ICEF2019: Presentation Topics

Welcome and Introduction — 8:30am

Leadership and Speed to Accelerate a Path to the Future of Insurance

Denise Garth

– Denise Garth, SVP - Strategic Marketing, Majesco

This is a time of disruption and change: a technological revolution; fast-changing customer needs and expectations; and shifts to an on-demand, sharing, gig and platform economy. Some insurance leaders understand this. They have plans and are aggressively responding. Others, however, are slow or are not responding at all. Getting out ahead of the curve is more important than ever. As such ... Leadership matters. Speed matters.

An organization's leaders are responsible for its responsiveness. Early movers are pathfinders – they can experiment with new business models, products and services. Even fast followers hold dwindling options in their hands – to say nothing of laggards – and they place their businesses at significant risk. Speed and leadership are a powerful combination.

But a successful reinvention requires making a large bet – one that can overcome the drag of the old way of doing things. Core technologies such as cloud, mobile, open APIs, cognitive/AI and ecosystems are necessary for speed, innovation and flexibility to adapt to a rapidly changing market.

Insurers should not expect the next generation of insurance customers to adapt to the ways of the traditional incumbent business model. These roles are now reversed: insurers are the ones that must adapt.

Denise will provide insights into the actions needed to modernize, optimize or create the future.

What Insurance Platforms Can Do for Insurers and for Platform Sponsors

Donald Light

– Donald Light, Director - North America Property/Casualty Practice, Celent

Platforms are hot – think Amazon, Facebook, and Salesforce. Insurance platforms are heating up. But what is an insurance platform? And why does practically every insurance technology vendor have one, or want one?

As an analyst with an eye on the insurance industry and insurance platforms, Donald will share his perspective on:

• the components that define an insurance platform;
• core system platforms, data platforms, and whatever kind of platform is next;
• the importance of a platform's ecosystem;
• the value proposition for insurers and for platform sponsors;
• implications of platforms for insurers, platform sponsors, and ecosystem firms – today and looking forward.

Bridging The Gap: How To Seamlessly Transition Insurance To The Platform Economy

James Barber

– James Barber, Global Sales Director - Insurance, Information Builders
– Peter Morris, Director - Data Management Solutions, Information Builders

The Platform Economy is driving a transition from an operational-focused to a customer-focused mindset. A customer-centric, platform-driven future will be enabled by a customer data centric approach.

Industry data and capabilities, as a whole, are NOT prepared to support this transition.

Learn how business-ready insurance data will help you bridge the gap to the platform-driven insurance market, with business cases:

• Driving aligned behavior at the insured and channel level necessary for sticky, profitable growth;
• Changing the competitive basis for pricing, rating and claims;
• Doubling growth for Personal Lines, and doubling profitability for Commercial Lines.

The unified view of customer – putting customer-ready business data at the heart of an insurance operation – is essential to the future and is primarily a business issue, not a technical issue. We will explore what capabilities are required to understand your current readiness to use data strategically, and assess the paths to monetize data across the enterprise. We will discuss how data-ready organizations thrive with one foot in the operational world and one foot in the platform-driven future.

Coffee Break

Adopting A Digital-First Mindset To Improve The Customer Experience & Efficiency

Warren Lederer

– Warren Lederer, COO, Madison Advisors

Digital transformation starts with a digital omni-channel Customer Communications Management (CCM) strategy. While it can be challenging and even risky, knowing where the roadblocks are and how others have been successful can put you a step ahead in improving the customer experience.

But it does not stop there. The conversion continues throughout all the operational processes within the enterprise. To be a digital enterprise, you must consider all the back-end processes that support ongoing servicing interactions – or miss the mark and create a gap in the customer experience.

A digital-first mindset helps to support digital experience initiatives and customer experience improvement. Automation technology – such as robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and document capture – can improve workflows and back-end processes to ensure successful digital transformation and ultimately improved customer experiences.

You'll learn:

• Why digital transformation initiatives need to incorporate business processes into the overall strategy;
• The difference between omni-channel and multi-channel and why it matters to consumers;
• Best practices of those who have succeeded and how others have failed;
• Why automating inefficient back-end processes is important for post-sale servicing interactions;
• Areas along the customer journey where automation can improve customer experiences.

Privacy and Accessibility Matter

Jason Caruana

– Jason Caruana, CEO, Mixto

Where we used to type letters and lick stamps, now we click a mouse, swipe on an app, or speak with a home assistant like Alexa in order to access information and services.

As our businesses increasingly adopt digital portals and websites to communicate with and offer services to customers, we hope for successful adoption rates. As we transition, we must be mindful of lurking dangers, not to mention the rules and regulations we must abide by.

Privacy and Accessibility are essential considerations – for example, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Navigating privacy laws, printing accessible materials and using assistive technology have introduced new challenges which we all face.

Learn more about managing these challenges as you undertake the next step in your digital journey.

Insurance Ecosystems: Are You Ready?

Ahsan Siddiqi

– Ahsan Siddiqi, Director - IT and Data Strategy, Architecture, X by 2

Businesses thrive when they are part of a healthy, symbiotic ecosystem. Of course, ecosystems are not a new construct; you are likely part of one – or more – already. But recent technological advancements have changed the landscape and opened up myriad new possibilities.

