This is part of a series of interviews by Shefi Ben Hutta with insurance practitioners who bring an interesting perspective to their work and to the industry as a whole. Here, she speaks with Stephen Applebaum, managing partner, Insurance Solutions Group, and senior adviser at StoneRidge Advisors, who describes the implications of the "torrents of data that will flow from connected cars, homes, buildings and people."
To see more of the "A Word With Shefi" series, visit her thought leader profile. To subscribe to her free newsletter, Insurance Entertainment, click here.
Describe what you do in 50 words or less:
I provide consulting and advisory services to participants across the North American auto and property insurance ecosystem, which leverage my experience, industry contacts and understanding of innovation and emerging technologies to drive meaningful, measurable improvement in revenue, market share, process, profitability and user and customer experience.
What led you to your career in insurance?
Serendipity, actually. An early management consulting engagement with a technology-based startup providing insurance claims solutions to P&C carriers led to a full-time operational and management role and ultimately a very exciting and rewarding 30-year career spanning several different companies that continues today.
What emerging technology will change how insurance is sold?
Prescriptive analytics applied to the torrents of data that will flow from connected cars, homes, buildings and people - enabled by mobile devices and embedded sensors - will transform virtually every aspect of how insurance products are developed, priced, packaged and sold, and how risk is managed in general.
A carrier you highly value for its innovative culture?
Among the many top-tier carriers that have invested in and developed innovative cultures, USAA stands out because of its highly focused and fierce dedication to pursuing constant improvement and technological innovation in the pursuit of providing superior service excellence to its "members" in insurance as well as the full range of its financial services.
You recently published an article on "Disruption in the Automotive Ecosystem." What tip do you have for companies looking beyond their core value to offer innovative solutions in the auto ecosystem?
I suggest that auto insurance carriers focus on leapfrogging current incremental innovation around connected vehicle and data technologies and begin designing and developing the auto insurance products and services of the future. These will likely be very different than anything offered today and will be enabled by enormous amounts of data flowing from not just connected cars but the broader Internet of Things. They may include personalized, utilization-based micro auto insurance coverages, ride-and-car sharing insurance solutions for owners, drivers and passengers, risk management services from behavioral driving modification assistance to location-based and contextual alerts for commercial favorites as well as navigational, traffic, roadside assistance and weather conditions.
You've had more than 25 years of consulting experience in the P&C space. What piece of advice have you found to always be relevant regardless of the subject matter?
I regularly ask myself, "What am I doing, and why am I doing it, and is this the best possible use of my time and talents?" It sounds so simplistic, but if you do it honestly you will find it very valuable.
You are a frequent chairman in industry conferences. In fact, you are the chairman of a coming event on IoT in Miami in December. Who should be attending and why?
Anyone who plans to work, invest and succeed anywhere in the insurance ecosystem over the next decade and beyond should attend. This includes insurance C-level executives, heads of innovation, strategy, claims and innovation, underwriting, business development, product development, strategy, design and innovation, heads of IT, technology and digital, IoT technology companies and startups and regulators.
When you are not consulting on insurance or hosting insurance events, you are most likely...?
Reading, watching and listening to anything and everything that relates to my work - which is, in fact, also my hobby.
