1、June 2020 Now more than ever, insurers are focusing on reimagining the role of technology, reinventing technology delivery, and future-proofing the foundation of core technology. Sixteen articles dive deep into the what, why, and how. Reaching the next normal of insurance core technology Cover image

2、: wacomka/Getty Images Interior section opener images: Getty Images/mim.girl, Aitor Diago, and koto_feja Copyright 2020 McKinsey here is how the cybersecurity organization can support a secure digital agenda. 5 Insurance resilience in a rapidly changing coronavirus world In times of uncertainty, car

3、riers can pursue resilience through a staged approach to stabilizing, reimagining, and transforming operations. Sarinya Pinngam / EyeEm/Getty Images by Anshuman Acharya, David Hamilton, Pradip Patiath, Zachary Surak, Grier Tumas Dienstag, and Jasper van Ouwerkerk 6 There is no question that addressi

4、ng the humanitarian challenge of COVID-19 is the first priority of every government, business, and individual around the world. Were seeing enormous energy invested in suppressing the virus and saving lives with rigorous social measures and millions of heroic healthcare professionals and first respo

5、nders putting their own lives at risk. As the situation evolves hour by hour and day by day, it is difficult to predict its consequences with certainty. One certainty, however, is that the pandemic brings both balance-sheet and operational challenges to the insurance industry. Following are some of

6、the most acute challenges that we are observing and anticipating for the near future across the global life and property and casualty (P keeping customers informed of capacity constraints; deploying self-service, automation, and additional capacity to tackle personnel shortages in service-critical f

7、unctions; and minimizing customer-data risk of cyber exposure Business: Ensuring business continuity by immediately stress-testing solvency; modeling cash-flow, P and identifying potential triggers of significant liquidity events. They also are adjusting new-business pricing, taking into account new

8、 economic variables, and (most applicable to life insurers) considering removing some products from the shelf entirely. Strategy office: Reimagine processes and journeys (weeks 18): A strategy center can be used to implement a top- down, fresh perspective on the future operating model. The center ca

9、n be led by the head of strategy or someone in another role who is well equipped 6 For more, see Mihir Mysore and Ophelia Usher, “Responding to coronavirus: The minimum viable nerve center,” March 2020, McK. 10Reaching the next normal of insurance core technology June 2020 to understand the current

10、operation but is also a visionary who will create a truly transformative road map for the new normal that can be rapidly deployed as the organization stabilizes. This strategy team can apply a zero-based approach to reimagine processes and customer journeys. The approach considers the minimum (zero-

11、based) budget, staffing, and external spending required to maintain baseline operations, from sales and distribution to in-force servicing. Processes can then be built using analytics, automation, and sourcing best practices to design a more resource- efficient alternative that also offers improved

12、customer experience. These efforts will make possible several of the digital journeys discussed in the previous section. Transformation office: Embed the changes (weeks 416+): As a carrier stabilizes, it will be able to mobilize the broad participation of the organization during the crisis to embed

13、the new normal into the fabric of the company. Doing so requires the carrier to set up a robust execution engine, led by a chief transformation officer who drives the weekly cadence of decision making (not process) and creates radical transparencyof impact, interdependencies, resource needs, trade-o

14、ffs, and roadblocks. Coupling this engine with a common methodology and language for evaluating impact and a digital program-management platform will help the carrier understand the maturity and progress of each initiative. Exhibit McK Insurance 2020 Insurance resilience in a rapidly changing COVID-

15、19 world Exhibit 1 of 1 An illustrative action plan models actions of the disruption, strategy, and transformation ofces. Week 1Week 16Potential leader Head of strategy Chief transformation ofcer Chief operating ofcer 1 In partnership with the CEO, chief fnancial ofcer, chief human resources ofcer,

16、and chief information ofcer. Disruption ofce Stabilize operations (weeks 14) Ensure adequate discovery of risks. Coordinate remedial actions and deploy sufcient resources to take care of employees and customers. Establish rolling 48-hour and 1-week goals with dashboards to manage threats in real tim

