Topics: the Challenges & Opportunities of the Next 10 Years
The Insurance 2023 group came together in 2012 with insurance professionals from the insurer, broker, and intermediary sectors, as well as industry watchers. These representatives provided cross-Canada input, with some external expertise from an American insurance professional.
Through collaborative discussions, surveys and industry experience, two sets of factors were developed – factors which would influence the shape of insurance a decade from now. The factors ranged from current global topics – such as climate change – to the impact of the changing ways we communicate; from mergers and acquisitions and new competitors to technologies which seem to be sprouting all around us.
This half-day seminar will provide the opportunity for you to step outside of the day-to-day (and tomorrow) issues which absorb us completely, and dedicate a little time to that next scenario just over the horizon. You will get perspectives from others in the industry about a number of changes coming at us and what they may mean. Some of these perspectives may provide new food for thought, others may validate your current longer range planning.
Please join us at this forum which will provide value to senior executives and professionals who are involved in longer range planning. Most firms today are busy implementing people and workflow environments for tomorrow. Those people who are sketching the bridges to the organization and processes needed beyond tomorrow will value the insights presented at Insurance 2023.
Are the actions you are taking today positioning you for future corporate health? You be the judge. Consider what the leading experts describe and predict with their views on the changes within and outside the industry. What are the significant impacts, positive and negative, on P&C insurance in Canada?
“Customers, Risks, and Technology are Changing. Are You?”
— Michael Costonis, Managing Director – Insurance Industry, Accenture
The insurance industry is in an ongoing, unprecedented wave of change. The convergence of customer expectations, changing nature of risks, disruptive technologies and fundamental demographic shifts are creating a set of conditions that create equal parts opportunity and challenge for insurance companies. In this presentation, Michael Costonis, will outline why these emerging indicators of change cannot be ignored and how companies must act quickly to prepare themselves to compete now and into the future. The companies that embrace this wave of change now will be out performing their competitors into the future. The time to act is now.
Michael Costonis is a Managing Director in Accenture’s Insurance practice. Costonis has nearly 23 years of experience developing, managing and deploying large scale technology systems, business processes, and strategies for some of the world’s leading insurers, including property & casualty, life, and multi-line insurance companies. In his career with Accenture, he has worked with more than 50 leading insurance clients in 18 countries around the world. (More)
“How the Internet of Things Is Going to Change the Insurance Industry”
— Donald Light, Director – Americas Property/Casualty Practice, Celent
The world is changing. It is becoming more connected. People, places, and things are using these connections to exchange an exploding amount of digital information and data. This digital stuff can be stored and analyzed, and yield predictions, feedback, and control.
In the near term the Internet of Things will challenge insurers to create new products, pricing algorithms, underwriting methods, and claims processes. It will also require insurers to acquire new capabilities to influence the behavior of policyholders and the performance of insured things.
Over a longer time horizon, the ability of the Internet of Things to substantially reduce losses will mean lower premiums and a either a smaller or a transformed insurance industry.
Donald Light is the Director of Celent’s Americas Property/Casualty Insurance Practice. His coverage areas include: technology and business strategy, new business and underwriting, policy administration, claims, market assessments, M&A due diligence, and transformative technologies such as the Internet of Things. (More)
“Mobility, People, Goods, Vehicles – and Insurance”
— Catherine Kargas, Vice President, MARCON
From driverless vehicles to drones, mobility of people and merchandise will change. How will this impact insurance? Certainly, changes can be expected to personal and commercial auto. However, as business models evolve, so will commercial insurance. These changes and their impacts on insurance will be discussed in this presentation.
Catherine Kargas, a business strategist with 25 years of consulting experience, has worked with clients in both the P&C insurance and transportation industries. She is Vice President at MARCON, a research and strategy consultancy, Chair of the Board of Directors of Electric Mobility Canada and founding member of the Transportation Evolution Institute. (More)
“The Digital Age: Evolving Business Processes and Work Management”
— Ruth Fisk, Global Director – Insurance, Hyland
There is no doubt that the digital world will continue to grow and become more complex. Information continues to evolve and the insurance world as it is today will look much different in the future.
