The Changing World of Risk Management
November 19, 2020
Family Wealth Report
Interview by Tom Burroughes
Jerry Hourihan, Chief Growth Officer, PURE
What regions do you operate in? What sort of clients do you look after? Do you go direct, or via brokers, other intermediaries, or use all of these routes?
PURE is a specialist insurance company operating throughout the United States, helping a select group of successful, responsible individuals and families do together what they cannot do by themselves: prevent loss, transfer risk and bounce back…
PURE partners with a network of the finest independent brokers in the country… Their independence lends credibility to their recommendations, and their ability to work with numerous insurance carriers ensures that we work hard to earn and retain the business of our members…
Shannon Bowes, SVP, Head of Product Management, PURE
There is already a range of insurance products covering a variety of risks. What would you say are the newer ones, and do you see any being specifically created by the pandemic and the associated upheavals it has caused?
In the P&C personal lines space, there are a few things that come to mind. First, there is a clear need for products that are more responsive to changes in risk exposure. For example, if a policyholder goes from driving around 1,500 miles each month to driving less than 100 miles a month, that policyholder’s risk exposure becomes very different. As an industry, we need to be better about making sure our pricing is more responsive. Second, I think that there are a number of questions around how coverage needs change when more people are home, and especially when more business is being conducted from home and digitally. I think that personal cyber insurance may see more interest in the future. It's not a new product, but it's one that hasn’t gotten to a place where it's being widely purchased. Finally, I personally wonder if we’ll see something new around liability, especially for people that host large events.
Katherine Richardson, Chief Human Resources Officer, PURE
What’s the biggest issue the pandemic has thrown up for your industry? What have you changed as a consequence?
Long before COVID-19, PURE had a strong technology infrastructure in place, which has enabled nearly every member of our team to transition to working from home quickly and seamlessly. With laptops, a secure virtual private network and a highly capable IT team, most of our employees were able to begin remote work immediately. Creating a smooth transition for employees goes hand in hand with ensuring continuity of excellent service for the PURE membership.
We have quickly adapted services such as our PURE360™ Risk Management Experience and claims adjusting to fit a remote environment. Typically, our PURE360 Risk Management Experience is performed in person with a PURE Risk Manager to identify and provide solutions for areas of risk in a member’s home. However, for the past 18 months, PURE has been working on a technology that allows members to perform this home review on their own…
We also wanted to find a way to stay connected with our broker partners throughout this time of remote working and social distancing. We started a webinar series that has become highly popular – a daily 30-minute exploration of issues and solutions across nearly all functional areas of the business.
Read Katherine's full response.
Matthew Schreibeis, SVP, Head of Member Experience, PURE
How are technologies such as AI, Big Data affecting your industry and what are some of the biggest hurdles associated with that?
It is exciting to see the exponential growth in technology and data available. The advances in AI allow for more sophisticated ways to analyze complex inputs, and the abundance of data capture statistics on every interaction with a customer. The challenge becomes precisely understanding your business and the problems that you are trying to solve. It is easy to become excited about all of the ways you can use the latest AI tech for your business and interesting to see the different interactions around which you can capture measurable data. However, if you don’t have a specific, well-defined problem, point of friction, inefficiency, or customer frustration, you risk applying these tools or analyzing data in a way that does not move your business forward…
