Join us as the conference begins to meet and greet peers while you share ideas and common experiences.

This session will provide the latest update on key regulatory and legislative issues affecting the life insurance market. Regulatory and legislative changes are occurring at a rapid pace, and the life insurance industry continues to be in the crosshairs of many of these activities. This session will focus on updates from the federal and state perspectives. Issues to be touched on include guaranty association assessments, fiduciary rule/best interest standard of care, retirement savings, regulatory views, and activity on innovation and cybersecurity.

Underwriting is perhaps the most critical activity undertaken by a life insurance company. As societal trends evolve, combined with increasing abundance of new applicant information from electronic health records and other sources, it is becoming possible to underwrite life insurance more accurately, quickly and in a cost effective manner. Attendees in this session will learn how societal trends and the abundance of information are impacting how life insurance is underwritten.

Consumers receive a barrage of marketing messages every day. To capture their attention, financial marketers need to deliver compelling and relevant content. Findings from the 2019 Insurance Barometer study can help marketers develop the content that breaks through the congestion and reaches the consumer. Study co-sponsors, LIMRA and Life Happens, share insights into the mindset of today’s financial consumer. The presentation includes examples of communications developed by Life Happens to inform and educate the public about life insurance.

Preparing for PBR? Looking for benchmarks for life insurance key risk assumptions other than mortality? This session will highlight the most recent data on lapse/surrender activity for life insurance products, including level term and joint life, as well as the results of an inaugural universal life premium persistency study.

Insurance underwriting today is based on one point in time, providing little value to the customer and limited future value to insurers. Wearable technology offers the ability to leverage physiological data, not just for the purpose of initial underwriting, but also throughout the lifespan of the policy. Swiss Re is studying the value of data from today’s devices, as well as future medical-grade devices, in order to help insurers understand and integrate these devices into their operations and customer offerings. Attend this session to learn how to leverage data from wearable technology and view the capabilities these devices will bring to our industry in the future.

Life insurance sales growth for the industry has been modest at best over the last several years. But while industry results have been lackluster, some companies have beat the odds and achieved strong growth year after year after year. How do they do it? At this session, two life insurers will share the secrets to their success in reaching significant sales growth milestones.

Are you using innovation to improve what you do? Come see where you stand . . . literally. At this lively session, LIMRA will briefly share research on the state of innovation in the industry. Then it’s your turn. Using simple innovation tools you can learn on the spot, you’ll team up with others in the room to solve an innovation challenge. Along the way, you’ll learn some tips and techniques you can take back to use with your own team.

While the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule is officially gone, the idea of a "best interest" standard lives on in the marketplace and in several unfolding regulations — from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to the NAIC, and to individual states. This panel will explore the complexities of the converging regulatory developments, and how they could affect the industry’s sales force in the coming years.

Join us for this important exercise — utilizing a 5 to 10 year horizon, we will identify the top trends in medicine which are predicted to have a transformative impact on our industry. Each trend will be viewed through the lens of separating promise from reality and exploring how each trend might impact the broader life insurance industry.

The future is going to be driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Huge power lies in smart algorithms combined with big social data to track behavior and develop new insights into customers and what they want. How could these insights alter long-standing practices in the life insurance industry? Where do business opportunities lie in leveraging new technological capabilities, and how can organizations prepare for these changes? Golbeck will explain how new computational techniques are revealing hidden traits of millions of people online, and how this impacts the future of our business.

Life insurers seeking to make an impact on the underinsured mass market are looking to strategic distribution partnerships to help broaden distribution in this market. Often these partners have access to a specific target market, have built unique technology experiences, or have a combination of attributes that the insurer is not willing or able to create internally. Vantis Life’s relationship with Fabric is one example of a traditional life insurer partnering with an Insurtech innovator for the benefit of both organizations. Prudential’s partnership with BabyList now enables the ability to crowdfund a life insurance solution for expecting parents directly from a baby registry. Both Vantis and Prudential continue to seek partners to expand their reach in underserved markets.

