there is a wealth of ideas about how to improve processes and deploy technology in creative ways to solve business problems. The challenge for most insurers is to create a pipeline for ideas and then find ways to turn the best into innovative developments that deliver business value.
Fostering enterprise innovation is the objective of the recently created Innovate ITG (Information Technology Group) program at MetLife. “Innovate ITG is designed to encourage employees, regardless of level, to make business practices better,” explains Lynn McGinty, ITG vice president, supporting MetLife Auto and Home. “Those ideas are vetted by a group within ITG, and the most important ones get moved to the top.”
Additionally, innovation at MetLife has been facilitated by a recent change to agile development in the ITG. “We had always utilized a waterfall approach, but have come to realize that it is not the best method in a competitive business where speed-to-market is important,” McGinty says.

What a great way to come full circle; throughout this blog, I have discussed many different technologies being introduced into the insurance marketplace.  This article struck me as interesting because rather than discussing different technologies, it talks about the process that one insurance company is using in order to be introduced to different technologies by employees.

MetLife has created its own group which encourages employees throughout the organization to share their ideas on how the company can use technology to improve processes and additional functionality. A group then analyzes this ideas and pushes the most beneficial and applicable ideas to the top. In an industry that many have deemed slower to advancing in technology, MetLife has found what I would equate to the key for a great competitive advantage. Some companies seem to be more aware than others that although advanced technology is a very valuable asset, employees are the most valuable asset. Employees keep business functions running so that the company can experience profits. Therefore, why not use employees to get more alligned with technological innovation regardless of whether or not they work in IT functions. Throughout daily life, different individuals have different interests and exposures; mixing them all together creates an invaluable knowledge base into what is available and what would most align to customer desires.

I am hoping that this becomes an industry norm. I see this opportunity as a great benefit to any company that can implement this type of group.

http://insurance-technology.tmcnet.com/topics/insurance-technology/articles/226478-ingenie-chooses-redtails-vam1-telematics-hardware-datawarehouse-solution.htm

Insurance Technology - Ingenie Chooses REDTAIL's VAM1 Telematics Hardware and DataWarehouse Solution

 By Deepika Mala , TMCnet Contributor

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Ingenie, a fresh-thinking car insurance for young drivers aged 17 to 25, has selected REDTAIL Telematics, a global business entity based in North America with headquarters in the United Kingdom, for its new telematics technology inspired car insurance product.

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Currently, the young driver market is suffering from traditional insurance companies treating all young drivers as high risk.

By using REDTAIL’s VAM1 telematics hardware and DataWarehouse solution,Ingenie  will be able to rate a driver on how they drive as an individual, so a young driver will simply need to pay for coverage based on how they drive.

In a release, Richard King, CEO of Ingenie, said, ”REDTAIL’s innovative technology demonstrated a cost effective solution for the high frequency sampling that we need and their track record as a supplier to the automotive aftermarket gave us confidence in their manufacturing and supply capabilities.”

I have commented on telematics and usage based insurance before, but I find new developments fascinating. This article is different because it actually gets into a particular market, that being young drivers. My company is definitely part of the group of traditional carriers who view young adults as high risk, and we try to target customers who are older and have a larger asset portfolio in order to get more account-rounded policies.

 

With the new technology described in the article allowing for the ability to rate young drivers based on how they drive by installing a device in the actual car. As a result of this, I am sure that many traditional carriers will be more open to writing these policies. However for us, it would be a lot more involved due to our current business model, the way that we advertise, the products we offer and our brand name in general. I believe we would have to do a lot of revamping in order to truly tap into this market; if we do not,  we have the potential to lose a lot of market share to our competitors as we may be looked at as a company who is unwilling to change, adapt to new technology, and accept innovation.  

http://insurance-technology.tmcnet.com/topics/insurance-technology/articles/225887-mitchell-enterprise-rent-a-car-partner-automate-simplify.htm

Insurance Technology - Mitchell and Enterprise Rent-A-Car Partner to Automate and Simplify Vehicle Rental Workflow for Insurance Carriers

By Calvin Azuri , TMCnet Contributor

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Mitchell International, Inc., provider of technology, connectivity, and information solutions designed for Property & Casualty claims and Collision Repair companies, will partner with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, provider of cars for rent, leasing and sharing across the U.S, to develop an automated and simplified system of end-to-end vehicle rental workflow for insurance carriers. The functionality which will be made available in 2012, will support improved business efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. The partnership will allow Mitchell to integrate the services of Enterprise Rent-A-Car into its RepairCenter, auto repair management software, and WorkCenter, insurance claims management software.

