On Point - Insurance Journal

Bringing out the best in workplace teams is a passion for organizational consultant Emma Corcoran. On this episode she outlines her journey at Selective Insurance to provide a shared customer experience program for appointed agencies as well as policyholders. Emma discovered the joy of helping teams evaluate customer research and outline actionable steps to improve the experience. She helped producers and CSRs work more closely together. Today, Emma’s programs cover DiSC, a behavioral assessment on communication preferences and styles, which is useful for firms working through a merger; Kolbe, which measures how you accomplish things when you’re free to be yourself; and design thinking, a non-linear, iterative process for teams to solve difficult problems. Emma also has a passion for bringing other insurance women together. Overall, 60% of industry professionals are women, yet the ratio flips to 40/60 for women in leadership positions. Her first meeting in 2017 brought 20 agency women together. “The vulnerability was really, really cool in the room,” she says. “They felt they could all share. It was all about lifting one another up.” Emma expanded the reach as Covid required virtual programming. The group grew to 800 women.

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Lloyd Yavener, president and COO of Sutton National Group, believes in the future of delegated underwriting authority. It wasn’t always that way. “MGA was a four-letter word when I first got into the business,” he says on this recording. “It was a broker model, which was to write more insurance, while the underwriter’s goal was to write more business profitability.” Over time, program administrator and MGA models emerged with “highly sophisticated” underwriting and compliance talent that originated in the traditional insurance market. “It looks just like an insurance company without the balance sheet,” Lloyd says. Moreover, the MGA model has been able to adapt quicker to emerging risks. Sutton writes homeowners in cat-prone areas as well as trucking, contractors, ocean and inland marine, and some other specialty lines. Listen as Lloyd shares his thoughts on leadership and working with others, just like with a well-tuned band.

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Claims fraud is getting more sophisticated. Carriers can fight back with AI to sift through huge amounts of data and find patterns, says Ashley Fong, VP with Carpe Data. Injury fraud thrives in areas where strong legal networks, high population density, heavy tourism, economic hardship, and legal loopholes create opportunities for fraudulent claims to flourish, Carpe Data research finds. Younger adults are more likely to commit fraud; riskier behaviors and cultural pressure to overshare on social media channels are likely reasons. “Insurance fraud is a costly and a persistent problem,” Ashley says. In 2023 alone, an estimated $300 billion was lost to fraudulent claims—equivalent to 10 Hurricane Helene disasters, she notes. Advances in technology are essential, but ultimately human judgement and creativity will continue to be needed to mitigate fraud, she says. “Human roles will evolve to areas that require more brainpower, judgement, creativity—things that a computer can’t necessarily do. Traditionally, carriers reviewed only 4% of open claims with a manual, rules based, tedious and expensive process. But with AI and human intervention, insurers can generate 10 times the reviews.”

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At the WSIA Annual Marketplace, Peter Van Aartrijk, host of the On Point podcast by Insurance Journal, sits down with Jonah Lipin, Chief Sales Officer at SPG. They discuss how brokers value personal contact with underwriters even as AI enters the industry, and how technology can enable faster, more effective communication without replacing human expertise. Jonah also explains the strategy behind SPG’s new wholesale division.

Discover details on Insurance Journal’s upcoming summits here:

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At the WSIA Annual Marketplace in San Diego, Peter van Aartrijk, host of the On Point podcast by Insurance Journal, interviews Mary Rimbey, VP of Wholesale National Distribution at Cardinal E&S. They explore why AI is an efficiency tool rather than a threat, how broker-underwriter relationships remain the backbone of the industry, and where opportunities are thriving. Mary also shares the strategy behind CNA’s launch of Cardinal E&S℠, emphasizing creative solutions and dedicated growth.

