Nolan Perspectives
As the dust has settled from the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders are reassessing what the new normal will demand of their operations and accelerating focus on digital transformation.
Overview
In 2007 Nassim Taleb published his landmark book, "The Black Swan." He defined a black swan as a rare, unpredictable event that has severe consequences and will later be claimed to be obvious in hindsight.
Some time ago I was interviewing an underwriting officer, and I asked him for his perspective on the Loss Control or Risk Management function. His response has stayed with me for a long time.
Overview
Insurance companies today are all targeting profitable growth. There’s a buzz in today’s marketplace that one can shoot in any direction and hit their target. It’s not that easy because real growth opportunities are not everywhere.
Insurance, at its core, is a service industry. Good customer service has always been an industry imperative. Given that backdrop, what is driving today's hyperfocus on customer experience?
Insurance organizations are pursuing a variety of strategic initiatives – advanced analytics, digital insurance, core system replacement, customer experience, direct distribution, self-service, omni-channel, etc.
The P&C industry is undergoing significant challenges with increased claim severity in liability and physical damage claims. These increases are outpacing inflation and rate adequacy.
The past few years have made clear that political organizations have become much more sophisticated in terms of leveraging “big data” and executing real-time, data-driven campaigns.
As an analytics practitioner, I am struck by the essential practices used by Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. These titans of industry undertook major initiatives, launched from the confines of their 21-acre winter estate in Ft.
Recently I worked with a client to analyze and solve some significant underwriting problems. Initially the company’s CEO was concerned because its loss ratios were higher than its peers’ loss ratios.
I am a fan of legendary college basketball coach John Wooden’s books and his “Pyramid of Success” philosophy. In particular, I have found the book Be Quick—But Don’t Hurry to be an especially handy and useful reference.
While the economy improves and business opportunities abound, it’s easy to forget what we all went through starting in 2008 with the economic meltdown. As we help clients hammer out business, operations, and technology strategies, we are finding many are almost hyper-focused on growth. Why not?
Big data is now ubiquitous in the insurance industry, but most insurers are merely scratching the surface when it comes to effectively harnessing its value. In fact, a recent study revealed that 60% of claims data is still unstructured, and that 16% of high-risk claims are still neglected.
Like other contemporary management models, Lean can be a powerful tool for affecting positive change. And like other theories, it has taken time for Lean to catch on — especially in organizations outside of manufacturing.
Each year, The Nolan Company conducts industry surveys to gauge the pulse of a specific industry, be it banking, healthcare, or insurance. Some are comprehensive, others are just flash surveys.
Emerging trends in the insurance industry, combined with an expectation of relatively flat market conditions, are spurring executives to embrace new initiatives to maintain their market share and create new means of growth in trying times.
Comprehensive risk assessment – the accurate selection, assessment and rating of risk – rests at the heart of sustainable profitability. Underwriting involves far more than simply matching premium to coverage consistently.
This interview originally appeared in the Spring 2013 Edition of IASA’s Interpreter. It is the 30th in a series of interviews conducted for the publication by Dennis Sullivan.
At a business breakfast recently, two clients and I had a roundtable discussion sharing our thoughts about the latest and greatest ideas and experiences in insurance industry technologies, organizational constructs, sourcing options, and other topics.
“The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.”
That now-famous quote was uttered at a press conference when new CEO Lou Gerstner was being pressed for an outline of his plans for the beleaguered company.
The days of marketing and operations co-existing in a contentious relationship have gone the way of payphones and paper applications. This sea change in the industry is occurring because young adults (that is, today's new customers) demand it.
Most of us saw it coming: massive restructuring as the U.S. Postal Service recently announced that it will close one in ten of its 32,000 offices. Efforts are under way to evaluate selling major operating locations across the United States, a move expected to save over $3 billion annually.
In the third quarter 2008 edition of The Nolan Newsletter, we published part one of a two-part discussion around characteristics of successful mid-size insurers.
If there’s ever been a time when we were all painfully aware of the war over talent, it’s now. Nearly every client we work with faces the same challenge: that of attracting and holding on to their most precious resource—people.
