The insurance industry is facing a tipping point, and digital distribution is becoming more and more important. Zywave’s Jeff Cohen, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, sat down with Jeff Arnold, Founder of RightSure, James Riviezzo, Head of North American Distribution & Strategy at Resilience, and Christyn Yoast, President, USA, BOXX Insurance to discuss the implications and opportunities of digital distribution.
The discussion focused on answering key questions surrounding digital trends:
- What is the power and potential of digital distribution?
- What digital opportunities are ready to be explored?
- What lessons can commercial learn from the successes of personal lines?
- What are the impacts of technology on distribution?
- Does digital distribution lead to organic growth?
The Power and Potential of Digital Distribution
The ultimate potential of digital distribution is to not only make operations more efficient but to meet clients and prospects where they are. Balancing technology and trusted guidance from human advisors is the best of both worlds and opens doors to offer better services.
The challenge is in the implementation. The insurance industry is competitive, but future success depends on collaboration. To better serve clients, organizations need to find ways to share data securely and adopt systems that allow customers to do business in a way that works best for them. This could be fully digital, fully human, or a hybrid of both. But it boils down to using tools and systems that meet customers where they are.
There is a clear opportunity for digital distribution to improve efficiency, unlock new revenue streams, and free producers to spend more time servicing clients.
What is the Next Digital Distribution Frontier?
There is huge potential in the small commercial space. The gig economy has produced millions of micro-businesses that struggle to find coverage.
The challenge is scale. Servicing these businesses means smaller premiums and thinner margins but high account volume. The right technology can make this more financially viable by automating workflows.
Additionally, many of these small businesses have few employees, meaning there are no teams dedicated to navigating the complicated ins and outs of insurance. They rely on their broker as the expert who can guide them in the right direction.
Learning from the Example of Personal Lines
When planning digital distribution strategies, commercial lines can learn a lot from personal lines. Personal lines insurance has done an excellent job of recognizing that their customers are people and paying attention to how the individual customer wants to be met. Although commercial deals more with entities than individuals, it’s important to remember that there is always a human involved.
Some of the lessons to be learned from Personal lines include:
- Meeting customers where they are – Personal lines makes it fast and intuitive to buy coverage while continuing to offer human support.
- Keeping it simple – Customers want clear, easy-to-understand information delivered in a way that resonates with their needs.
- Being omni-channel – Whether it’s digital-first, mobile-first, or face-to-face, customers want options for how to engage.
By comparison, commercial insurance often feels sterile. Providing a more human experience through customization, empathy, and ongoing engagement could improve satisfaction and loyalty. Digital makes it possible to provide this experience, and personal lines proves that it is a successful model.
How is Technology Changing Distribution?
New forms of technology are reshaping distribution, but it’s not about adding more tools for the sake of innovation. It’s about building the right infrastructure.
There are three key things to keep in mind:
- Specialization of skills – People working in insurance aren’t software developers, and developers aren’t risk experts. The industry needs to embrace partnerships that allow each to focus on what they do best.
- Time and quality – Companies often rush to position themselves as tech-forward and become tech-shackled when systems and innovations are rolled out too quickly. The goal should be to be tech-enabled and provide a solution that meets customer needs.
- Shared language – Digital transformation requires an understanding of terms from all parties involved. Insurance professionals need to understand basic data science and technology to engage meaningfully with partners. This requires upskilling.
Digital Distribution and Organic Growth
Digital distribution isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about unlocking new channels for growth and providing opportunities to expand into markets and customer segments that were once unreachable.
It’s important to note that digital distribution extends beyond rating. Renewals, servicing, and customer engagement are all parts of the distribution lifecycle where digitization can add value. Organizations willing to invest in infrastructure and partnerships will turn digital distribution into a growth engine.
Want to explore more about this topic? Watch the entire webinar on-demand.