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From Resource,
August 2008
Technology
Innovation
Vital to Industry’s Future
LOMA’s President and CEO,
Robert A. Kerzner, discusses the critical role of technology
in the future of the insurance industry.
By Tammy J. McInturff
Technology innovation is
critical to the future of the insurance industry, according to Robert A. Kerzner,
CLU, ChFC, President and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global. Speaking at the
recent ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, he discussed the role of technology
and the importance of different communities collaborating to advance the
business.
“Technology
is changing our business. It is no longer nice to have; it is the key to the
success of the organization,” he said. “Technology will be the game changer.
It will be a huge driver of how our business develops over the next decade. In
fact, I believe that technology will transform distribution and will continue to
change underwriting, claims and other home office services as well. In back room
operations, can you remember when we had no scanning capability? When absolutely
everything was paper? In high-volume operations, how could we even think about
operating like that today? Scanning and workflow management have made
significant differences in operations. But so too have IVR systems that allow
customers to get basic information on a self-service basis.”
For
insurance companies today, where will the next opportunities for savings and
efficiencies come from? How will insurance companies use technology to take it
to the next level? Kerzner said, “In these turbulent economic times, providing
good customer service is more important than ever before. In fact, LIMRA
research shows that the quality of service that a company provides is pivotal to
how customers feel and it is critical in fostering customer loyalty and
ultimately that relates to revenue growth.” He added that more and more,
companies are trying to differentiate themselves through their customer service.
“The market today is highly competitive,” he said. “Products alone are not
going to draw the right producers or customers to your company versus another.
Today, the fact that few companies in fact have the ability to leverage what
they know about customers to help them build better products to improve service
or cross-sell, is a significant weakness.”
What
will customer service look like in the future? Kerzner said that some companies
are beginning to look at customer experience management (CEM) systems. He
explained that CEM systems could revolutionize the way that a company analyzes
and even strategizes about all of their customer-related issues. “A CEM system
not only monitors the customers interactions, the call center flows, and the
metrics, but it evaluates customer feedback and it helps develop even a Six
Sigma approach and process plan improvement in troubled areas,” Kerzner said.
“Now this along with tools like LOMA’s customer service feedback, a survey
that we send to customers, can give you a much better understanding about how a
customer really feels about the experience.”
Are
there ways that your organization can harness technology to improve your
customer service? “We all know that technology is not cheap,” Kerzner said.
“It is hard sometimes to decide where to invest to make the biggest
difference. But deciding how and where to deploy technology is crucial if your
company is going to have a competitive edge.”
Today,
data management is vital to an insurance company. Using data to understand your
customer is also important. “We are living in a world where information is
king,” Kerzner said. “Data management and data integrity are increasingly
becoming issues that may help separate who leads the industry. How will we use
technology to better connect operations and distribution?”
Kerzner
said if you look specifically at the life insurance industry, underwriting takes
too long. “What else do consumers want to buy that they have to wait four to
ten weeks or more, to close the transaction other than maybe a mortgage?” he
asked. “These are problems that I believe technology can and will solve in the
not-so-distant future. Underwriting in some companies already is taking
advantage of prescription drug databases to really be able to allow carriers to
issue contracts much quicker. But in the not-too-distant future, your medical
records could be available electronically–digital files, not paper records, of
a client’s health history that can be assessed with permission and transmitted
instantly. Experts believe that we could see national and even international
warehouses for these records that carriers could readily access and expedite the
underwriting and claims paying process dramatically.” Kerzner said that these
types of advances could open the door for competitively priced instant issue of
risk products, including life insurance in real time. “It could cut disability
claims paying issues that now take months literally to minutes,” he said.
According
to Kerzner, technology will be the differentiator in how companies can sell
more, provide better customer service and reduce costs. “Technology can indeed
be the game changer. But scientists believe that this is exponential, that in
fact, the change will advance at a faster and faster rate. Deciding where to
invest to get the biggest bang for your business will be key over the next
decade. Technology is the enabler that will make a difference. This is an
exciting time to be in our industry. LIMRA and LOMA are here to help you
capitalize on the many opportunities to grow your business and be successful. We
want to be part of your solution now and in the future whatever it holds.”
Merger Update
Kerzner also remarked on the
LIMRA-LOMA merger: “This merger will help both organizations better serve the
industry. The integration is going incredibly well. People are really very
engaged in the process and doing a great job.”
Kerzner
said that the merger is an example of how two effective organizations can
capitalize on synergies to better serve multiple memberships and the industry as
a whole. He added that a lot of people are asking, ‘what is the role of the
new organization?’ “LIMRA is really known for its world class research for
life, health and retirement, as well as distribution technology research and
LOMA is known for global education programs for home office employees,” he
said. “Together we are the epicenter for networking in the industry, running
at least 30 conferences a year with more than 10,000 participants. In addition,
we also provide practical business solutions. Solutions like providing
assessment tools to make sure that you are hiring the right people. LOMA has
long been known both in Life and P&C as a leader in providing selection
tools for hiring call center and claims staff. Now along with LIMRA’s tools,
which were often most thought of in the field, we have really a complete suite
of products for the call center and for the entire organization. But we also do
other services like provide a wide array of compliance services as well as
consulting.”
“Today
we are now one well-capitalized organization, positioned to really be able to
provide whatever it is the industry needs now and in the future,” Kerzner
said.
“Another
real benefit of the merger is that each organization had invested in technology
but in very different parts of the organization. By coming together, we have
been able to dramatically increase our total IT capability. For example, LIMRA
had a robust comprehensive CRM system while LOMA had invested in e-learning.
Together we now have a combined platform that puts us in a far better place to
advance the whole organization than we did prior. I think this is a good example
of how IT can also be an important part of a successful merger.”
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