The impact of the technology will change the way we work, the way we interact and the way we manage our internal process. People, process and content will be connected in new ways that haven’t even been recognized yet. How consumers interact with us will become even more dynamic; their expectations will continue to evolve at a faster pace than we have ever known.
What will be the impact of both internal and external influences to the carrier? How will we adapt to the new normal with the next generation of information management technologies?
In this session, look at preparing your organization for the future of work management and business process automation.
Ruth Fisk has 25+ years’ experience working within the insurance industry, including 14+ years as a manager at a Property & Casualty Carrier. A foremost expert on the practical application of EDMS technology within the insurance industry, Ruth has helped numerous insurance companies globally to implement Enterprise Content Management solutions within their organizations. (More)
“Customer Experience will Influence the Shape of Insurance”
— Peter Pleckaitis, Associate Partner, IBM Canada Ltd.
The insurance industry is in transition, an evolution that seems to be picking up speed. The competition in the insurance market for customers – among broker and direct distribution channels, among insurers and in the claims space – is only going to escalate over the next decade.
The relationship between an insurance service and its customer is becoming increasingly important as a competitive differentiator – in marketing, in serving, in pricing, in communicating.
What makes up this overall relationship – the “customer experience”?
It’s not enough to think you know your customers; their expectation is that you will know what they most care about, and that you can deliver a service based on that knowledge. This requires that you understand the roles of your people and be able to operationalize key enablers like technology and analytics to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time – creating a compelling customer experience.
This presentation will share how the benefits of disruptive technologies such as mobile, cloud, big data and social are driving customer experience market trends, and in turn enabling emerging business models. By 2024, the shape of insurance will be different.
Peter Pleckaitis leads the Customer Experience & Strategy team in IBM’s Interactive Experience organization. Peter works with clients to generate business models and launch new business to capture the benefits of disruptive technologies such as mobile, cloud, big data and social. He brings significant experience in advanced campaign delivery systems, performance management and executional change management. Peter also brings deep expertise in driving improvements in all life-cycle stages, customer retention, as well as identifying cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. (More)
“The Insurance Distribution Channel of 2024”
— Jim Ryan, Senior Vice President, American International Group, Global Markets
In order to remain viable and competitive, insurers and brokers must effect changes in distribution that meet the needs of the insurance user in 2024. Product, service, reporting, and risk management will need to adapt to the demands and opportunities. Collaboration and innovation will be cornerstones of this new insurance marketplace.
AIG has been working with its distributors and clients to begin the journey. Jim will describe the framework that is coming together, and the cloud-based technologies that are now enabling early implementations of this new distribution ecosystem.
Jim Ryan is responsible for the strategic objectives and global deployment of the Salesforce.com CRM and Chatter solutions within the AIG Property and Casualty business group to facilitate knowledge sharing and enable virtual team collaboration. (More)
Moderator: Debra Ambrose, Sr. VP, Aviva Canada
+ Heather McLachlin, President, Cowan Insurance Group
+ David Elder, Counsel, Stikeman Elliott
+ Jeff Berry, Senior Director – Research and Development, LoyaltyOne
Analysts and practitioners continue to emphasize the growing importance of the Insurance Marketing role. The future will see Marketing being held accountable to support growth and profitability targets by using sophisticated analytic tools and big data sources to clearly hear the voice of sophisticated insurance consumers. Moreover, Marketing will develop and, possibly, manage strategies to meet consumer needs with highly personalized offerings. This panel, consisting of marketing practitioners and advisors from within and outside insurance industry, will address critical success factors which will define the future of insurance marketing.
