Bringing digital insurance trailblazers together to share and inspire

I’ve been involved in the insurance industry for over twenty years now and I’ve seen a lot of change, but my work with Salesforce has shown me that there’s still a long way to go before players in all areas of the industry can exploit the full potential of digital. It’s happening, but there’s a lot more to do. Consumers are changing. The market and regulation is evolving at pace. And challengers from Insurtech startups are making waves.

Over the last year I’ve been having conversations with senior leaders in the sector, and they’re consistently amazed by the potential of our platform for reshaping and evolving working practices in the sector. They understand that generative AI, data analytics and automation (to name just three) are vital tools but need more focused, expert support to focus their power on their specific needs. Our platform gives them that ability.

So, because the insurance market is a strong community which shares best practice and great ideas, I decided that Salesforce should take a lead and get those leaders together to talk about how the sector can accelerate digital transformation. We set it for January 24^th, 2024, at the Salesforce Tower in Bishopsgate, but debated what it should be called.

A symposium not a conference

It took us a while to work out what to call the event, set for: is it a meeting, a conference, or a brainstorming session? Or maybe it’s a ‘symposium’. Why? Because the event is much more than just a meeting of insurance executives; it’s a community forum for leaders committed to ensuring that their organisations are not just fit for the future of insurance but also able to thrive as the insurance industry changes in often fundamental ways.

The word ‘symposium’ in Greek means ‘drinking party,’ and so, of course, we’ll be offering drinks and nibbles at the end of our event. But the point is to bring together insurance executives from across the industry to connect and learn from our trailblazing clients who are making the most of Salesforce’s insurance platform to transform their businesses.

Real life examples to inspire debate and dialogue

So, the idea of gaining critical insights from a range of trailblazers from established and new players seemed like a timely one. We’ll be hearing from MetLife’s Richard Horner- Head of Individual Protection on how they successfully delivered an end-to-end digital insurance transformation which has unified their front, middle and back offices. And James Webb, Salesforce’s Head of Insurance Strategy, will provide an overview of the state of digital in insurance and plenty more, including the likes of Miller Insurance Brokers and Lloyds of London.

A symposium isn’t just a series of presentations. It is, in essence, a dialogue. So, in that spirit we’re balancing formal presentations with breakouts focused on specific sub-sectors which will form communities in the long term:

• General Insurance where we’ll look at how digital can underpin how the sector operates and engages with customers and brokers
• London Market Specialty where technology can support brokers, carriers and MGA’s to transform and grow their businesses. We will be providing an update in relation to Blueprint 2.
• Health and Life, where the need to move from traditional models to more activated and value-based insurance is pressing.

Networking ideas and alliances, fostering community

For a symposium to be truly valuable it must generate debate and enable networking. That’s how ideas get shared. And when you share them, they grow. It’s also a chance to forge alliances, new relationships, and to deepen your understanding of what’s possible on Salesforce’s platform. The ability to leverage the growing power of AI, for instance. It’s a hot topic, but one that comes with a lot of side-issues, trust being one of the most important.

That’s why our symposium is just as focused on building relationships as it is on sharing information. We want to use the event to create groups which can meet regularly to not only share good practice, but also influence what Salesforce does in terms of developing its technologies and working closely with the industry to speed up digital transformation.