CHAIR COLUMN
Necessity prods technology
There will certainly be a lot of new “ norms ’’ that come out of Covid-19 , but one of the more interesting themes is how our industry leveraged technology to grow and thrive . As Plato said , “ Necessity is the mother of invention ”… and Covid-19 has been the powerful prodding factor for driving technology within our industry .
Jason E . Lea , CFP Board Chair President Brokers ’ Service Marketing Group Providence , RI
As Plato said , “ Necessity is the mother of invention ”… and Covid-19 has been the powerful prodding factor for driving technology within our industry .
6 Perspectives Q3 2021
10x Acceleration
According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company , businesses across all sectors ( including ours ) were able to accelerate technology initiatives faster than previously thought possible . Some saw more than 10x acceleration … meaning something was accomplished in 2 months that previously would have taken two years or more . Long-duration remote working is a good example of this acceleration , as well as the adoption of e-policy delivery .
Yet , other tech-related changes have not experienced the same level of acceleration . Today , Accelerated Underwriting ( AU ) decisions are still only made on less than 30 % of all insureds , even though those insured meet the carrier ’ s eligibility criteria . The ability to offer instant decisions to most insureds is the next big growth opportunity , and the mechanism to make this happen is right on our doorstep .
Next big watershed Perhaps the next big watershed event is the digitalization of our medical records and pooling of that data . The faster this happens , the faster broad-based AU decisions will be made .
Imagine a scenario where the carrier can access the client ’ s records instantaneously and run their analysis with AI , machine learning , digital twins , etc … This could be in combination with predictive analysis , and all being done in real time . This would push AU uptake to be the norm , not the exception over the next few years … not because it can , but because it has to . The implications of health records digitalization will be sweeping for many industries , most of all health care itself . Imagine what we ’ ll learn as companies will be able to view hundreds of millions of de-identified health records to find common patterns and new solutions .
Right now we are seeing e-platform business growing , but price comparisons alone will not drive business . Product features , speed to issue and quality of experience will matter as well . On our Vive Platform , for example , our agency ’ s monthly orders are up more than 50 % since the beginning of 2020 . Google search traffic for life insurance related terms is up more than 30 % since before Covid . And , according to a LIMRA Study , 45 % of Millennials say Covid has made them more likely to buy life insurance . Let ’ s not allow our learnings from 2020 to be fleeting , rather one that reminds us that we can lean forward , learn from our past and help grow this business .
A collective voice As an industry we have to push ourselves . As distributors we have to provide solutions to carriers to assure them we can offer digital platforms and increased distribution opportunities .
One of our greatest sources of strength is our collective voice . NAILBA is committed to being the place that BGAs come together and chart our course for the future . It ’ s going to be an exciting journey ahead and I am happy to be here with you !