Disruptors Change the Way We Think, Behave, Learn, and Do Business Day to Day
Click Here to watch the video of David Sampson speaking at the ACIC General Counsel Seminar
What Property and Casualty Insurers Can Learn from Apple
Apple has an uncanny ability to innovate and bring to market industry Disruptors, products the times call for and consumers can’t live without. When the ipad launched five years ago, many thought a touchscreen tablet to be a risky endeavor. Steve Jobs persevered, insisting the time was right for a device “more intimate than a laptop but more capable than a smartphone”. More than 225 million ipads have been sold.
Disruptors present opportunities as well as risks. They change the way we do business. They are not confined to the tech sector. As I visit the CEO’s of our more than 1,000 member companies, they consistently tell me this is a time of tremendous disruption within the P&C industry. However, as Apple demonstrates, risks present opportunities. The following are among the top three Disruptors making waves throughout our industry and the steps PCI is taking to help stay ahead of the currents.
Societal Trends as Disruptors
In the digital age, workers-for-hire are available on-demand but the sharing economy is a societal trend that presents new risks. The 2014 death of six-year-old Sofia Liu, killed crossing the street in San Francisco by an Uber driver, shed light on widespread insurance gaps regarding Transportation Network Companies (TNC’s.)
Changing attitudes about medical marijuana are another sweeping and sudden societal trend. The majority of Americans now support its legalization and twenty-three states, as well as the District of Columbia, have done just that.
PCI is proud of our advocacy work which has been pivotal in enacting new legislation on both fronts that took effect July first. Twenty five states have measures in place to bridge the insurance gaps that persist when TNC drivers use their personal vehicles for commercial trips arranged via smartphone app. Six states now offer protections from property casualty insurers’ requirement to reimburse for medical marijuana. New risks. New opportunities.
Global Regulatory Convergence as a Disruptor
The 2008 financial crisis opened the flood gates to a tidal wave of proposals that run the risk of implementing a one-size-fits-all, bank-centric approach to regulation. Global Regulatory Convergence threatens to reduce market choices, raise premiums, and force consolidation. It is unnecessary, as the state-based P&C regulatory system performed admirably “pre” and “post” financial crisis.
PCI is leading efforts to engage Congress in putting Global Regulatory Convergence concerns on the agenda. We have bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate. Recent meetings with the Federal Reserve Board and Treasury confirm an increasing awareness of the differences between banks and insurers and encouraging signs regulation is slowing.
Technology as a Disruptor
Your ipad is handy but technology is a Disruptor. Case in point, the recent hack at the Office of Personnel Management compromised sensitive information of more than 20 million workers inside and outside the government. Our members seek clarity and updates on cyber issues and insurance, one of today’s fastest growing segments. PCI launched a new Cyber Committee and we’ve created a new subcommittee comprised of Chief Security Officers, focusing on cyber insurance and the marketplace.
PCI’s mission is to promote and protect the viability of a competitive insurance market for the benefit of consumers. It is critical for organizations to embrace the disruptive forces within this industry, innovate, lead, and deliver the 21st century product choices consumers in these times expect. As Apple consistently demonstrates, there is reward to be had in righting disruptive risks. Adapting to the mega shifts will lead to prosperity.
David A Sampson, PCI President & CEO
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