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Pan American Life: Putting humanity into digitisation

While technology has changed, making companies more nimble and accessible, the nature of insurance has not. At its core, insurance has always been about one thing, sitting at a table with a family and discussing their financial future. This means that, for insurance companies, expanding its digital footprint and adopting digitisation would require finding that sweet spot between moving with the technological trends and maintaining that human interaction between the customer and the insurance agent. At a media engagement at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain a panel of executives from Pan American Life Insurance Group expressed plans to do just that - invest in new technologies that would not just make investing in the future easy, it would enhance the relationship with the agents that help you plan that future. Innovations for corporations,  ease for customers The panel of executives included president of global benefits Robert DiCianni, president of global life Bruce Parker, executive vice president of international markets Daniel Costello and CEO of Pan American Life Caribbean Winston Williams. Costello said the company plans to introduce two new digital tools in 2026 – one for corporate customers which will make it easier to pay claims. Another tool described by Parker as “straight through processing” – which automates end-to-end work flows such as underwriting and data entry to improve the customer experience. “That will get us on par with some of our competitors and t'll put us ahead of many others “We don't really look at the competition. We keep track of the competition, but we're our own competition. We're trying to satisfy the sales teams and the customers that we have. We feel these two tools are critical to move forward.” Reporters were told that the investment in these two tools would amount to about US$4 million. Despite the changes in technology, DiCianni said the needs of the customer remain the same. “People need protection, right? That's been a cornerstone of what we've done since 1958 all the way through today. I think what we're trying to do more of is we've always been customer focused. What has changed from then to now is technology and the enablement of technology for us to reach out to customers directly through our agents, and to give them more tools to be more in contact with customers and solve more of customers' needs.” [caption id="attachment_1203939" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Winston Williams, CEO-Caribbean, Pan American Life, at a Pan American media conference held at the Hyatt ,Port of Spain on January 20. -[/caption] Parker said the company had to manage the pace of digitalisation along to ensure that all of their customers regardless of age would be able to keep up. “When I think about digitalisation, the train has left the station, meaning that you have to deliver digitalisation at some level to stay competitive. You have to do that in a manner in which you can bring your customers along in a proper pace. “Younger generations are going to adopt much quicker than wondering why we're not there already our younger sales force. Why are we not there already the middle sales force, they are very focused. Yes, we need these digital tools to move forward. As we look at the older generation, many of them are already on some level of technology. However, we know that they have forever interacted with a company in a certain way. We're not going to abandon that but allow them to continue to interact with us the way they need to interact with us.” Williams said the most important part of Pan American's digitalisation drive is enhancing the relationship with customers. “I think the face to face encounter is still better, especially when we're talking about dreams. Because how do I use technology to convert a dream into some sort of a plan, right? Technology doesn't do that. It's, you know, when I look the customer in the eye and I touch them and I say, you know, tell me what that means to you. What does it look like to you when you say, okay, for example, I want to have peace of mind. Yeah. What does that mean? How do I convert that to a number? “What technology allows is that if we cannot meet face to face, I can make a video call, and we could still have that conversation when you come back. We could do the face to face “Technology is not to replace the human contact, but it's to be an enabler at times when we can't do it.” TT, region a focus for Pan American Pan American, founded in 1911 and a provider of life accident and health insurance, has been operating in the Caribbean for 13 years, as a leader in individual life and corporate insurance. It operates in 22 countries with more than 2,200 employees (500 in the Caribbean). [caption id="attachment_1203938" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Robert DiCianni, president, global benefits, Pan American Life at a Pan American media conference held at the Hyatt, Port of Spain on January 20.[/caption] DiCianni said that while the group has seen a significant amount of growth in the past year, the Caribbean continues to be a pillar in its plans for growing even further. “TT and in the Caribbean, it's an important part of our entire global business. So we can't reach our corporate goals if we don't reach our goals and our growth goals in the Caribbean. “Some of these investments that we're making, they're significant on the technological side, and we're willing to do so because of the opportunities we see. provide these solutions to our communities entering that into the Caribbean. Asked about the proposed increase in asset levies for financial institutions and the removal of taxes on pensions, Williams said they will still have to wait and see what the effect would be. “One of the things we are talking to the Association of TT insurance Companies (ATTIC) and to the government on exactly which assets are going to be considered. It appears as though they're still working through how it's going to how it's going to unfold. So I guess the real impact would be better felt when those assets are quantified,” He added that the removal of tax on pensions would not have an effect on the company but would pose a benefit for the customer. “If we have to pay your pension of $10,000 a month, the current law says, you need to, you know, take the tax deduction out of that, and we get the difference to the client. Now what is supposed to happen is that you take no tax. “We have not received the cabinet note to enforce that. So for the company, nothing for the client, 25 per cent going in their pockets.”   The post Pan American Life: Putting humanity into digitisation appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.