Ecosystems and Partnerships in Practice

Speakers:

1. Martin Olley – Head of North America, AdvantageGo

2. Farooq Sheikh – Global Head of Banking and Insurance Healthcare, Unqork

3. Grant Dewar – Client Service Director, Aon

Summary: The session “Ecosystems and Partnerships in Practice” was held at Google’s new venue in St. John’s Terminal, NYC. Despite increased investments in technology, the insurance industry’s expense ratios and underwriting profits remain unchanged, indicating the need for both evolutionary and revolutionary changes to unlock technology’s full potential.

Farooq Sheikh began by discussing the insurance industry’s longstanding nature of ecosystems, emphasizing risk transfer and specialized roles like underwriting and claims. He noted that while the industry’s technology has lagged, leveraging pre-built technology ecosystems can streamline operations, allowing insurers to focus on core competencies such as risk management.

Grant Dewar elaborated on building and managing ecosystem partnerships, stressing the importance of complementary capabilities and customer-centric approaches. He explained Aon’s strategy of integrating best-in-class technologies and collaborating with various partners to enhance their offerings. Aon’s dual approach combines broker and technology ecosystems to provide comprehensive solutions.

Martin Olley discussed selecting ecosystem partners, highlighting the balance between pre-selecting partners and integrating client-preferred vendors. He emphasized the necessity of managing legacy technology while implementing new solutions to ensure a smooth transition and continuous improvement.

The panel explored the potential benefits of re-imagining broker/carrier data exchange and using enterprise-ready AI capabilities tailored to industry needs. They discussed how technology and data ecosystems could streamline risk assessment and pricing, and how today’s technology can deliver the underwriting world of tomorrow.

The session concluded with a forward-looking perspective. Farooq Sheikh emphasized the potential of ecosystems to revolutionize risk transfer and capital management, making insurance processes more efficient and customer-focused. Grant Dewar added that future ecosystems would focus on seamless integration and collaboration, enabling insurers to prioritize risk assessment over technical challenges.

Overall, the session underscored the critical role of ecosystems and partnerships in advancing technology and innovation in the insurance industry, aiming to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver better value to customers.