The pandemic has changed the way insurers think about innovation. Before, insurers could innovate at their own pace—but innovative capabilities became essential for doing business when insurers shifted to operate remotely.
At Novarica’s third virtual Special Interest Group on innovation, panelists Lisa Pires (Hanover Insurance Group), Jim Suchara (Amerisure), Rob Shoenfelt (Celina Insurance Group), and Nick Gerhart (Homesteaders Life) shared insights on innovation best practices, priorities, and lessons learned during the pandemic.
Innovation During the Pandemic
Panelist Lisa Pires described the urgency with which insurers acted: “Everyone had to think about how they would work differently. Insurers were thinking, ‘How do I survive?’ Innovation has become more prevalent because it was required to survive during this time.”
The pandemic was a call to action. Survival was the common goal, and business and IT units found ways to collaborate virtually to rise to the occasion. Our panelists agreed that a need for survival did not kill innovation; it allowed it to evolve faster. Insurers had to become more agile, digital, and quick to adapt. These weren’t just lessons; they were affirmations about the industry’s ability to evolve.
Supporting Innovation
Innovation and culture go hand in hand. Creating, supporting, and evolving cultures to support, rather than curtail, innovation is something organizations need to work toward, not wish for. Our panelists described the organizational structures and processes that have helped them build successful cultures of innovation. They noted three essential elements:
- Create a dedicated team, give them dedicated resources, and clearly define a goal (e.g., what are you trying to do?)
- Seek engagement from the business and IT leadership and alignment between the two groups.
- Take small bites, align early efforts with critical business needs, and understand that KPIs evolve.
Innovation cannot happen off the side of anyone’s desk. It needs to be a focused effort with a strong foundation. Only through formalization can insurers capitalize on their innovation investments. Our panelists stressed these initial steps and spoke highly of the impacts on company culture. Jim Suchara noted, “Now that we have proven ourselves solving those problems, we have created a pipeline. Leaders come to us excited.” Rob Shoenfelt added a guardrail for insurers to consider, saying that insurers need to focus on the useful and not just the cool.
The conversation moved beyond building a foundation and focused on prioritizing initiatives. Nick Gerhart described Homesteader’s process of grouping projects in buckets during the ideation process. The company asked whether the project was evolutionary, revolutionary, a growth play, or a new market play. Categorizing ideas helps organizations understand project priority and necessary resources. Nick also stressed that insurers need to look outside-in, focusing on other industries and overall user experience. Keen peripheral vision is critical to establish strong internal compasses for innovation.
The Future of Innovation
In the first few weeks of April, Jim Suchara noted that “digitization became table stakes and beyond the realm of innovation.” One participant asked whether digitization was the end, to which the panelists all answered no.
Lisa remarked that, as long as tech continues to change, so will innovation. It is not a project with an end date. Customer and agent expectations are rapidly changing and will continue to do so exponentially. At one time, “innovation” was having a website; what it will be tomorrow is still being thought up.
I asked our panelists what they know now that they didn’t know before the pandemic; their answers were resoundingly optimistic. Each panelist spoke about the resiliency, leadership, and agility of their teams and were hopeful about what the future had in store. The changes they thought would be hard came easily, and they felt their companies would strive to keep progressing at this new pace. Rob Shoenfelt summed it up by saying, “There is no more ‘we can’t.’ We did.”
We look forward to continuing these discussions throughout 2020 and into the new year. Visit our events page for more information on Novarica’s virtual meeting offerings.
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