Mark McLaughlin – Global Insurance Director at IBM

IBM Global Insurance Director shines a light on the future of the independent agency system (and how agents must respond!)

At the intersection of insurance and technology sits—not yesterday’s startup—but one of the most valuable and influential companies in the world: IBM.

Their Global Insurance Director, Mark McLaughlin, took time from his international duties to discuss the future of the industry with our host, Michael Jans.

Serious students of the industry must listen to this frank and freewheeling conversation about the pace of change, the nature of those changes, and how they’ll affect the day-to-day life of the insurance agent:

• How agents can (and must) maintain the human connection with the client (and use technology to make those connections deeper and more frequent) as other industry players try to take control of the customer away from the agent.
• New technologies that agents (not just carriers) must keep an eye on: blockchain, AI, chatbots, and more – and how they’ll affect the agent’s business in the very near future.
• Make no mistake, Mark believes in the role of the agent… but he shares how other industries set standards that agents must live up to before it’s too late – and his 3-part plan for every agent to succeed.

If you have time for ONE conversation on ‘big picture’ trends (that’s still wrapped in practical advice) this is it. You may not think about IBM every day… but they think about you! Don’t miss this important dialogue with a global industry leader.

NOTE FROM THE PRODUCER: Due to technical difficulties Michael Jans’ audio was not as clear as we would like it to be. However, this discussion is full of such great content, we couldn’t dream of pulling it from the schedule.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster? Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industry’s leading figures.