Discover details on Insurance Journal’s upcoming summits here:

https://insuringcannabissummit.com/

https://riskyfuture.com/

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On this installment we visit with the HR pro who oversees a team fielding tens of thousands of job applications each year at Progressive. Neil Lenane joined the carrier 35 years ago. His love of coaching sports got him interested in a career in human resources. “Leadership carries over to sports and HR. You’re recruiting that talent, onboarding, coaching, developing, and rewarding and recognizing that talent.” Technology is changing the entire notion of work, Neil says: “Not just what I do, but where I work and when I work. You might come in on a limited-time basis and contribute 20 hours on a particular project. The gig economy will become more real.” Neil attributes Progressive’s growth to following a “clearly defined set of core values that goes all the way back to the 1970s.” The five values include messaging like, “We value and respect our differences, act with kindness and caring, and treat others as they want to be treated.” Neil says his associates approach business problems with the question: ‘What would our core values expect us to do?’” You’ll enjoy listening to his take on how people should compete for jobs. His personal mantra: “Risk, learn, grow.”

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Could insurance providers forge a new bond of trust with policyholders? Valkyrie Holmes, age 21, is working toward that better world. She founded an insuretech called Faura to help carriers collect more verifiable data on property risk in disaster-prone areas. The industry currently relies primarily on often-outdated data sources. Instead, Faura engages the homeowner to walk around the property, taking photos and video. That detail is coupled with sources such as satellite images and public databases. Homeowners receive a Faura “Survivability Score,” providing recommended action items to mitigate risks, retain coverage and qualify for discounts. “People are more satisfied when they play a role in the report,” says Valkyrie. “We are in the insurance industry to help people. Insurance is a very unique financial mechanism that gets people to change.” Valkyrie is an engaging, enthusiastic professional with a fresh view on insurance—and you’ll enjoy her take on life and business as well.

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Anupam Gupta, chief product officer at Applied Systems, offers an update on how the tech provider continues to experiment and roll out AI-embedded tools for independent agents. Commercial lines workflows are a major pain point for agents and carriers and thus a focus of his team’s efforts, he says. Insurance professionals are wrestling with back-and-forth communications with carriers, repeatedly filling out forms and supplementals for new and renewal business. That needs to stop. “We are convinced that AI will add game-changing value,” Anupam says. “It’s not hype. We are all-in on AI, even though it’s early in the product game.” He advises us to “get curious and experiment” with insurance-specific AI tools. “See how it impacts your daily work. Give feedback. Building trust with AI is really important.” Anupam shares advice he’s learned from others: “Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.” And, “Don’t be a know-it-all. Be a learn-it-all.”

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In our continuing attempt to unpack AI in insurance, we hear from Dale Steinke, a “company guy” who truly understands the daily challenges faced by independent agents. He’s director of Liberty Mutual’s Agent for the Future Advisors. Dale shares his own research on how AI prompts work on various platforms. And he outlines examples of how AI can save agents and brokers time with specific workflows, like policy checking, account rounding, call summaries, email support, content generation and video proposals. (Dale estimates AI saves him six hours a week in his own job.) In a cool twist, agencies also can use AI to draft an “AI Usage Policy,” which is important in the same way a policy for social media usage was necessary when that first emerged. Too, Dale warns agents to realize what you’re getting into with some tools. Entering information in a public AI platform like ChatGPT means the universe can access it as well. If you want useful and practical knowledge to gain workflow improvement—and flat-out fun—with artificial intelligence, Dale is your resource.

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On this installment, insuretech exec Ilya Filipov outlines how artificial intelligence will help insurance marketers. This new generation is called agentic AI, where an “agent” mimics the work of a human in approaching problems. Ilya recommends experimenting with AI models — “There’s nothing to be scared about” — and discover how to develop clear, precise instructions and prompts to train those tools. “It’s a similar process as our parents, who repositioned their careers when the web emerged,” he says. “Learn how agentic AI works… What are the advantages and disadvantages of each tool?” What about AI’s role for the insurance product itself? Buckle your seat belts, Ilya says. He envisions a world where “any subject matter expert” can play in the space without even having to understand insurance. AI models can learn historical loss data, identify and price risks, develop the product itself without human interference, file with state regulators, and create safety programs so that risks become less expensive. “AI evens the playing field for anyone who’s in the market to start playing fairly,” he says. Check out this episode of the On Point podcast, hosted by Peter van Aartrijk!

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