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The Impact of Virtual Meetings on the P&C Insurance Industry

By April 6, 2021February 27th, 2024No Comments

People around the world have gravitated towards virtual meetings, including those in the P&C insurance industry.

Virtual meetings aren’t a new phenomena, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are realizing the benefits of meeting virtually. Virtual meeting rooms, whether through Google Meetings, Zoom or Microsoft Teams, have gained a major spotlight over the past year. But how has this impacted the insurance industry?

WaterStreet Company is a leader in offering P&C Insurance technology and aims to keep you up to date on the latest P&C insurance trends.

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Benefits of Virtual Meetings for P&C Insurance

The greatest benefit to using virtual meetings is the accessibility.

Virtually meeting also allows a scheduled time for when to expect a discussion. When employees are working in-office, they can easily be caught off guard by a sudden meeting or drop-in from a manager. Instead, scheduling meetings allows suitable planning for the discussion, relieving stress and unpreparedness.

Drawbacks of Virtual Meetings for P&C Insurance

The downsides to meeting virtually have been experienced by many as well. Meeting virtually is dependent on a consistent internet connection, which may be difficult to maintain in a work from home setting. Virtual meetings are also limited to video and audio, limiting participants to interact in the confines of their screens. Company culture can feel lost, and over the course of a full year, many employees experience “Zoom Fatigue,” which is the tendency to take meetings less seriously and tune out when it’s not time to speak. Introductions to new team members may also feel distanced and rigid in comparison to going out to lunch on their first day or having natural small talk that may come about when arriving in a new office.

In the end, technology can only replace in person meetings to an extent, but this accommodation has worked well for many around the country.

Bottom Line:

  • Greater accessibility for everyone to join, but internet connection is independent for everyone in the meeting.
  • Less stress on unexpected conversations, allowing time for everyone to be prepared for a meeting.
  • Video conferencing helps each other still see and interact, responding to facial cues and comfort that could be missed on a phone call, but still not enough to replace speaking in person.

Virtual Conferences

Many P&C insurance conferences have been cancelled over the past year, and many others have become virtual. Virtual conference businesses have seen tremendous growth over the past year, including 6Connex with 1,000% growth in comparison to their other business lines.

Virtual conferences save on costs for the host, reducing the space required to host the conference, security that may be needed on premises, and other accommodations for guests. Virtual conference guests no longer need to travel far distances with expensive transportation and can enjoy the benefits of attending and learning from a conference from the comfort of their office location.

Property and Casualty 360 has a running list of upcoming conferences. Underwriters, agents, brokers and others in the P&C insurance industry should consider taking advantage of the accessibility of virtual conferences in 2021.

The Transformation of Insurance Inspections

Digital communication for the insurance industry is evolving in many ways. Self-service features have also improved along with virtual meetings, allowing insurance customers to also participate in fast communication with their insurer.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a similar rising trend. Carriers can take advantage of immersive technology to help communicate with policyholders. AR is used by many self inspection tools, allowing policyholders to take video and images of their property overlaid with AR, giving deeper insight on exposure identification and risk education. Self inspections reduce the time and travel costs associated with property inspections, as well as mitigates the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus.

Some inspection companies design their self inspection tools in-house, while others integrate with inspection technology to make self inspections possible. WaterStreet Company is vendor agnostic and has noted the following leaders in P&C insurance inspections:

  • Livegenic
  • Insurance Risk Services
  • Millennium Information Services, Inc

About WaterStreet Company

WaterStreet Company is capable of connecting to any third-party solution and hosted with cloud storage for access anywhere at any time. Many incumbent insurers are held back by dated legacy systems and can aim for better technology to support underwriting decisions.

We understand the importance for carriers and MGAs to adapt to market changes. Ask us about our additional services for accounting, policy, distribution and customer service support.

Reach out to WaterStreet Company today to request a consultation and demo.

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