ID 20 WINNERS — Q & A
ID 20 winners from page 13
Engineering a positive outcome
Doug Massey : I ’ m a techie , so technology is super important to me . I ’ ve spent my entire career trying to improve the insurance life cycle and make it more efficient . It ’ s amazing how far we have come , but what excites me is where we are .
The next five years we are going to see some really exciting things . We are at a place now where technology has advanced enough to allow us to truly simplify a very complex industry . Carriers now have the ability to self-manage and share centralized digital product rules pretty much anywhere and any way they want . Through API ’ s we have the ability to re-use , re-leverage , and re-purpose a lot of disparate systems into a unified experience tailored to the producer and consumer . This is a very exciting time for our industry .
Joann Mattson : At Highland , we have not allowed the challenges of COVID-19 to interfere with our ability to support our advisors . We know they need our support more than ever so they can continue to serve the needs of their customers and families . Sure , there were bumps in the road , with different industry partners adopting technology at differing rates . But overall , this industry stepped up to the challenge .
Our staff has performed admirably , and their resilience during these unsettled times has been exceptional . Our goal has never wavered — deliver superior service to support our advisors so they , in turn , can provide their clients with best-in-class life , annuity , and longevity planning . I am extremely delighted to say we have delivered on that goal !
Kurt Fasen : Technology is the cornerstone of our business at DBS . Both our back office and external goto-market strategy rely significantly on technology . For example , our firm was one of the first in the country to develop an online multi-carrier term platform for advisors , giving them the ability to run quotes and apply instantly .
In our back office , we leverage technology to effectively communicate with both advisors and carriers . This allows us to have a secure and rapid information exchange , which allows everyone to be informed as the cases move through the underwriting process .
Both our producers and the agency have embraced digital solutions ... proprietary digital illustration and submission system have really been a godsend .
Steve Katz
Putting theory into play
Dan Allison : Most tech solutions seem good in theory but when they rely on the cooperation of 35 insurance carriers all with different systems and motivations themselves , the theory often goes out the window .
Our industry should have tech that truly gets products to the consumer more efficiently and then manages the policy through to its completion . Whether that means paying death benefit or improving the number of policies that convert from term to permanent , we ’ ve got to find a way to do a better job making sure what we sell performs .
John Ziambras : While technology can certainly drive significant operational efficiencies , I look at it more as the ultimate enabler of growth . The ability to reach 5 or 10x more people , to leverage data , to execute transactions , to deliver content , to entice sales , to ensure compliance , to provide service — and the list goes on , through technology will change distribution forever and also create a very different business relationship with the manufacturing world , the insurance carriers . All of us at
AIMCOR could not be more excited about our technology initiatives , our strategic partnerships and our charted path forward . Mike Smith : Incorporating technology platforms has delivered four important results . One : our brokers deliver more comprehensive and compliant presentations . Two : our brokers discovered the enrollment platforms are far more efficient and submit applications “ in good order .”
Three : our staff is providing better service and spending less time chasing outstanding requirements . Four : we have reduced our administrative expenses . Simply put , technology has improved our bottom line . This allows us to reinvest in our brokers , which helps them build their business . After all , if we help our brokers build their business , we build our business in return .
Pam Sheehan Senior Director , NAILBA ID Media Network
PSheehan @ nailba . org
14 Perspectives Q3 2021