Paul Brady is CIO and VP of IT at Arbella Insurance Group, a midsize property/casualty insurer based in Massachusetts. Prior to joining Arbella in 2010, he spent a decade in various IT leadership positions at Liberty Mutual. Paul was honored as CIO of the Year by Boston Business Journal in 2015. He was interviewed for the Novarica Update in 2018.
How is InsureTech changing the game for midsize regional insurers like Arbella?
One of the biggest changes we’re making is putting a renewed focus on consumers and becoming more customer-centric. All of the start-ups targeting the industry are starting with the customer experience, and it’s creating an opportunity for us to learn from them.
Another change is the ability of midsize firms like Arbella to partner with emerging technology companies to introduce new capabilities. We just announced a safe driving/telematics app called Wheel Focused that we launched with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT). CMT has a full team of MIT data scientists that we could never build internally, but as a partner we can leverage all its investments and knowledge to introduce new offerings to our customers.
Do you see senior executives changing their attitudes about innovative technology?
Definitely. Years ago, we would talk about various initiatives that had a digital component but we didn’t have an overall strategy for digital. These days the mindset is definitely changing and it is coming from the top-down. Our CEO is empowering me to push for innovation and there is so much more discussion at the executive and board level regarding the advancement of digital technology. While not every idea or suggestion I propose will be a fit, John Donohue wants to be sure we don’t miss an opportunity that could have a positive impact on our business. But more and more, when I bring new technology opportunities to my business partners, they’re excited by it. It’s an exciting time to be a CIO in insurance.
What are some of the challenges in embracing newer technologies?
Legacy systems are still a challenge. Everything would be easier if we were able to do a greenfield operation with completely modern core systems, however this is not the case. Integrating with the legacy environment and bringing it along with the new capabilities does create some drag. We’re working with the Novarica team on a core modernization strategy. The team members we work with not only have a great knowledge of the industry and technology options, but they really understand our business because of our ongoing advisory relationship. They have been able to really engage with our business stakeholders through discussions and I’ve received positive feedback from senior business leaders about those meetings.
How else has Arbella benefited from its Novarica relationship?
In addition to the team’s expertise, the published research is useful for cutting through the hype and getting a careful assessment of industry trends. It really helps us understand our relative position in terms of the investments we’re making or the technologies we’re adopting.
One of the most valuable things is the ability to network with other clients. We’ve reached out through Novarica to some of our peers for insights on vendors or for ways they are approaching key problems, and have received great insights. And it’s always great to go to the Novarica meetings and get a sense of what others are doing and realize how much Arbella’s accomplished.
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