Join us as the conference begins to meet and greet peers while you share ideas and common experiences.

Most insurers are transforming digitally to drive efficiencies and better meet customer desire for a better and consistent omni-channel experience. In this session, Vinod Kachroo, CIO of SE2, will discuss how life insurers can now harness new technology to reimagine the life insurance application process for even complex fully underwritten products to provide a near-instantaneous purchase experience. The automation of the entire customer acquisition process from application to approval and from underwriting to policy issuance unlocks tremendous possibilities for carriers looking to better engage the new millennial consumer and to service the mid-market segment.

Recognizing the American psyche when it comes to life insurance is a crucial step toward improving engagement, sales and loyalty. Join us and be first to hear what’s on people’s minds as results from the 2018 Insurance Barometer are revealed. You’ll learn about their financial concerns and how they feel and act toward life insurance. These insights from the consumer perspective are explored by demographic group and can help your company tailor its communications, improve target marketing, and aide in decisions surrounding product and distribution development.

InsurTech is one of the hottest topics currently in the insurance industry. This session will discuss the regulatory aspects that are involved.

Several companies have successfully marketed, sold and valued PBR products. This session will walk through the challenges of implementation observed at several companies, highlighting the pain points, and successes. Topics will cover a broad range, from actuarial (valuation/assumption decisions — including moving to the 2017 CSO table), to regulatory (reporting/auditing) to technology (automation/controls). This session is designed specifically for companies planning to implement PBR in 2018 or 2019. Learn from the challenges faced by early adopters.

As empowered consumers continue to alter the buying experience of different industries, life insurance companies are left wondering how they can meet the expectations of these self-directed buyers, and how they can reach them. This session explores what differentiates life insurance customers who buy direct from the manufacturer and those who buy with the help of an agent, and how companies can reach those who are still shopping. How do direct buyers differ from agent-assisted buyers in attitudes and behaviors?

This session will discuss how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) fits in the broader transformation and automation initiatives, how RPA and other automation tools and techniques can be applied to generate business value from within the actuarial function, and the role automation plays in the future of work.

Undertaking a substantial IT transformation and digital initiative is challenging for any life insurance company. However, big systems and smaller budgets for small to medium size life insurance companies can be particularly challenging. This session will explore how small to medium carriers can achieve success in meeting the online/digital expectations of policyholders and agents. Whether your company is small, medium or large, attendees in this session will gain insight into how to get the most out your IT budget to maintain pace in the evolving digital world.

Life insurers need to consider new tools and methods for accurate and efficient life insurance underwriting in the 21st century.  One approach is to engage in accelerated underwriting and automated processes with information from various data sources when underwriting a life insurance policy.  Attendees in this session will learn about practices and trends in accelerated underwriting and what carriers must consider to quickly, accurately and efficiently underwrite a life insurance policy. 

In his opening remarks, Bob Kerzner, President and CEO of LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global will showcase the many ways the life insurance industry supports Americans — not just by protecting their financial security but also by investing in the U.S. economy and infrastructure and providing more than 2.6 million jobs. Kerzner will highlight examples on how life insurance has helped families and businesses thrive and contributes to the overall strength of social safety net.

What technologies are emerging? Merging? How do I harness the power of Socialnomics? Erik Qualman explores which innovative trends are cutting-edge and which are bleeding edge to ensure your organization is not only on the correct path, but ahead of the curve. Most importantly, he explores how to infuse more disruption and innovation into your business.

This session will discuss the current and potential future state of life insurance products in the United States. The discussion will include product designs being used to meet the market’s changing needs, key regulatory factors facing the market, and innovative distribution approaches being used to make life insurance more accessible.

Robotic automation and artificial intelligence continue to proliferate and bring about transformation in the life insurance industry unlike anything the industry has encountered recently. This presentation will help attendees understand the capabilities of RPA and successful deployment and integration with artificial intelligence as part of an organization’s broader enterprise automation roadmap. This presentation will also feature an update on the status if RPA and AI in the life insurance industry based on data from a recent Gartner/LOMA study.