Debra Ambrose is the Senior Vice President of Distribution for Aviva Canada. Her varied career includes developing strategic marketing plans, business development, sales management, operations, research and insights; and the management of multi-functional work teams. (More)
Heather McLachlin, President of Cowan Insurance Group, has more than 20 years in the financial services and insurance business. Accountable for strategy and operations for Cowan Insurance Group, one of the largest independent insurance brokerage and consulting operations in Canada, she is a collaborative leader who has earned a reputation for results through building strong teams, and a client focused approach. (More)
David Elder David Elder practices communications, competition and privacy law with Stikeman Elliott LLP. He serves as the firm’s Chief Privacy Officer, and has also been retained as Special Digital Privacy Counsel to the Canadian Marketing Association. He provides compliance advice to a wide range of Canadian and international businesses conducting both “bricks and mortar” and online activities, and has also been an active participant in legislative and policy developments. (More)
Jeff Berry manages research initiatives in North America and internationally as Senior Director of Research and Development at LoyaltyOne. With more than 15 years of experience in loyalty marketing, analytics and customer engagement, Jeff manages and directs the development of LoyaltyOne’s thought leadership content including research and best practices for global loyalty marketers. Jeff’s background in client management, business development and consulting in both the B2B and B2C spaces make him an expert who has experience in the theory and practice of loyalty marketing. (More)
Speakers and Moderators
Debra Ambrose, Senior Vice President of Distribution, Aviva Canada
Debra Ambrose is the Senior Vice President of Distribution for Aviva Canada. Her varied career includes developing strategic marketing plans, business development, sales management, operations, research and insights; and the management of multi-functional work teams.
Debra has substantive executive experience – managing large marketing organizations and sales professionals. Prior to joining Aviva Canada, Debra was the Head of Product Development and Financial Services for American Express Canada. During this time, Debra developed several cobranded credit card products and successfully managed large corporate partnerships.
Debra describes herself as a passionate marketer with a keen eye for progressive and innovative marketing. Some of her favourite brands include Aviva and American Express, Apple, and President's Choice Financial.
Jeff Berry, Senior Director - Research and Development, LoyaltyOne
As Senior Director of Research and Development at LoyaltyOne, Jeff manages research initiatives in North America and internationally. With more than 15 years of experience in loyalty marketing, analytics and customer engagement, Jeff manages and directs the development of LoyaltyOne's thought leadership content including research and best practices for global loyalty marketers. Jeff's background in client management, business development and consulting in both the B2B and B2C spaces make him an expert who has experience in the theory and practice of loyalty marketing.
Jeff originally joined LoyaltyOne in 1999 and held a number of positions managing relationships for the AIR MILES Reward Program with clients such as American Express, Bank of Montreal and Rexall. In 2006, Jeff assumed the role of head of Loyalty and Database Marketing at Fairmont Hotels, where he helped institute the structure and discipline of a customer management strategy and leveraged data and analytics to drive customer engagement and profitability. He also spent three years successfully developing a small research and consulting operation focused on helping Fortune 500 companies market and sell to small businesses. The business was sold in 2008 to the Corporate Executive Board, and Jeff became the GM and SVP of the Canadian operation. In 2010, Jeff rejoined LoyaltyOne and focused on cultivating business relationships in the U.S. marketplace until he assumed his current position in 2012.
An engaging presenter who is a frequent speaker at loyalty conferences, Jeff has also been featured in such media outlets as CNBC, National Post, Direct Marketing News, Target Marketing and Strategy Magazine and writes a blog for the Canadian Marketing Association.
Michael Costonis, Managing Director - Insurance Industry, Accenture
Michael Costonis is a Managing Director in Accenture's Insurance practice. He is responsible for managing the Insurance North America East Client Group. In addition to this role, Costonis leads Accenture's Global Claims Business Services
Michael has nearly 23 years experience developing, managing and deploying large scale technology systems, business processes, and strategies for some of the world's leading insurers, including property & casualty, life, and multi-line insurance companies. In his career with Accenture, he has worked with more than 50 leading insurance clients in 18 countries around the world.
Prior to his current role, Michael has led Accenture's Insurance Solutions practice in North America and was responsible for the Insurance Industry Program for North America where he set the overall vision and strategy for the practice.
Costonis has authored several articles in leading insurance trade publications, and has been quoted in the New York Times, Bloomberg News, Reuters News, Financial Times, Forbes, Best's Review, Insurance & Technology, InformationWeek, National Underwriter, Technology Decisions, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a sought-after public speaker, having addressed many leading industry conferences in the U.S. and internationally. His monthly insurance commentary and insight can be found here.
Costonis received a bachelor's degree in political science from Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA). He is based in Philadelphia.
