New SMA guest blog by Megan Bock Zarnoch, Founder, Boundless Consulting Group —
When Deb Smallwood and I authored “A Recipe for Commercial Lines Underwriting Transformation” in August, we articulated the need to break free of the traditional paradigm of siloed and incremental evolution being viewed on a quarter-by-quarter and year-by-year basis. We challenged commercial insurers to really leap forward with a big vision for the future and then reverse-engineer a holistic strategy to deliver the vision that leads with business, people, and culture and is enabled by technology. This is the path to meaningful transformation that will ensure sustainable economic success AND create attractive environments that support good talent and generate further innovation. Our industry survey confirmed the view that significant change is on the horizon and the view that we’re not taking all the right steps today to prepare for, let alone capitalize on, that change. Meaningful differences emerged between the way small commercial units and middle-to-large commercial units are positioned today, and what their paths forward can and should look like.
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Perhaps not unexpected, given the prioritization and investment in personal lines and small commercial, we find that small commercial executives expect significant change to impact their organizations more quickly than do leaders in the middle-to-large market space. Small commercial expects more dramatic change over a five-year window, and our data shows that they are further along in visioning and executing toward a future state, though there are still notable gaps to which attention must be paid.
Underwriting in the middle and large market spaces has historically been more complex and handled in a bespoke and high-touch way. It is here that we see the infinite layering of tactical tools as a stopgap, and prioritization for technology investments are behind their small market counterparts. It makes sense that they see a slightly longer, 10-year runway for significant change borne out in the data. What gives pause for concern, however, is the lack of clarity on when and where to begin. We see this and other elements as potential roadblocks on the path forward and warn that a good blueprint is necessary to manage through the construction. This space is ripe for development, and we are focusing our attention on helping insurers create and activate those blueprints.
There are elements to be learned from the small commercial journey. Data shows that they are leading with an outside-in, customer-centric view which incents meaningful and urgent change internally. While there are gaps to be attended, that action orientation with the end customer in mind is to be favored over the internal focus on improving speed, expense, and risk-taking that is slowing the runway to change in the middle-market and complex space.
We are on the precipice of a bright future unfolding for commercial insurance underwriting, and the possibilities are both exciting and long overdue. Given the risks identified in our research and documented in these eBooks, it is critical to think big and enable real transformation – the market, your teams and leaders, and your customers all need and expect it. It is a differentiated starting place between small commercial and middle market, but in both cases, we believe the best way to get there is to flip the lens and let the business and people lead the effort, updating processes, with all of it enabled by technology. Creating a culture of change readiness and innovation today pays dividends immediately and is the best way to accelerate this journey toward the future.
In addition to the small commercial eBook and mid-to-large market eBook, SMA and Boundless Consulting have authored a research paper on this topic and designed a framework to guide organizations on this journey. Follow the links for more information.
About SMA
Exclusively serving the insurance industry, Strategy Meets Action (SMA) is an advisory services firm offering retainers, research, consulting, events, and innovation offerings to both insurance companies and solution providers. Learn more about SMA at www.strategymeetsaction.com.
SOURCE: Strategy Meets Action (SMA)
