Introduction
This week’s blog comes to you just after our jaunt to sunny and most appreciatively warm Las Vegas, Nevada, where we attended the three-day InsureTech Connect conference (ITC Vegas). After a year’s hiatus from in-person events due to the pandemic, it was great to be back at a live conference, with participants from across the property, casualty, life, and annuities insurance sectors. ITC Vegas bills itself as the world’s largest insurtech event and was able to draw a sizable audience of over 7,000 with the necessary COVID protocols safely in place. That meant that all attendees were vaccinated and the largest portions of the program (read: the parties) were held outside, on the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino beach. All joking aside, it was incredibly rewarding to be back in person to learn, collaborate, and rekindle relationships with industry partners. Our days were packed between meeting with system integrator and technology partners to discuss industry developments, networking, and attending sessions on group insurance hot topics, including some that we’ve touched on in previous blogs, such as the value of cloud computing and digital customer service. But rather than give you a travelogue of our first industry conference post-pandemic, here are some observations direct from the conference floor.
Insurtechs Abound
It came as no surprise that insurtech start-ups made up the bulk of the participants, with established platforms, consulting firms, carriers, and investors rounding out the audience, in that order. The conference theme was enabling a customer-first approach with digital technology, and there was no shortage of vendors present whose digital/analytics technology is designed to help agents and brokers attract new customers and to cross-sell or engage more effectively with existing clients.
Ecosystem Observations
Of the 300+ companies in attendance, most were property and casualty firms, followed by retail life insurance carriers. But for the very few group/employee benefits-focused sessions, it was close to standing-room only, indicating that the sector may potentially develop venture capital and insurtech traction in the near future. It is also predicted that with the convergence of health and financial wellness, and with most life and non-medical health insurance being purchased in the workplace, insurtechs will focus more on group insurance. And with ecosystem partnerships the talk of the conference, Vitech may expect some busy times ahead.
Final Thoughts
Aside from the jet lag, we are very excited to return to our (virtual) office, see what new opportunities arise following our many partner meetings, and continue to innovate given our new industry knowledge and connections. We’re anticipating many interesting developments for the fourth quarter and beyond – stay tuned.
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PATRICK LYONS
Patrick Lyons is Senior Vice President at Vitech Systems Group. He leads Vitech’s Insurance Account Management and has extensive experience in advising global insurers in developing and implementing comprehensive business and technology strategies to achieve differentiated market performance. Patrick has held leadership positions at leading insurance companies as well as multinational consulting firms, where he led consulting initiatives for business transformation, organizational change management, and business and IT strategy.
TODD EYLER
Todd Eyler is Vice President of Strategic Marketing at Vitech Systems Group. He manages Vitech’s strategic marketing efforts including analyst relations, industry communications, competitive analysis, ecosystem partnerships, and thought leadership. Todd has held leadership positions at top-tier software companies and systems integrators and has extensive experience in identifying/analyzing market trends and aligning business priorities with the right technology.
