I recently had the opportunity to facilitate Aite-Novarica’s most recent Innovation Special Interest Group alongside my colleague Jeff Goldberg and a panel of insurer innovation leaders. Our virtual “fireside chat” produced insights around how insurers are rethinking innovation, talent, and remote work as the pandemic continues and we accelerate through the evolving Great Resignation.
Innovation hasn’t taken a backseat in the pandemic; if anything, this period has produced remarkable innovation in the face of uncertainty. This may prove to be particularly important given that we are seeing what economists are referring to as the most significant changes in the North American labor force(s) since the respective ends of the two World Wars.
Remote Work
One reality many insurers had to confront quickly was remote work. More than 18 months into the pandemic, remote work has become a linchpin for an evolving normalcy, and, in many cases, insurers are rethinking their relationship with in-person work. The office now may serve a very different function than it has for recent prior generations.
Digital productivity and collaboration tools have rendered physical office spaces virtually unnecessary for keeping track of employees. One insurer innovation leader noted that rather than “counting people in chairs,” the insurance industry needs to be thinking more about building connections between people. As one insurer panelist pointed out, in-person work now serves more of a purpose around culture building and enabling critical in-person meetings for collaboration than anything else.
Innovation “With Your Back Against the Ropes”
A lively discussion emerged around defensive versus offensive innovation. Arguably, most innovation that has occurred during the pandemic has been defensive (i.e., tactical and reactive) rather than offensive or strategic. Yet as one panelist pointed out, some of the best innovation happens, “when your back is against the ropes.” Fluid-less underwriting in life insurance is one example: Many in-person paramedical exams were suspended in the early days of the pandemic.
A number of insurers circumvented this issue by enabling data-driven underwriting, which is a capability that the industry has been working toward for years. Similarly, one insurer innovation leader pointed out that the immediate and necessary shift to remote work proved to a lot of mainstream insurers how quickly they can move and innovate when they need to.
Talent and the Great Resignation
The Great Resignation and resulting institutional “brain drain” is well underway as younger baby boomers are accelerating early retirement and mid-career employees are changing jobs and companies for a variety of reasons. Insurance, like many other industries, has not been spared. Consequently, many are adjusting operating models to accommodate employee preferences. One insurer on our panel has moved to a hybrid “work anywhere” model in which employees can work remotely and access office space when needed.
Others are tapping into relationships with local universities to source talent more broadly or earlier in their development than has been the case. Some are now looking for ways to allow employees to have part-time positions in place of the binary decision of working or fully retiring. What’s old may be new again: Many of the best ideas for addressing human capital shortfalls may be refreshed versions of concepts used in earlier times to address tight labor markets and rapid shifts in our economy.
As usual, this was a lively discussion, and we’re looking forward to future conversations. If you’re interested in learning more about our Special Interest Groups or Aite-Novarica’s work around innovation, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
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