Next steps: Rebuilding our lives after COVID
COVID-19 has changed our lives in countless ways, both subtle and earth-shattering, personal and societal.
Much has been said about challenges and opportunities created by the pandemic, but also how it has highlighted and accelerated existing issues and trends in our industry. The same has been true on a more personal level.
My wife and I have always been relatively introverted and happy to spend most weekends at home, reading and relaxing. Our boys, although very social and energetic, are also homebodies, for the most part. So the relative isolation over the last year has been a bit easier on us than on many. (We’re incredibly fortunate to be healthy and able to work and go to school remotely, while many are facing challenges and losses on a whole different scale.) We’re looking forward to going to restaurants, bookstores and museums, and having extended sleepovers at grandma and grandpa’s house, but we’re going to miss parts of this simpler, quieter life we’ve established over the last year.
Related: What will ‘normal’ look like in 2021?
As the rush and demands of “normal” life start to ramp up again, it will create a new set of struggles and obstacles. The coming years are going to be complicated for all of us to negotiate as we come out of an unprecedented time in our lives.
In the benefits industry, the ongoing technology explosion will continue to play an enormous role, and will create a number of opportunities for benefits advisors. In our cover story, “Virtual Explosion,” Dan cook writes, “The range of digital health apps, platforms, services and new products spawned or accelerated by the pandemic can hardly be mapped. There are so many virtual/digital solutions on the market that plan designers often don’t know where to begin or how to sort through them. Brokers can certainly help with those decisions, as they are often among the first to be approached by the vendors as potential partners.”
And the evolution of the very nuts and bolts of brokers’ practices will continue to be another key area of growth and change. In “Brokerage 2.0,” Michael Howe writes, “While the pandemic has pushed many agents and brokers to adopt technology quicker than they may have planned, many would agree it was time for digital transformation.” These changes “have created a runway of opportunity for brokers to leverage available technology and transform customer service models.”
COVID-19 has changed our lives in countless ways, both subtle and earth-shattering, personal and societal. Coming to grips with its enormous impacts will be a long and complicated process. But if there’s one thing we’ve all learned over the past year, we’re capable of far more than we could have imagined.
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