I recently attended Plug and Play Insurtech’s second annual Broker•Age event at its Sunnyvale, California location. The conference brought together brokers, carriers, technology providers, and venture capital funds in a combination of networking events, panel discussions, and pitch sessions.
The three themes of this iteration of Broker•Age were Revamp (using new technologies to transform business), Relevance (leveraging data and self-service capabilities in combination with high-touch services to ensure relevance), and Risk (engaging with customers to improve data and interactions, and therefore pricing of risk).
Given the themes above, many offerings of the technology providers present centered on AI and data (in some cases, using AI to derive or extract data). The shift from “We are coming to disrupt your industry!” just a few years ago to “We are here to help brokers become more efficient” continues. It is also worth noting that several attendees were from the NAIC, and another was from a state insurance department. While there was some commentary on the challenges of regulation, the “move fast and break things” attitude of earlier years wasn’t present at the conference.
I was surprised to hear several panelists stress a goal of making brokers’ existing processes more efficient, rather than improving or redesigning processes in addition to digitizing them. This shift is presumably due both to a recognition of carriers’ inability to impose solutions on a largely independent producer workforce and a certain weariness from decades of trying to establish SEMCI.
A notable exception to the “keep processes the same” rhetoric was one broker’s discussion of how it enabled clients to update their information on a portal at any time, rather than only at renewal time. The audience had some questions about how brokers that weren’t in the top tier would survive, with one commenter noting that some brokers are happy to serve their communities rather than pursue high growth rates.
In general, there was a certain amount of conservatism: Brokers aren’t going away, though less-complex business may be sold on a direct basis; brokers should simplify their technology ecosystems rather than chasing the latest toys; and carriers and brokers should partner and share data, rather than fighting over customers.
We cover what we’ve termed digital broker platforms and automated application intake solutions in our report Broker-Carrier Automation: Overview and Prominent Providers.
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