David Elder, Counsel, Stikeman Elliott
David Elder practices communications, competition and privacy law with Stikeman Elliott LLP, where he is the Chair of the Communications group and a member of the Competition and Foreign Investment, Privacy & Data Protection, Government Relations, Regulatory and Public Policy practice groups. He serves as the firm's Chief Privacy Officer, and has also been retained as Special Digital Privacy Counsel to the Canadian Marketing Association. He provides compliance advice to a wide range of Canadian and international businesses conducting both “bricks and mortar” and online activities, and has also been an active participant in legislative and policy developments respecting privacy, lawful access/intercept and spam.
He has over 20 years' experience gained in private practice, government and corporate settings. David was formerly Vice President, Regulatory Law with Bell Canada, where he also served as Chief Privacy Officer. He has also served as Legal Counsel to the CRTC, the Canadian communications regulator.
David is the Past Chair of the National Entertainment, Media & Communications Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. He is also an active member of the Information Technology Association of Canada and the International Committee of the Antitrust Law Section of the ABA. David is involved in a number of community and charitable endeavors, including the March of Dimes, Plan Canada and the Run for the Cure. He is a board member of the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation.
Ruth Fisk, Global Director - Insurance, Hyland
Ruth Fisk has 25+ years' experience working within the insurance industry, including 14+ years as a manager at a Property & Casualty Carrier. Her primary responsibility as a manager was to improve overall operational efficiency and to reduce expenses. During her tenure, Ruth also managed several high-profile corporate projects.
A foremost expert on the practical application of EDMS technology within the insurance industry, Ruth has helped numerous insurance companies globally to implement Enterprise Content Management solutions within their organizations. As an insurance industry specialist, Ruth has consulted for several insurance organizations around the world and successfully helped them to significantly reduce operating expenses and increase efficiency, which has resulted in enhancing their bottom line.
Catherine Kargas, Vice President, MARCON
Catherine Kargas, a business strategist with 25 years of consulting experience, has worked with clients in both the P&C insurance and transportation industries. She is Vice President at MARCON, a research and strategy consultancy, Chair of the Board of Directors of Electric Mobility Canada and founding member of the Transportation Evolution Institute.
Catherine advises private and public organisations on mobility business models, including on how to prepare for and seize the opportunities presented by the emergence of new industries and technologies, including driverless vehicles.
Donald Light, Director - Americas Property/Casualty Practice, Celent
Donald Light is the Director of Celent's Americas Property/Casualty Insurance Practice. His coverage areas include: technology and business strategy, transformative technologies such as digital strategy and the Internet of Things, new business and underwriting, policy administration, claims, M&A due diligence.
His recent consulting work includes: developing a strategic IT plan for a specialty insurer, vendor selection advisory work for rating, policy administration, and claims; a build vs. buy analysis for core systems; and several due diligence projects for acquisitions.
Mr. Light is widely quoted in the press and media, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, CNBC, and National Public Radio.
He is a frequent presenter at industry conferences including those sponsored by ACORD, LOMA and IASA.
Prior to joining Celent, Mr. Light was an insurance subject matter expert with Sapient and for his own firm Donald Light Consulting, where he advised senior managers at major insurers and other financial institutions. He has also held a senior research position in Allstate's Research and Planning Center.
Mr. Light has a B.A. in economics from Princeton University, and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Heather McLachlin, President, Cowan Insurance Group
Heather McLachlin, President of Cowan Insurance Group, has more than 20 years in the financial services and insurance industry. Accountable for strategy and operations for Cowan Insurance Group, one of the largest independent insurance brokerage and consulting operations in Canada, she is a collaborative leader who has earned a reputation for results through building strong teams, and a client focused approach.
Heather has extensive expertise in leading strategic transformational change, business development and sales management, corporate marketing and communications and human resources. Under her leadership, Cowan Insurance Group has been named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies in 2012 and 2013, and recently was named one of Canada's top 10 brokerages for 2014 by Insurance Business Canada Magazine.
Previous to accepting the role as President at Cowan Insurance Group, Heather was most recently at The CUMIS Group where she worked in a number of progressively senior roles including Vice President Business Development and Partnerships, Vice President Corporate Marketing and Vice President Direct Marketing and Distribution.