Anytime technology allows for automation in the industry, it is a good thing. This partnership's goal is to reduce complexities within the car rental process within the property and casualty industry which result from insured claims. This automation will eliminate the need for manual communication between the insurer, body shop, rental agency and the consumer. Automatic notifications will be sent to the involved parties in the event of any delays within the repair process in addition to other simplications in this process.

With increasing technology, the industry has found another way to use innovation in order to make operations more efficient and enhance the customer experience. This is a great step forward for the auto side of the industry. I would like to see how something like this can be leveraged to help on the homeowners side of the industry. For background purposes, in the event of loss of use of a car and for a few extra dollars in premium, insurers offer rental car service as a part of the claims handling process. The new partnership with Mitchell and Enterprise helps create automation for the industry within this process. To think of how this can be leveraged on the homeowners side, coverage is provided on your home and the contents of your home and other structures on the premises. Another part of the homeowners policy includes loss of use of the home in the event of claim. An example of this would be if you had a fire and you were unable to live in your home until renovations were completed. This coverage would pay for the additional living expenses you incurred from having to live in a hotel, etc. Therefore, could some sort of partnership be established within the the hotel industry that allows a system to automatically update the hotel who could then update the customer on progress being made. This would enhance customer service for both hotels and insurers as the customer could see that the hotel actually cared enough to be involved in the process of getting the customer's home restored, and on the insurer side for staying connected to the consumer through the hotel.

This is just one idea among many that could help the industry increase technology usage and enhance the customer experience.

http://insurance-technology.tmcnet.com/news/2011/10/05/5829441.htm

Guinea Pig Getaway Is the Latest in GEICO's Expanding Mobile Apps Lineup!

WASHINGTON --(Business Wire)--
Imagine three guinea pigs trapped on a boat. Got that picture? Now imagine they are forced to row in order to produce enough electricity so their owner can spend time surfing the Internet.
But wait. The plot thickens! The pigs attempt to get away but first have to navigate a sewer full of obstacles before they can reach the safety of the beach. And that's GEICO's newest app - Guinea Pig Getaway - the latest entertainment offering for the company's expanding community of mobile device users. The game is a part of a cross-platform marketing campaign that also features a television ad.
"As the number of people using smart phones continues to grow, the popularity of mobile games has expanded enormously," said Steve Smith, GEICO assistant vice president for information technology. "The GEICO Guinea Pig Getaway app provides our tech savvy customers with an engaging user experience and underscores our commitment to stay competitive in the mobile device market."
The GEICO Guinea Pig Getaway app joins the GEICO BroStache and Caveman Photo Crasher apps in drawing attention to GEICO's growing mobile efforts and also helping to promote the company with entertainment-based apps. The GEICO Ginea Pig app is available for iPhone (News - Alert) or Android.

GEICO is one of our largest competitors and is and has been an extremely aggressive player in the direct-to-consumer market. The company has huge brand awareness as many can recognize the gecko and caveman ads without being prompted. Although GEICO knows that they are one of the market leaders in this space, that does not stop the company from constantly using technology to promote its brand. As a result, they are now increasing their mobile gaming capability which I wanted to write about today because I think it is a rather clever approach.

As a company, I believe we can learn a lot from GEICO and large amounts of competitive analysis can be conducted in this task. We are currently increasing our brand awareness with more clever tactics like the use of animals and other catchy advertisements. We are more of a conservative company, and are still trying to figure out exactly how we want to play in the world of social media. Nevertheless, the fact that we absolutely DO need to play here is evident or else we will definitely fall behind. However, would we want to consider mobile gaming to attract more customers and increase brand awareness? GEICO has more of an appetite for younger and a diverse set of risks. However, we tend to be a little more segmented. Our desired customer base may not be high on the candidate list of participants in these mobile games, but it is something to take into consideration. Again a very clever idea about creating brand awareness. Even if we aren't trying to actually write the people we may attract with these games, perhaps we will initiate that branding relationship and be a top carrier when that individual does reach the point in life where they fit into our risk appetite? Definitely food for thought.

http://insurance-technology.tmcnet.com/topics/insurance-technology/articles/223839-vertafore-announces-upcoming-availability-worksmart-engage-the-insurance.htm

Insurance Technology - Vertafore Announces Upcoming Availability of WorkSmart Engage for the Insurance Industry

 By Mandira Srivastava , TMCnet Contributor

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To simplify communication and improve productivity in insurance, Vertafore, a provider of insurance distribution channel solutions has introduced the WorkSmart Engage module, a cloud-based collaboration tool.

