At the recent BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, I presented “Asking the Right Questions” at the start of the innovation track. One of my themes was to encourage people to ask questions of customers to discover insights. Then, I encouraged asking the next question. Never settle for a “good” answer when a much larger opportunity — a great answer — can be uncovered by asking the next question.
The images in the presentation started with a photo of a red sports car on an open mountain road. I asked, “Do you enjoy the experience of driving?” I'm sure most said “yes.” Then we shifted to a photo of a highway in total gridlock, and then to a woman texting in a car. I asked, “Really? Wouldn't most people today, in most driving situations, rather be able to text than to drive?” The fact is, most of the time, the freedom of the road is akin to a moving prison. The freedom to text (legally) can entice us to allow Uber to do the driving for us. Will this evolve into a tomorrow with self-driving cars that encourage us to text, watch Netflix, or enjoy the scenery? It could happen.
Before self-driving cars become an everyday option, there are details to work out. While many of these challenges are technical, centered on the cars themselves and the systems that drive them, others are broader in nature.
As self-driving cars become more common — as many great companies anticipate — imagine what happens to parking meters and parking lots. The insurance business is no exception. Statistics show that self-driving cars are less vulnerable to accidents caused by human error (unless one of us runs into them, of course). Human judgement errors, such as driving under the influence, would be avoided. In addition, auto ownership itself may be disrupted.
People may no longer feel the imperative to own expensive machines that take up valuable space while sitting idle in a parking space or garage. Think of thousands of auto repair shops going out of business. Closer to home, there is reason to believe that auto insurance rates may be headed down. I imagine product people in auto insurance companies are thinking about the effect this could have on their revenue, and are coming up with new revenue-generating ideas.
Asking the next question can result in difficult conclusions.
There is a also message here relative to the benefits business. The forces of disruption are not always obvious. Forces of change sit alongside businesses, hidden in assumptions. Let's think of the questions we should be asking. I'm sure there are some with big implications. There are changes in our customers themselves, changes emerging from regulation and social trends, changes in the economy, in how product manufacturers and distributors communicate with customers, and even in the nature of the relationship between employers and employees.
We need to ask the right questions about our business, and then keep asking to understand how to best position ourselves for success.
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