The Insurance Times’ one-day Brokerfest 2017 conference in London last month was in some ways a debut event for Novidea and we were blown away by the reception we got.

That positive reception was in large part due to Ian Cohens savvy presentation on chess, hyper-engagement, disintermediation, and the dangers of underestimating the exponential change happening around us all wrapped into a five-minute PowerPoint (here if you missed it).

Ians cautionary tale left guests with the clear message that band-aids, bells, and whistles are no substitute for substantive technological change in the current market environment. Creeping forward with periodic upgrades to outdated systems while customer requirements and competitive options race into the future is a recipe for disaster.

Ian showcased how disintermediation has transformed other entrenched industries ranging from real estate to automobiles. For example, one in three consumers are now prepared to buy a car directly via smartphone rather than going through the traditional car dealer.  Some manufacturers will even deliver your new car directly to your front door in a box (with a ribbon), skipping the dealership entirely.

In insurance, successfully coping with disintermediation requires a new mindset and toolset that empowers professionals to:

  1. Engage more personally with clients and offer individually tailored advice informed by aggregated customer data
  2. Understand more about your market and competition
  3. Leverage data and insights to understand customers and their needs better than anybody else, including who your most valuable customers are and why

Insurance agents and brokers must adopt an insight-centric system that can support these efforts and deliver the customer experience todays hyper-engaged consumers expect. But as Ian noted, the answer is not a bigger IT team. In fact, the solution must be easy to implement, accessible anywhere, and flexible enough to adapt to unique needs and, if necessary, phase in alongside existing systems. Here is how one insurance distribution company is making it happen:

The reaction we got from Brokerfest affirmed that our strategy and our timing is right. Novidea is perfectly positioned to help insurance professionals cope with upheaval and stay profitable – without trauma. We fully intend to continue evangelizing at future events and invite you to connect with us in the meantime.