The future's bright. The future is digital.
POSTs Digital Strategy Conference is fast becoming one of my favourites in the industry. Instead of a typical insurance event, this one seems to display the high-energy vibe typically associated with the tech conference circuit or events featuring start-ups. Within the first 10 minutes of the opening keynote we had touched on agile/lean methods, customer experience and culture... (my kind of conference!). It was great for me to see how seriously the wider insurance industry was working to embrace this change.
I was especially proud of the thought-leadership displayed by Markel International at this event. I started the day early as participant in the speakers breakfast on the Internet of Things. Great discussions! I also spoke as part of the closing panel for the conference alongside Gordon Rutherford from Axa. We discussed the cultural shift that was going on in our industry and the fact that although IT might lead the charge, this was very much a whole organisation issue.
Our chief architect, James Bowman spoke alongside Jasper Martens from Simply Business, Kim Miller from Guevara and James Downes from Pancentrica Digital. The panel shared thoughts on how to best hire and retain top digital talent. This is something we think long and hard about within Markel International.
Despite losing (due to a measly 4% of the audience vote) - I was particularly proud to see a 6 person team from Markel International participate in a hackathon event during the day. The idea the team pitched on the day was great - edgy, different and innovative. Unfortunately the team experienced a few technical hiccups during the final presentation at the end of their pitch so they couldn't do justice to their idea. Nevertheless, the team had fun and we all learnt something and I'm incredibly proud of their efforts.
So in summary - a fantastic event and one which I am sure to attend regularly.
Presented at
Today, any company, no matter how large or established in its market, runs the risk of becoming obsolete by ignoring the ever evolving needs of the digital consumer. The digital revolution has transformed every aspect of our lives and technology is still progressing at an astonishing rate. This year, Digital Insurance Strategies celebrated the industry wide push to embrace this new era. Creating a hub for like-minded digital teams and senior strategists, who want to forge the way for insurance to become the leader rather than the follower of the digital world.
Recommended Reading
I would highly recommend the following books where you can find more information on some of the topics discussed.