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 According to a press release, it helps independent insurance agencies service complex insurance transactions requiring multi-party collaboration. It offers communication and information sharing between agency teams, their clients and their markets. WorkSmart Engage will be available in late 2011.

“WorkSmart Engage allows independent agencies to break down communication silos and replace the point-to-point methods they have traditionally used to manage complex commercial business with an innovative, cloud-based platform that enables real-time communication,” said Sharath Dorbala, senior vice president of product management at Vertafore. “As is evident through the breadth of technology solutions we offer, Vertafore is committed to providing the tools needed to connect the entire insurance distribution channel. WorkSmart Engage is just the latest innovation toward this goal.”

It offers secure workspaces to share and manage policy and client documents in real-time. It offers efficient collaboration, increased team productivity and improved client satisfaction.

So, more on cloud computing. I have to admit this is a fairly new concept to me personally. With just being introduced to this technology concept, it was easy for me to see the big picture of how it could contribute to the industry, but hard for me to come up with any examples as to how it could improve business results. I came across this article, and this seems like a good example that helped me get my head more around the cloud computing concept. 

My company works primarily through the independent agent distribution channel. Although in my current role I do not have any communication with agents, I can see how it might be difficult to interact being that we do not share business applications or anything that would make the business relationship more automated and convenient. With the cloud computing technology discussed in the article, this new platform allows for real-time communication. Policy and client documents can be managed in real time which would be really productive instead of having to wait for either party to manually produce that information at their earliest convenience. It can improve the business relationship being that this platform allows for more collaboration and more client satisfaction. 

Hopefully we adopt some form of this technology. It might be a significant investment, but we need to continue to find ways to strengthen our relationships with agents as they bring in revenues for the company. If technology makes it easier for us to do this, we should take advantage. 

http://news.yahoo.com/telematics-updates-report-future-insurance-telematics-smart-vehicle-094208521.html

Telematics Update's Report- 'The Future for Insurance Telematics: Smart Vehicle Technology'

PRWeb – Wed, Sep 14, 2011

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On 8th-9th September the industry’s thought leaders; including PwC, Allstate Insurance Company, Numerex and Octo Telematics, gathered at Telematics Update's Insurance Telematics USA 2011, focused Conference & Expo, Chicago, USA.


London, United Kingdom (PRWEB) September 14, 2011

The conference marked a progressively more lucrative insurance telematics market for automakers, insurers and suppliers.

Oren Steinberg, VP of Business Development at Sensomatix notes the distinct change in the Industry. “Technology is evolving a new generation of insurance products that make economic sense. Viable business models will emerge based on these new capabilities.”

David MacNamara, ex multi-media and infotainment manager at Ford, exemplifies how the Industry is changing. “We can expect the insurers and Vehicle OEMs to cooperate to bring UBI to about 30-50% of all vehicles between 2015 and 2020.”


It is very interesting to think that business models within insurance may change based on the evolution of technology. Just like other emerging technologies like facial recognition and cloud computing, UBI or usage-based insurance brings up issues such a security and legislators are already on the case.  Companies are looking for increased customer acceptance before fully penetrating the market. Some sources credit sixty percent of the U.S. personal auto insurance market to be covered by insurers that provide some sort of UBI program.

One of the big issues around this technology is the data. Insurers who get to this data, and analyze it will increase risk knowledge bases extremely. They will be able to price and underwrite more successfully with the increased knowledge. This is creating a huge need for business intelligence. As this technology continues to gain traction, I am interested to see what the market response will be. Will most of the market accept it, or will it prove to be a detraction in the insurance industry? Will there be tougher regulation on how insurance companies can use the data to analyze risk? With so much more data, will there be more of a need for analysts, thus creating more jobs in the economy?   

http://www.insurancenetworking.com/news/insurance_technology_Novarica_mobile_iPad-26603-1.html

Tablet Computing Boom Ahead For Insurers

Insurance mobility state-of-the-market reports predict unprecedented adoption rate of tablets by P&C and life/health carriers.

