S3E17: Dr. Robin Kiera Live from the Global Insurance Symposium

Denim Rivet

We just wrapped up another successful Global Insurance Symposium (GIS), just down the street from Denim's headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa. Today's guest is Dr. Robin Kiera, a keynote speaker at this year's GIS. Denim's CEO and Founder Gregory Bailey caught up with Robin just as he stepped off the stage to discuss some highlights from his presentation and hear his perspective on why he’s become such an influential insurtech thought leader in Europe and throughout the world. Robin shares his thoughts on the future of marketing while also providing insights into the fintech, insurtech, and startup scene in Europe.

Digital Disruption – Threat & Opportunity

Robin gave an insightful GIS keynote presentation on threats and opportunities that the insurance and financial services industry is facing today. The biggest threat Robin sees is the technology companies that are flooding into the insurance sector. Take Amazon as an example with its partnership with J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway to enter the healthcare scene. They aren’t dangerous because they know so much about their customers—they are dangerous because they have experience disrupting other markets: retail, entertainment, you name it. They also have experience disrupting themselves.

Robin hopes attendees took away from his presentation that, in the end, embracing digital transformation will allow the insurance industry to take over the world—if they’re serious about it. The opportunity is there for those who want to rise up to the challenge and alter the sector’s ecosystem.

Future of Digital Marketing

There are multi-billion dollar companies that still don’t have tracking on their website homepages. This highlights that some companies are still in the old mindsets of how and when and what insurance they are selling. Going from the 80s and 90s to now, there were debates about whether or not companies should even sell products online. Well, the world has changed. The companies embracing digital-era technologies are delivering what customers want. At their core, they still have to live by the values of their best agents and brokers. You have to truly want to be there for the customer—to be there when their house or farm burns down and tell them you have their back, that their life will not only return to normal but be better than it was before.

Being there for customers as their lives change and helping them transition is a goal Robin sees the industry as working toward. Being able to give advice and support to people as they go through transitions—first-time parents, new college graduates, or those moving from renting apartments to buying their first house, for example—is how you build relationships with customers that last a lifetime.

Links

Dr. Robin Kiera Twitter

Dr. Robin Kiera LinkedIn

Global Insurance Symposium

Digital Scouting