The Big “I" Agents Council for Technology (ACT) has had a full year so far, with a myriad of events to bring the industry together for meaningful and relevant technology conversations. The combination of events and meetings were in some ways a proof of concept as we explored different methods of providing key knowledge and insights to Big “I" member agencies through different partnerships. We also kept the momentum moving with tried-and-true ACT meetings and workgroups.
Here are the events ACT has been involved with in 2023 so far:
Big “I" InsurTech Summit in Savannah, Georgia. In January, we collaborated with multiple Big “I" programs to bring you the first InsurTech Summit at the Big “I" winter board meeting. Two tech-forward panel discussions with eight industry leaders offered ideas and insights about how technology is enabling agency strategy, how it's creating emerging opportunities, and even how to solve some of the current pain points.
ACT Emerging Technology Trends Workgroup Kick-off in Austin, Texas. In May, we launched this new workgroup with a live “open mic" format, opening the floor for insight from roomful of tech professionals, agents, and carriers at NetVU's Accelerate conference. During this meeting, we gained valuable feedback, questions and ideas that will help shape future workgroup activities for ACT.
Big “I" InsurTech Summit in Birmingham, Alabama. In August, we built upon the success of our first InsurTech Summit at another event, hosted by Fortified. We took the show on the road to offer more technology insights for Big “I" members agents and Fortified's member agents. This session was an extended single panel that covered a broad array of technology topics of interest to the attendees.
Big “I" InsurTech Summit San Antonio, Texas. Collaborating with Keystone Insurers Group to host another InsurTech Summit in September, we shared two new tech panels and a Ted Talk concept with attending Keystone and Big “I" agents. We introduced more opportunities for agents to network with our industry leaders and panelists, and built panels to offer a more tactical conversation around marketing and sales. The event also included a future-forward panel to discuss what the industry needs to be thinking about over the next three to five years.
ACT Back to Basics Meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Just as this article hits the presses, ACT will be engaging with agents, carriers and technology partners Oct. 5. Hosted by Encova Insurance, the session will focus on having deep conversations about data, application programming interfaces (API) and connectivity, and artificial intelligence (AI).
It's been a full year for us as we work to bring different ways for the industry to learn about and discuss how we can best leverage technology to enable our competitive business strategies. In doing so, we have learned a great deal about what our members and partners are looking for and developing new ideas on how ACT and the Big “I" can support the understanding, adoption and utilization of technology.
Many thanks to all who attended and partnered to support our efforts, and to the great organizations that opened their doors to the Big “I" family! If your organization wants to be part of technology change for the independent agency system, contact Chris Cline, ACT executive director.