Viewing entries written by Karen Pauli

2019 Commercial Lines Strategies: Stepping Up to The Plate
Given that this blog is coming out in January, a baseball reference in the title might seem a wee bit out-of-season. Should it be a football reference? Perhaps. But SMA’s recent report, 2019 Strategic Initiatives: P&C Commercial Lines, is future focused.

In 2019, AI Will Step Out of the Headlines and Into Practical Solutions
For 2018, SMA’s prediction was that AI was going to be the dominant headline. And in fact, that was the case. Virtually every entity that has a place in the insurance industry found a discussion thread around AI.

Data Prefill: Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Frequently at children’s birthday parties, a guest magician will utter the well-worn phrase “now you see it, now you don’t” – and a bouquet of flowers disappears. For many, it’s a heartwarming memory. But what does that have to do with insurance? It relates to the vast quantity of questions...

Emerging Technologies in Commercial Lines: Vive La Difference!
Historically, technology adoption within commercial lines organizations has been met with a wall of push-back, largely related to commercial lines being wrapped in a cloak of “art versus science” thinking. Because of risk and product complexity, commercial lines organizations believed that only highly trained and seasoned humans could be involved...

Claims is a People Business: The New Definition
Claims is a people business – virtually every claims executive I have ever met believes this. If you have ever been in a vehicle accident, experienced damage to your home or business, or been injured in a work-related incident, one of the first things that comes to mind is: I...

Getting Under the Covers of Today’s P&C Digital Distribution Response
Today, the discussions around insurance distribution channels are in perpetual motion – everyone has an opinion as to where it’s going. But where is it today? What has changed? What hasn’t? And where are the investment dollars going? These are great questions, and most insurance professionals are interested in the answers.

Can You Guess Who is Really Disrupting Insurance?
In a recent SMA blog, Karen Furtado, SMA partner, posed this question: “Have you ever found yourself hearing a word so frequently that it begins to lose its meaning?” (In that specific instance, the word she was referring to was “transformation.”) But, I think that everyone who reads that question...

To Be InsurTech or Not to Be InsurTech – Is No Longer the Question
It is probably a bit presumptuous to liken the InsurTech startup movement to Hamlet’s famous “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy. It is, after all, a well-known and historical Shakespearean reference. However, the similarity is in the questions asked, and such a question has probably been asked prior to...

Three Ways L&A Insurers Are Smarter Than P&C Insurers
In many quarters, the above title could be fighting words! Since I can’t even watch an Olympic boxing match, much less an all-out fight, let me explain.

Agents and Brokers are Dead: Wait - Not So Fast!
For the past several years, a significant number of individuals and new-breed companies have emphatically stated that independent agents and brokers are dead. They don’t serve the needs of today’s consumers. They are behind the times from a technology standpoint. They are difficult to deal with.