17、e. Strategy ofce Reimagine processes and journeys (weeks 18) Develop transformative road map for the new normal. Apply zero-based approach to design more resource-efcient processes, ofering better customer experience. Scale approach across the value chain, from sales to servicing. Transformation ofc

18、e Embed changes (weeks 416+) Set up robust execution engine, drive rigorous decision-making cadence, and implement radical transparency (impact, resource needs, and roadblocks). Establish common methodology for valuing impact and a digital program-management platform to provide clarity on initiative

19、s. Create informed plan to maintain focus on organizational health and culture to achieve sustainable performance excellence. 11Insurance resilience in a rapidly changing coronavirus world Second, the carrier can fundamentally rebase expectations of its people and footprint, starting with an evaluat

20、ion of what it was able to achieve while operating in an entirely remote manner and with capacity constraints. Leaders are now learning, on a whole new level, what their teams are capable ofand it will be important to ensure that those breakthroughs arent lost in a transition back to the physical of

21、fice. Leaders can roll up what will probably be a large number of initiatives emerging from the strategy office into an integrated plan, against which they will be able to measure performance and set budgets going forward. Doing so would help avoid siloed or watered-down execution. In addition, carr

22、iers could formalize the remote-working model, cross-train their workforce, and embed flexibility into the operating model to ensure that they will be better poised to respond to future crises. Of course, sustaining the new operating model requires an informed plan that focuses on organizational hea

23、lth and culture. The plan could be informed by an assessment of the elements that have bred the carriers success, such as alignment with a shared vision, shared goals, and incentives at every level as well as clear roles and transparent performance. First and foremost, insurance leaders need to mana

24、ge the immediate threat to peoples health and well-being and be sensitive to those customers most affected by the crisis. To exit the crisis with a more customer-focused, efficient, and resilient organization, insurance leaders need to plan ahead, engage the gamut of strategic and tactical levers di

25、scussed here, and use radical transparency to advance change. Insurers can sustain momentum and make long-lasting changes even in the challenging times ahead. Copyright 2020 McKinsey an updated resource model offering the talent, methods, and tools to accelerate innovation; and a future-proof techno

26、logy foundation of flexible, scalable systems that speed releases of IT products. To help CEOs assess where their companies stand with respect to these three concepts, we have included ten key questions that CEOs can ask (exhibit). Exhibit Ten questions can help CEOs determine whether their companie

27、s IT functions possess the qualities that make IT efective. Role Modern IT function What the CEO should ask to accelerate technology transformation Collaboration with the business on shaping strategy and streamlining operations Alignment between IT and the business Targeted technology investments Ad

28、vocacy for end users How are we making key technology decisions at all levels of the company? How do we track and maximize the value produced by our major technology investments? How often do our tech teams seek input from users? 1. 2. 3. Resource model Talent, methods, and tools to accelerate innov

29、ation Ample engineering talent Agile working methods Leading-edge tools Targeted vendor partnerships Have we placed high-caliber engineers in IT roles that contribute the most value to the company? How many projects has IT shut down because they werent providing value? How long does it take for our

30、company to deploy new applications? Which of our IT capabilities do vendors provide, and why? 4. 5. 6. 7. Technology foundation Flexible, scalable systems that speed releases of IT products Modular architecture Enterprise-wide data and artifcial intelligence (AI) Integrated cybersecurity How much cu

31、stom development work goes into building new IT solutions? What % of business decisions are we making with help from AI? For our developers, is cybersecurity a hindrance? 8. 9. 10. 14Reaching the next normal of insurance core technology June 2020 1 McKinsey research shows that companies with the bes

32、t-performing IT organizations are more likely to say that their CIOs are involved in shaping overall business strategy. For more, see “Can IT rise to the digital challenge?,” October 2018, McK. 2 Oliver Bossert and Driek Desmet, “The platform play: How to operate like a tech company,” February 2019,

