ID 20 WINNERS — Q&A
Dashboards Q&A from page 11
we may have seen an increase in new technology over recent
years, there hasn’t been anything introduced that forced us to
change our process and get away from what we had become
comfortable in doing day-to-day. That’s all changed with the
outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past four-to-five months have forced all of us to
re-think and re-tool our businesses, and, whether we like it
or not, we’ve all faced the daunting reality that the structure
of our distribution model and our organizations must change
in order to survive and there’s no question, a requirement to
make these changes is a willingness to adopt technology into
our businesses at a much more accelerated pace then we have
in the past. If you’ve accepted this new reality, you’re already
hard at work finding new ways to establish your value to your
carriers, your financial professionals, and their clients.
For those still fighting the need to evolve and holding on to
the hope that business will return to normal, you will not only
struggle to maintain your businesses amidst the pandemic but
will also face a hard reality in that our business will not return
to how it once was when we’re standing on the other side of
the COVID-19 crisis.
If nothing else, this pandemic has had a positive impact
on our industry as it’s forced us to get out from behind the
technology 8-ball. We still have a ways to go, but we’ve now
proven we have an ability to remain fluid in the structure of our
organizations, think outside the box, and demonstrated we can
move away from the traditional back-office value-statement
that has defined us over the course of our first 50+ years as
businesses. I’m excited to see what’s in store for brokerage 2.0
and the tech-savvy distributor.
Levyne: While we have definitely seen a shift toward a more
online, digital purchase experience, buying life insurance
is still a major decision and consumers value the guidance
and expertise a Producer and an agency can offer during the
purchase process. Digital adoption has increased — whether
accessing information online, completing an e-app, submitting
a form electronically, etc. We are seeing the adoption of these
tools as more people become aware of their own health
and mortality during the crisis of late, looking for tools and
resources to help maintain or improve baseline health.
Garcia: surveys indicate that consumers,
while researching online, would still rather
purchase insurance from an advisor
Klusas: Technology provides any
information consumers could want, almost
too much, like picking out a paint color with
a thousand shades of blue or green.
12 Perspectives Q3 2020