Heather holds an Economics Degree from Wilfred Laurier University and has successfully completed executive management programs at both the Queens School of Business and the Disney Institute. She is on the Council of Advisors Committee to the President of Wilfrid Laurier University, serves as an active member of the International Women's Forum and is a member of the Langs Chair's Innovation Council. Heather was also the past chairperson for the Canadian Global Women's Leadership Initiative, a not for profit foundation in support of women in developing nations and a former board member of the Canadian Cooperative Development Foundation. She is an avid skier and golfer and serves on the Board of Directors at Boler Mountain Ski Club in London Ontario.
Peter Pleckaitis, Associate Partner, IBM Canada Ltd.
Peter Pleckaitis leads the Customer Experience & Strategy team in IBM's Interactive Experience organization. Peter works with clients to generate business models and launch new business to capture the benefits of disruptive technologies such as mobile, cloud, big data and social.
He brings significant experience in advanced campaign delivery systems, performance management and executional change management. Peter also brings deep expertise in driving improvements in all life-cycle stages, customer retention, as well as identifying cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.
Peter joined IBM in 2013 and has served in marketing and brand executive roles in the telecom, hospitality, and media industries.
He was Managing Director at TSN where he was awarded a Gemini Award for High Definition Television; as Chief Marketing Officer at Fallsview Casino and Resorts where they adopted the Harrah's Segmentation and Life time value model; and the National Basketball Association where as an executive marketing advisor to the League Commissioner he worked with IDEO to redefine the fan experience across all channels for all franchises.
Jim Ryan, Senior Vice President - Global Distribution, AIG P&C
Jim is responsible for the global deployment of the Salesforce.com CRM and Chatter solutions within the AIG Property and Casualty business group. He leads the Salesforce.com Center of Excellence (COE), which is comprised of business and technology specialists who work closely with all levels of management to develop strategic objectives as well as complete delivery responsibility for implementation and user support. AIG is one of the largest Salesforce.com clients with over 30,000 users worldwide. The Chatter solution has been deployed to all members of the organization to facilitate knowledge sharing and enable virtual team collaboration.
Prior to his current assignment, Jim was responsible for implementing the technology platform related to the AIG commercial multinational book of business. In this role, he implemented global placement applications that were responsible for supporting the end-to-end business process related to complex risk transfer and risk management solutions provided to global multinational accounts.
Jim is an active member of the Salesforce.com community. He served as a co-founder of the Salesforce insurance industry group and is a frequent speaker at Salesforce-related events.
Jim graduated from Baruch College and holds an MBA in finance from the Stern School of Business, New York University.
Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca
Doug Grant has been helping the insurance industry in Canada make effective use of technology for many years. From a business-impact and application perspective, he has helped individual companies and cross-industry groups in both Property & Casualty and Life insurance.
The progress of technology from the the basement computer room to the desk-top terminal and PC, to portable laptops to smartphones and tablets and now BYOD has been a fascinating journey. Processes extended to business partners through connected systems has continued to improve efficiency and timeliness.
The web brought the customer directly into the equation. Social functions have enabled new levels of connectedness, triggering the current focus on customer experience and engagement, which can paradoxically both enhance loyalty and increase freedom of choice.
Doug is a founding partner in Insurance-Canada.ca, a leading Canadian Insurance resource centre for consumer and insurance professional alike. He organizes and hosts regularly scheduled Insurance-Canada.ca conferences and other events.
Married with two sons, Doug is a recent migrant from house to condo (too much stuff – not enough space), both in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Patrick Vice, Partner, Director - Procducts & Services, Insurance-Canada.ca
Patrick has more than 25 years of experience enabling technology and electronic commerce in the insurance and risk management communities. Patrick is a Founding Partner of Insurance-Canada.ca, Inc., the premier source for Canadian information on insurance & technology.
Patrick currently serves as Insurance-Canada.ca's Director of Products and Services, and sits on the company's Advisory Board. He edits the Intersection, Insurance-Canada.ca's blog, produces and hosts on-line and in-person events, and develops bespoke offerings for Insurance-Canada.ca's clients.
Throughout his career, Patrick has held senior management positions with insurance companies, distributors, consulting firms, and technology solution providers. He serves on boards and committees of various industry associations.
Patrick authors articles for leading trade publications and has spoken at insurance and technology conferences in Canada, the US, UK, Europe, and Bermuda.
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