Page 17 - February2017

Make Sure You ACT and

not React When it Comes

to Technology technology

Agents Insurance Services, Inc is a subsidiary of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois. This is your “For Profit”
entity. If you are unfamiliar with us please visit www.iiaofil.org. We can be found under the Products and Services tab.

Without question our marketplace is changing. New, technology based, distribution channels are gaining in popularity.
Take a minute and look at the Lemonade business model launched last year if there is any doubt. There are billions of
dollars being invested in new tech startups every year.
Over the next 12 months I will be sharing a series of six articles talking about Technology. With each article I will be
encouraging you to visit your National (Big “I”) website, www.independentagent.com. There you will find, under the
Resource Tab, ACT (Agents Council for Technology). See what’s going on in our industry. – Brian McSherry

As a member of the IIA of IL, you are automatically a To find out ACT’s Recommended Actions for Agents,
member of the IIABA. This provides you access to very Carriers & Vendors, go to www.iiaofil.org/ProductsServices/
important and useful resources. One of those resources is AgentResources/ACT.aspx.
ACT (Agents Council for Technology).
The IoT is moving very quickly. What is barely possible
What is going on in ACT? Today’s topic is IoT and today will be commonplace tomorrow, and what is
Why You Should Care! inconceivable today will be in beta next year. It is vital
to your organization that you understand the potential
What is IoT? Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) is opportunities and threats presented by the IoT. Since the
a connected system of interrelated devices, mechanical impacts are so far-reaching and broad, this will be an
and digital machines, objects, animals/pets or people that evolution, not a revolution. ACT and the IIA of Illinois will
have the ability to communicate, sense or interact without keep a watch of what is on the horizon for the next thing,
human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. IoT but we encourage all organizations to appoint someone
has impact across many spectrums of our lives including within their firm to do the same.
but not limited to security, safety, convenience, quality
of life, efficient operations, enhanced services, real-time ACT, established in January 1997, provides an open,
information, immediate transactions and connecting you to action-oriented forum to address the critical technology
virtually everything. workflow issues facing the Independent Agency system.
ACT is a partnership of independent agents & brokers,
In the future, as costs fall and new IoT platforms evolve, companies, technology vendors, user groups and
everything that can be connected will be. From simple associations, dedicated to driving accelerated consistent
devices, such as light bulbs and fitness devices to more IA technology workflow improvements. ACT helps
complex devices such as injectable and jet engines, participants understand the perspectives of the other
hundreds of billions of things will eventually be connected. stakeholders in the process and provides excellent
Industry experts predict that in the future, trillions of dollars networking opportunities with the participants who are
in economic value will be generated from IoT. shaping the future for the industry on these issues. Major
focus areas are strategic trends, customer experience,
What does this mean for the insurance industry? The IoT productivity, marketing, and security.
is broad in scope and pervasive, and will have positive
and negative impacts to many areas of the industry. Brian McSherry is Vice President, Agents Insurance
The positive impacts include risk reduction primarily Services. He can be reached at (217) 321-3018 or
from improved safety and security. The data from IoT bmcsherry@iiaofil.org.
devices will result in more accurate pricing of insurance
products. New opportunities will emerge that will enable
differentiation through new products and services. On
the negative side, we will be vulnerable to increased
exposure to existing cyber risks, such as data security and
privacy. New exposures to risk will also emerge. A few
indeterminate impacts include the impact on the long-
standing revenue streams to the P&C industry. As well
as, the potential for dramatic disruption IoT will have in
many industries which is way beyond the current ability to
predict.

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