ID 20 WINNERS - Q & A
We ’ ve collectively made tremendous strides – think eApps , simplified underwriting , digital sales and servicing solutions , etc . – and I think we ’ re just scratching the surface .
Pepe
ID 20 winners from page 10
Increasing technology adoption
Wilcox : Our organization has seen an increase in business that processes via a drop ticket , or an electronic application platform . While we saw this change in trajectory during COVID-19 , it continues to increase as the world begins to open again . I believe individuals are still preoccupied with their mortality , and are looking for ways to easily obtain protection for their families . The drop ticket process , specifically , offers an ease of doing business with the additional bonus of a potential opportunity to qualify for accelerated underwriting , or what we refer to as fluidless underwriting . I feel that this type of processing is here to stay , and will continue to evolve with a constantly changing environment .
Krishnan : There seems to be an emerging interest in Low-code / No code platforms that allows even citizen developers ( like reporting analysts or business analysts ) to build applications and reports visually and quickly . Secondly , while machine learning and artificial intelligence are not new concepts in this industry , I am seeing an increasing adoption of these techniques as it relates to claims processing , quoting , fraud detection , and lead generation .
Essick : Many of our customers , both BGAs , IMOs , institutions , and life and annuity carriers , are increasingly focused on the digital transformation of the traditional sales concept experience . The legacy sales concept experience , best exemplified by pages of ledger numbers , static PDFs and built in aging platforms , is a long way off from the standard today . Considering that sales concepts drive the effectiveness of the financial professional , closing rate and wider adoption of life and annuity products , transformation of the experience is an absolute priority for the sector .
Ma : New technology will allow life insurance companies to use traditional medical data to underwrite in a noninvasive way . This will create opportunities for insurers to underwrite more quickly . The work that we and other life insurers are doing to digitize processes is also important because it will increase accessibility .
Life stats
Total U . S . life insurance new annualized premium increased 7 % in February 2022 , marking the 15 th consecutive month of premium growth .
Premium increased for all of the universal life ( UL ) products .
Taking the crown
Variable UL increased 41 % . Indexed UL rose 11 % . Fixed UL grew 9 % .
Whole life premium dropped 4 % while term was level with the prior year .
Companies reporting positive growth most often cited increased consumer interest and expanded automated underwriting .
Garofoli : Efficiencies of technology is one of the driving forces of the boom in merger and acquisition activity . So on the carrier end that means providing the data feeds to populate a variety of platforms to enhance the advisor and policyholder experience . Information , and the ability to provide it , is king !
Sorebo : Traditional insurance distribution is giving way to nontraditional insurance advisors as the main distributors of product . The increase in demand for true straight-through processing as well as the maturing and use of big data has also allowed the industry to begin reducing underwriting friction through responsive solutions . These trends will certainly benefit the industry as cycle times reduce and the process becomes streamlined for advisors and their clients .
ID 20 winners continued on page 14
Apps and platforms , whether fintech or Amazon , are experienceoriented today . Users will simply not put up with applications which don ’ t encourage interactive play , or support the users .
Essick
12 Perspectives Q2 2022