Insurance Networking News, December 3, 2010

Pat Speer

Insurers across both property and casualty and life/health are evaluating 2011 mobile technology plans, and many are following a model used by banks, airlines, hotels and other service providers that are focused on improving transaction and service levels, reports Novarica in two new reports on the subject.

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In spite of assumptions that the life/health providers may desire mobility to beef up presentation capabilities (such as with use of an iPad or other tablets) among its distribution network, there is stronger interest in mobile tech among P&C carriers that are being driven to invest in consumer applications that support the front office.

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Novarica shed some light this week with state-of-the-market research reports that provide insight into the platforms, usage patterns, expectations of business value and investment strategies in play for both sectors.

The New York-based research and advisory firm tapped its Insurance Technology Research Council to capture data from a cross-section of 14 life/health carriers and 61 property/casualty insurers (all sizes were represented, with 62% representing mid-size carriers).

Interest and investments in the technologies that support mobility, reports Novarica, are a bit higher for P&C versus life/health. In 2010, the average investment in mobile technologies was 1.98% of life/health carriers’ IT budget. This is expected to increase to 2.43% in 2011. Only 21% of those surveyed spent less than 0.1% of their IT budgets on mobile technologies. No participant in the life/health study currently spends or plans to spend more than 5% of their IT budgets on mobile technology, reports Novarica.

Novarica points to an important qualifying factor with regards to investment by life/health carriers in mobile technologies: If core systems have been replaced or modernized, mobile is not a particularly expensive proposition.

I do not know much about the health insurance industry, however since there has been such a boom in technology usage and more specifically tablet usage in the health care industry, I was surprised to find that investments in technologies that support mobility such as tablets is higher in the property and casualty insurance industry than in the health insurance industry. P&C carriers are spending more of their IT budgets on mobile technology. We have recently been discussing whether or not tablets can potentially replace computers, and according to this article, tablet usage may outgrow laptop usage because of the cost differential, increased battery life with the tablet versus the laptop, and ease of use. They predict tablet usage to grow nearly 20%. 

This can be very beneficial for more front-line employees like claims adjusters and sales representatives. It can provide greater mobility for these workers, as well as an enhanced customer experience by using the new technology. In terms of more of a "behind the scenes" employee like myself in Pricing, we may not see the widespread usage of tablets except when we decide to bring our personal tablets to work for note taking. 

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/May09/05-18ACORD2009.mspx

The Insurance Industry Enters the “Cloud” Era

Q&A: Bill Hartnett, U.S. insurance industry solutions director, and Colin Cole, U.S. insurance industry technical strategist, discuss how Microsoft tools and technology can help the insurance industry speed up product cycles, cut costs and move from paper systems to “cloud” datacenters.

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REDMOND, Wash. — May 18, 2009 — Although the U.S. insurance industry has not had to deal with any Katrina-type natural catastrophes in recent years, it has hardly been smooth sailing. The financial crash has severely cut insurers’ earnings on their investments, while the near-collapse of insurance giant AIG has damaged the reputation of the industry. Today, insurers look to technology to help weather economic storms and build stronger relationships with customers. There is much ground to make up. Most insurers retain systems heavily reliant on mainframe computers and paper-based forms. This means that transaction costs are high, and insurers lack the agility to respond quickly to customer needs or a changing business environment. This week, many in the insurance industry are meeting in Florida for the ACORD-LOMA Insurance Systems Forum 2009, the industry’s largest business and technology conference. Microsoft is demonstrating its software-plus-services offerings and announcing organizations, including Esurance Inc. and the ACORD standards body itself, that are turning to some aspect of Microsoft’s software plus services strategy to solve their business problems. PressPass spoke withBill Hartnett, U.S. insurance industry solutions director, and Colin Cole, U.S. insurance industry technical strategist, about Microsoft’s offerings for the insurance industry. Cloud computing can be very helpful to insurance providers. We insure against risk and catastrophic events, and cloud computing seems to be a tool we can use to manage our internal business risks pertaining to IT infrastructure. As a result of these catastrophic events, part of the legislation around insurance companies is having data centers that are geographically dispersed. So, instead of paying full costs to physically host this infrastructure in different locations, as well as costs to maintain and upgrade, cloud computing can save insurers from a lot of these costs. One of the participants in the article says that he would not be surprised if within 10-15 years some major carriers will not have data centers on their premises.