Playing or Changing the Game?

on Sep 16 by Barry Rabkin
Tags: eInsurance Symposium, Innovation
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More thoughts from the 2009 eInsurance Symposium…

Are you as a technology firm supporting the insurance industry – or whatever industry you support – playing the game just like your competitors or are you changing the game?

Playing the game, doing something the same as your competitors – albeit supposedly cheaper, faster, with more up-to-date technologies – or some combination is a holding action. Sure, you might pick up some market share here and there but you’re really just one of the herd. Nothing exciting and worst, no reason to think your firm really has a very long term competitive advantage.

But if you are changing the game … by hoping to change the rules of the game then it is quite possible you will create a longer-term competitive advantage.

Why bring this up?

Walking the floor of exhibitors at the 2009 eInsurance Symposium – it was a short walk because there were maybe a dozen exhibitors – only one exhibitor is truly trying to change the rules of the game: FirstBest.

Why?

You can click over to the FirstBest web site here but summing up they decided not to play in the “improving downloads or uploads” spaces. FirstBest realized insurers and agencies needed a shared platform to collaborate and accelerate business acquisition. Asynchronous communication is yesterday’s game; leveraging Web 2.0 enabling agents (or CSRs) and underwriters in the home office to see and work on exactly the same information at the same time is tomorrow’s game.

Are they wrong? Are they too far in front? What do you think FirstBest’s odds are of creating a competitive advantage?

Pressure, Pressure, Pressure

on Sep 16 by Barry Rabkin
Tags: Agents, Brokers, eInsurance Symposium, Insurance Industry
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Thoughts from the 2009 eInsurance Symposium…..

During one of the panel discussions, one – maybe two – of the panelists suggested that insurers would see the errors of their ways and change their behavior to better assist agents and brokers.

They were specifically referring to agents desire to enter customer data once regardless of how many insurers they sent the data to get a quote. Their point was that it would benefit them – and their clients – if insurers accepted the same data elements needed to get a quote. (Obviously true.)

And one of the panelists told me (during a side conversation after the formal panel discussion) she was on an ACORD committee that determined that 80+% of the data insurers needed – in this case homeowners insurance – was the same.

So, if insurers wouldn’t change their ways … agents and brokers should unite and submit business to those insurers who accepted the same data elements enabling the producers to only enter the data once.

I don’t think insurers will change .. at least not as fast as producers want. And certainly not until the insurers find other ways to compete.

What do you think?

eInsurance Symposium 2009

on Sep 10 by Barry Rabkin
Tags: eInsurance Symposium
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Next week I’ll be attending the 2009 eInsurance Symposium in Dallas September 15 – 16. I plan to post at least one blog entry when I get back.