33、 McK. 3 McKinsey research shows that top economic performers divide digital capital evenly between creating new digital businesses and digitizing the core business and also reallocate capital expenditures more frequently than other companies. For more, see “A winning operating model for digital stra

34、tegy,” January 2019, McK. 4 “The power of design thinking,” March 2016, McK. 5 Fabricio Dore, Garen Kouyoumjian, Hugo Sarrazin, and Benedict Sheppard, “The business value of design,” McKinsey Quarterly, October 2018, McK. A new role for IT: Collaboration with the business on shaping strategy and str

35、eamlining operations Many IT functions have trouble matching their priorities with those of the business. The problem often starts at the top: CIOs arent included in strategic discussions, where they can shape other executives thinking on how the business can best use technology. CEOs are ideally po

36、sitioned to correct this. At the successful companies we know, CEOs have defined a strategic role for the technology function according to the following principles: Alignment between IT and the business. Were seeing companies make organizational changes specifically to promote seamless collaboration

37、 between the tech function and other units and functions. CEOs are adding CIOs to their leadership teams and asking CIOs to report directly to them.1 Some companies form unified business and technology teams that each support one technology product (for customers or employees) or one IT platform (a

38、component, such as a customer- relationship-management CRM system, that supports multiple functions).2 CEOs can test for these patterns by asking, “How are we making key technology decisions at all levels of the company?” Theyll want to hear that business users and tech experts are working side by s

39、ide. Targeted technology investments. Top economic performers are more likely than other companies to develop new digital businesses in addition to digitizing their core business. Both activities require investments in technology. However, the typical companys wish list of technology investments exc

40、eeds its technology budget. CEOs must therefore commit their organizations to prioritizing high-value investments. To reinforce this discipline, the CEO should start by asking: “How do we track and maximize the value produced by our major technology investments?” An effective approach will involve n

41、ot only measuring the payback from technology investments, but also reallocating capital frequently to promising opportunitiesanother practice associated with strong economic performance.3 Advocacy for end users. Modern IT functions follow design-thinking practices, by which they develop an in-depth

42、 understanding of users needs as the basis for new products and features.4 Such practices should interest the CEO: McKinsey research shows that theyre correlated with strong financial performance.5 CEOs can probe for them by asking, “How often do our tech teams seek input from users?” If the answer

43、isnt “at every step,” the tech function probably hasnt adopted design thinking. An updated resource model for IT: The talent, methods, and tools to accelerate innovation In pursuit of cost savings, traditional IT functions outsource much of their development and engineering work and focus on vendor

44、and project management. Modern IT functions, by contrast, value innovation more highly than cost savings, and so they assemble top-notch workers and equip them with sophisticated methods and tools, along with specialized vendor support. To build a resource model that speeds innovation, CEOs should p

45、ush for the inclusion of the following four elements: Ample engineering talent. To keep mission-critical technologies ahead of the curve, companies recruit skilled engineers and entice them to stay with quality training and appealing incentives, including nonmanagerial career tracks where engineers

46、can concentrate on technical work without sacrificing the chance to earn manager-level salaries. To gauge the IT functions talent mix, CEOs should ask, “Have we placed high-caliber engineers in enough IT roles that contribute the most value to the company?” A number less than 70 percent is a red fla

47、g. 15The CEOs new technology agenda Agile working methods. Agile working methods produce good results quickly by having technology teams develop starter versions of new products, share them with users, and make round after round of improvements that users want.6 CEOs can test ITs agility by asking,

48、“How many projects has IT shut down because they werent providing value?” If IT hasnt shut down some projects, then the function hasnt truly embraced agile. Thats because agile practices call for ending projects as soon as its clear that they arent working outand for celebrating the discretion of th

49、e people involved.7 Leading-edge tools. Modern IT functions create software and artificial-intelligence (AI) tools that automate routine software development, testing, and deployment tasks, thereby shortening time to market for tech products. They gain more efficiency by shifting systems into the cloud.8 To assess their IT functions tools, CEOs can ask, “How long does it take for our company to deploy new applications?” It should take only minutes if infrastructure is being automatically configured i