Disruption is among today's most misused buzzwords. People frequently use it to describe innovations regardless of their impact, as well as anything that presents even a mild challenge to an organization. But disruption is more than that. Disruptors can severely impact revenue or have a crippling effect on a business or an entire industry. Join this thought-provoking interactive discussion to learn what forces truly pose the greatest disruptive threats to the insurance industry and what you can do to not only guard against them, but to go on the offensive and even be the disruptor.

State regulatory and legislative changes are occurring at a rapid pace, and the life insurance industry continues to be in the cross-hairs of many of these activities. This session will focus on proposed and actual changes in 2018 from state regulators and legislatures as well as activities at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), National Conference of Insurance Legislators and other relevant groups. Issues to be touched on include: guaranty association assessments, fiduciary rule/best interest standard of care, regulatory views and activity on innovation, cybersecurity, unclaimed property and state-run retirement. You will learn about: key regulatory and legislative initiatives affecting life insurers; the short and long-term issues associated with regulatory changes; and current and future convergence of federal and state regulatory issues impacting insurers.

An effective digital strategy is more than e-signatures and automated underwriting.  A true digital platform is conceived from beginning to end with the capability to utilize machine learning and apply analytics throughout the customer acquisition process.  The result is improved efficiency for the carrier while engaging potential policyholders and convert a lead to a policy issued.  This session will provide insight into how carriers can move to the digital world while providing consumers with a more personalized experience and allow attendees in this session to gain an understanding of what is possible when developing an effective digital customer acquisition strategy.  

Learn what the impact of tax reform will have on life insurance companies and products.

Seven in 10 consumers feel that most people need long-term care insurance, yet individual long-term care insurance sales are deteriorating. However, sales of individual combination products have grown in recent years. Could they be the answer? This session will uncover the current and future environment for combination products, and explore the breadth and depth of product features currently available. We’ll also identify potential future product offerings. Could some new thinking address an old problem? Our findings are based on a recently completed study conducted jointly by LIMRA and EY.

As efforts to become more customer centric continue to mature, there is much interest in understanding how to actually manage the customer experience (Cx). This is particularly true when it comes to the insurance industry where historically there have been onerous processes for obtaining the product and limited engagement through the product lifecycle. This session will combine a discussion of recent LIMRA research focused on how companies are addressing customer experience with a case study of a life carrier’s specific efforts. The discussion will include topics such as initiatives implemented, results being obtained, challenges encountered and lessons learned.

You don't need a crystal ball to look into the "future of AI". Just open your eyes and look around you. AI is already here and insurers are using it in a variety of ways to transform customer interactions, empower advisors, and improve business operations. In fact, the insurance industry has led the way in adopting AI technology over the past decade. Come here Mr. Hashimi present about how cognitive computing applications are being used by insurers to reshape customer service, underwriting, claims and even corporate legal too.

When multiple products are cross-sold into a household, customers save time and money while companies increase customer lifetime value and profits. Everyone wins! Consumers report a willingness to be cross-sold, though results indicate that life insurance continues to be an area of unclaimed potential for multi-line carriers. This workshop will share what we learned from LIMRA’s recent cross-sell study and highlight how companies are working to claim this potential.

To remain relevant, life insurers must reimagine their relationships with customers, playing an advisory role that engages with customers at critical life milestones, creating more loyal and engaged policyholders. Gaining an in-depth understanding of your customers using advanced analytics and AI, and leveraging automation is key to becoming more people-centered. In this panel discussion, we’ll explore how National Life Group is using propensity modeling and machine learning, RPA, and cognitive/virtual assistants to better understand policyholders, accelerate speed-to-market for new L&A products, build customized products and improve the customer experience. Join us to learn how get started on a customer experience strategy enriched by innovative technologies.

Key aspects of the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule has been delayed for 18 months while the DOL reviews the rule and considers changes. There is movement at both the SEC and the NAIC on changes to the standard of care applicable to agents and brokers. This discussion will address the status of these activities and what lies ahead for the Life Insurance Industry.

What does In Force Management (IFM) mean to you? What types of activities do an IFM department or committee engage in? How can different product types be impacted by IFM? During this interactive forum, the experiences and knowledge of the panelists and audience will be leveraged to share best practices and consider how to overcome shared challenges.

How do you market life insurance to younger generations? Presenters will share recent research on Millennials and their attitudes and experiences regarding life insurance and other financial products. Learn how a major life insurance company is approaching younger consumers and producers. Hear early impressions of the next age cohort, Generation Z.

