Sponsored Content by Mutual of Omaha
When Tesla Motors unveiled the 2013 Model S, to the casual observer, the all-electric car appeared to be just another luxury sedan. But after Consumer Reports hailed it as the best car they'd ever tested, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crowned it the Safest Car in America, and Automobile and Motor Trend magazines named it the year's top car…it became obvious something innovative was rolling out of the Tesla plant in Fremont, California.
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Sometimes, as in the case of the Model S, innovation comes in a sleek package with 416 hp under the hood. But often, as in the case with insurance underwriting, innovation isn't always so glamorous. In our industry, innovation can be fairly pedestrian, often thriving undetected under the steady guise of consistently executed fundamentals. That said; let's take a look at some innovative fundamentals that can help promote overachieving in underwriting.
Operational excellence
Waste is bad, efficiency is good. Enough said, right? If only it was that easy. Get too close to any picture and it's hard to tell what you're looking at. It's important to periodically take a step back, and honestly assesses your systems, processes and your team. Once you've taken a candid look at your operation, you have to summon the courage and the resolve to make whatever improvements are needed. Operational excellence isn't something that can be checked off of our to-do lists, it's an ongoing process that takes diligence and commitment.
Shared goals
When everyone's rowing in the same direction, it's much easier to get where you're going (and you get there a lot faster too). Underwriting occupies the space between the sales team and the actuarial team. It's our job to find the sweet spot between growth and profit. Successful, innovative companies consistently find the balance between sales and risk. In the long run, issuing good business is good for everyone.
Systems, tools and big data
A computer, brimming with data, is a great tool; but it doesn't substitute for human rationale, and the occasional business decisions that should be made with key broker partners. With groups and brokers requesting unique plan designs, it takes an expert to navigate the variables and emerge with a practical solution. Having said that, to reach their full potential, underwriting teams need effective tools; relevant, real-time data and systems that play nice.
At the end of the day, underwriting is still about smart, knowledgeable people making thoughtful, analytical and informed decisions. Ultimately, this is still a relationship business, and human interaction is the best way to underwrite cases. And while underwriting innovations don't quite pack the pizzazz of a new Tesla, it's important to remember that basic fundamentals are where the rubber meets the road.
Kurtis Stewart is vice president of underwriting at Mutual of Omaha. He can be reached at [email protected].
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