For more than 30 years, Kevin O’Brien has traversed the insurance ecosystem, holding key leadership roles in marketing and underwriting at The Hartford and Zurich Insurance Group as well as serving as chief operating officer for Mutual Benefit Group.
Currently, he serves as vice president and chief underwriting officer for American European Insurance Group (AEIG), a firm he recently joined.
O’Brien tells PropertyCasualty360.com that he sees opportunities for insurers across a few areas, with the most important being developing and implementing technology geared toward companies, agencies and insureds.
“While still not as coordinated as needed, the organizations that are able to effectively combine all three will take a huge lead,” he says. “The key next step is being able to maintain that advantage in the marketplace.”
Looking past the latest technology, O’Brien explains there continues to be a need for development for other access points for potential new policyholders.
“Norms have changed and companies need to meet prospects where they want and how they want to acquire an insurance company’s desired market share,” he says.
In addition to enhancing consumer touchpoints, insurers need to focus on attracting the next generation of industry leaders. This issue is two sided, as the industry not only must fill the roles left open by the wave of retiring professionals, but “also identify future skills sets needed for the success of the industry,” O’Brien explains.
O’Brien: Critical thinking and inquisitiveness are the most important skills needed for success. It goes without saying that basic technology usage is a prerequisite today, but the ability to use data to create knowledge and solutions will win the day.
O’Brien: New managerial/leadership skills are needed to meet the need to maintain company culture and camaraderie. It’s about understanding what employees want in the new, “hybrid” world and then meshing that with the company needs to be a win for all. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and each company leadership team needs to make this a priority or it will not be successful.
O’Brien: To me is most significant changes are being driven by the development and deployment of technology. It has changed how companies operate, the independent agency landscape and the expectations of insureds. I could name others, but they would all come back to technology in my opinion.
O’Brien: Without naming names, I would say it has been those leaders who have allowed me to fail and then learn from those failures. In most cases those mentors were also the most transparent about their leadership styles and how they saw things, and then were inquisitive enough to ask for my thoughts. They created a dialogue for continuous learning.
O’Brien: In insurance there is always something new to discover. Whether it is in rate development, coverage interpretation and expansion or a claim scenario, there is always something new to learn and get involved. Anyone who likes understanding the past and bridging that understanding to develop the future would love this industry.
I have worked in this industry for over 30 years and am still learning and getting involved in something new every day. If you like to get involved in change, this is the industry for you.
Another important benefit to me has been the different people I have met over the years. Some of those connections have become my closest friends and my deepest confidants. I believe this is still a relationship business and many of my relationships will remain after I leave the industry.
O’Brien: I think the biggest misconception is that we are part of one big conglomerate. We are a multitude of companies made up of people — your neighbors and your friends. I believe we, in the industry, are all trying to do what’s right to meet our obligations to our policyholders.
O’Brien: The best advice I ever got was to ask any question you have, but also be prepared to openly accept the answer you receive. That is how you will best develop and be a lifelong learner.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