Innovation is much more than a hobby or a fleeting thing.  To successfully innovate, carriers need to understand what innovation is and create the right kind of culture to support it while thinking differently about metrics for success.  Likewise, large transformational efforts represent significant bets on the future by organizations with limited practical experience or a track record of successful transformation initiatives. This presentation will explore what is necessary to create the proper environment for successful innovation and transformation as well examples of companies "thinking differently" across lines of business as well as planning for these efforts to reduce risks and increase the probability of success.  

What is a winning strategy? Why do some organizations take a dive, some merely survive, while others thrive? What leads up to a disaster or collapse? How do we build a solid foundation that assures solid authentic growth? Randall Bell’s research has spanned over 25 years at the intersection of sociology and economics. Learn what behaviors result in disaster, recovery, and prosperity.

You are a mind reader, born with an extraordinary ability to understand what others think, feel, believe, want and know. It’s a sixth sense you use each day in every professional and personal relationship — but how well do you really know what your coworkers, employees, competitors or customers want or are thinking? In this high-energy, illuminating presentation, Nicholas Epley takes the audience on an exploration of one of the great mysteries of the human mind. While his presentation will not turn others into open books, it will give you the wisdom to revolutionize how you think about them — and yourself.

Learn about competitive intelligence for life insurers. This session will introduce the area of competitive intelligence for people new to the industry or for those who have not interacted with this area within their company. The primary focus will be on the structure and set up of a competitive intelligence team and the variety of tasks handled. Compare and contrast similarities and differences between two major carriers.

Just 15 years after the first human genome mapping, genetic testing is available direct-to-consumer and costs as little as USD 100. Individuals now have the ability to learn details about their own health never thought possible. This could help improve longevity and prompt new procedures and medications to be created. However, what happens when an individual receives negative information and decides to purchase an insurance product? This anti-selection could be very dangerous for the industry. Learn what regulations currently exist worldwide with respect to genetic testing and insurance as well as the possible plusses and minuses that genetic testing could have on the life insurance industry.

This session will feature insight from representatives of two leading life insurance companies providing their insight from an IT perspective on the successful development and deployment of a successful RPA strategy. In addition to learning what RPA is and is not, lessons learned and models for a successful RPA strategy, this session will help attendees gain a clearer understanding of RPA including RPA vs. Cognitive Automation, RPA Benefits, transaction types that are candidates for RPA and the ROI of RPA.

Universal Life blossomed in the high interest rate environment of the 80s and 90s, but insurers are bearing the financial burden of products underperforming their pricing of long ago. Companies now face the difficult decision of whether to weather the financial burden, or increase COIs and face legal or public relations consequences. This session will explore what factors contributed to this burden, the media’s reaction to COI changes, and key considerations for making COI changes, include recent ASOP and regulatory proposals.

Industry players have been on the road toward straight through processing for many years. What are the goals of their trip? What challenges must be overcome along the way? Which parts of the policy life cycle are they addressing? To answer these questions and more, LIMRA will share the latest industry research and OneAmerica will describe its journey and where the road leads next.

What drives potential life insurance buyers to go beyond shopping and information-gathering to actually purchasing a policy? Based on data collected by LIMRA from life insurance shoppers, LIMRA’s new Center of Excellence for Data Analytics produced an analysis that sheds light on the key drivers of buying behavior and offers answers to this question. We will also provide an individual company perspective on our own consumer behavior analysis and lessons learned in applying the results to improve sales.

(SOA Professionalism Session)
Participants will explore the importance and role that professionalism plays in the everyday life of an actuary through interactive discussions of brief scenarios. Participants will also gain awareness of the resources available to actuaries as they navigate professionalism issues.

Across all segments of the financial industry, the potential for blockchain technology is generating a lot of attention.  Most financial institutions are evaluating the technology to determine how they can use it to improve cybersecurity, automation, customer service and  achieve competitive advantage.  As  part of the LIMRA partnership with the Institutes, several LIMRA-member firms have joined the Institutes’ RiskBlock Alliance to develop industry-level blockchain solutions. This session, designed for “non-technical” people, will provide a basic understanding of blockchain technology and discuss current applications in development as well as future applications being considered.