Rather than participating in ecosystems in an incidental manner, can you derive added benefit by being more deliberate and influencing their development and growth?

In this session, learn more about how platforms and ecosystems differ in concept – and the implications of each. Hear about how insurers are taking advantage of ecosystems, with examples.

Taking The Leap – And The Risk – Of Innovation

Aly Dhalla

– Aly Dhalla, CEO & Co-Founder, Finaeo
– Sachin Rustagi, Director - Digital Innovation, Gore Mutual
– Neil Mitchell, Co-Founder, Player's Health; President, Risk Services & Insurance Solutions
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

The InsurTech revolution has upended a longstanding insurance tradition of thorough analysis and painstaking development.

This discussion among early adopters of the InsurTech philosophy – in rather different pockets of the industry – will illustrate, through their journeys, some of the challenges overcome, lessons learned, and success stories.

Lunch

Put The Wow! In Customer Experience Through Automation

Scott Mackey

– Scott Mackey, SVP Market Strategy, Adlib Software

The intersecting forces of digital innovation, rising customer expectations, InsurTech competition, and changing risks have intensified every business's focus on customers and their experiences.

You hold vast quantities of data. Learn how you can improve the customer experience you offer and how making better use of your unstructured data can take it to the next level.

What Can The Insurance Industry Learn From Retail Evolution?

Iliana Oris Valiente

Susan Johnston

– Iliana Oris Valiente, Managing Director, Canada Innovation and Blockchain Lead, Accenture
– Susan Johnston, Managing Director, Financial Services Canada, Accenture

The retail industry constantly faces changes and adversity but it is also an industry that fiercely innovates through disruption. The industry has adopted multiple business models, embraced digital transformation and emerging technologies to satisfy ever-increasing customer expectations and demands. This session will take a closer look at a new type of business model and one of the most exciting tech trends – blockchain (distributed ledger technology) – and how retail is deploying it to really transform its operations and customer experience.

Those who lead successfully look beyond their own industry to monitor trends and disruption. Learning from examples in retail will enable insurance leaders to glean new perspectives, leading practices and consider how to best deploy new technologies to transform the insurance industry.

The InsurTech Game Show: Who Is The Winner In The Modern Insurance Buying Process?

Jeff McCann

– Jeff McCann, Co-Founder & CEO, Apollo Exchange

Consumer expectations are changing, and the insurance world is abuzz with innovation. Fired up by new technologies, “wild ducks” cast off the shackles of traditional thinking and created the InsurTech Revolution. With a focus like never before on the customer, startups and incumbents alike are looking for a competitive edge.

This case study in how Apollo challenged the status quo will explore:

• The modern insurance buying process;
• The advantage of a platform;
• Being innovative – how Apollo differentiates;
• 3 challenges overcome;
• 3 keys to success (so far);
• A look ahead.

Coffee Break

A Peek Into The Future of Insurance

Tim Attia

– Tim Attia, CEO & Co-Founder, Slice Labs

Insurers, brokers, and suppliers are getting to understand InsurTech. Alongside an impressive number of new startups, we are seeing the parallel adoption of InsurTech characteristics (an agile, customer-focused culture, an innovation mindset, and use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence and blockchain) by incumbents.

But even amid the digital revolution, thought leaders have been looking over the horizon at new opportunities and paradigm shifts, both across the insurance industry and around the world.

Tim will offer a glimpse of the future, with examples of the next generation of the previously unthinkable.

Why Insurance?: An Industry Whose Time Has Come ... At Last

Chris Houston

– Chris Houston, CEO, The Change Alliance

Two important and seemingly unrelated trends are converging in the insurance sector to create a particular, rich opportunity for a certain kind of leader.

Over the last 10 years, employees and consumers alike have been demanding that businesses create and deliver greater social benefit. Meaningful work is sought by the best talent. Social benefit, like sustainability, is sought by discerning customers.

Meanwhile, insurance – as a risk transfer industry – only enables the mitigation of a small fraction of the risks faced by many, and it does so at very high cost relative to the benefit. It is ripe for disruption and its digital transformation – a force that has already transformed many sectors – is just such a disrupting force, thereby generating opportunities to develop and reposition businesses that are deeply committed to creating the social benefits that are so very much needed and wanted by today's employees and customers.

But seizing such an opportunity requires a particular kind of leadership which combines intellectual agility and emotional maturity.

Explore the risks and opportunities of the days ahead with Chris Houston, who in more than 30 years has worked with numerous leaders undergoing fundamental digital disruption, both in the insurance industry and in other sectors.

Taking Action For Your Insurance Future

John Elliott

– John Elliott, SVP & CIO, RSA
– Brenda Rose, Vice President & Partner, FCA Insurance Brokers
– Donald Light, Director - North America Property/Casualty Practice, Celent
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

Continuing, all-encompassing change is challenging business leaders to provide direction for success.

It is no longer enough to focus on a few aspects of the business. With industry leaders expanding and nimble startups encroaching, everything – collaboration, speed, agility, customer, skills, product, innovation – must be optimized, customized and perfected.

Hear from some insurance front runners as they discuss:

• initiatives that are making a difference;
• which characteristic(s) will have the biggest impact on the industry, this year and in the long run.

Networking Reception