Life PBR is upon us, with less than a year before the optional phase-in period ends and implementation is mandatory. Significant work remains as PBR implementations are back-loaded for all but a handful in the industry. With all this activity, it is important to step back and skillfully manage all areas impacted. This session will provide an overview of Life PBR, anticipated impacts to various parts of the business, and give the audience insights into lessons learned and challenges faced from early adopters.

Genetic testing is on the rise. Recent research showed that genetic testing increased by 75 percent in 2017. Advancement in medical technology in recent years has created both opportunities and challenges for the life insurance industry. Perhaps none more so than the massively increasing availability and affordability of genetic testing to consumers. Increased clinical offerings allows for predictive genetic testing to estimate future disease, preventative care, and better management of health outcomes. What are the implications for customer buying behavior and inforce management? What's going on in the regulatory space? Join this session and make your own decision about the benefits or risks of genetic testing.

As adoption of robotic process automation (RPA) continues to evolve in the life insurance industry, it is important for RPA to be deployed with a goal to drive efficiency in a cost effective manner. This session will provide examples of effective RPA deployment in life insurance and the types of processes ripe for RPA implementation. Attendees will also gain insight on how to develop an effective and efficient RPA strategy from ideation to implementation.

This session will provide an overview of recent trends in the U.S. life insurance market, including sales trends, product design trends, underwriting trends, regulatory issues, etc. Panelists will discuss opportunities and issues presented by current life insurance products. Attendees of this session should obtain a better understanding of the life insurance landscape and where they stand relative to their peers and competitors.

This session will explore the dramatic upheaval in the privacy landscape since the passage of the E.U. General Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. How are insurers and regulators affected by the data privacy backlash facing the digital world? 

The life insurance industry has seen an increased focus on technology due to the influence of investment firms, InsurTech, and other companies all competing for the same revenue. This pressure is pushing traditional companies to improve the customer’s experience through new and improved technology which can require new administrative platforms. The question becomes what to do with the aging and outdated systems. This session will feature a panel that has worked through these challenges and can provide insight to those who are currently in the process or exploring system conversion projects.

Customer experience continues to receive attention as it increasingly becomes a coveted source of business differentiation. Efforts in the life insurance industry continue to evolve, as carriers address challenges unique to our industry. This session will combine a discussion of LIMRA research focused on how life insurance companies are approaching customer experience with a case study of a life carrier’s specific efforts. 

The life insurance industry will continue to be technology driven. Will AI, robotics and blockchain be among the driving technology trends to reshape the life insurance industry, or is there a rising tsunami of other technology solutions which may propel a quantum change and revolutionize the life insurance industry? Will IT solutions enable the business to innovate, or will business demand more innovative technology? This session will feature an overview the technologies and trends such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics and others that are re-shaping the technology agenda for the future.

Fraud in the financial services industry is a multi-billion dollar industry . . . and growing! Life insurance is not exempt, with industry fraud evolving from agent and claim fraud to social engineering and account takeover. Presenters from leading insurance companies will provide an overview of fraud trends in the life insurance industry, ranging from traditional types of fraud to schemes perpetrated by 21st century fraudsters. Attendees will gain insight on the types of fraud the industry is experiencing as well as tips on how to identify and avoid various fraud schemes.

Are you ready for the digital age? Come hear how innovation is happening in product development as companies move into a digital world of distribution. This session will allow attendees to learn from those who have developed digital strategies and to understand how new product development has been launched in months and not years.

For an industry that essentially exists to do good by helping people manage their financial lives, it’s important for people — in turn — to feel good about the industry. During this session, LIMRA researchers will present findings from consumer research that defines the current image. They will also share industry member perspectives on the desired image and actions that companies can take to collectively move the needle in the right direction.

Based on a survey of LOMA members, this session will explore strategies the life insurance industry is likely to pursue going forward to improve underwriting efficiency and accuracy. Attendees will learn about the driving business factors for underwriting modernization, impediments to modernization, and IT strategies likely to be employed in the life insurance industry from implementing best of breed underwriting systems to the use of artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and potentially outsourcing underwriting.

The phrase “InsurTech” denotes innovation, transformation, and disruption in the insurance industry. This session will examine how startup companies are changing the life insurance industry not only through technology but with regard to products and processes. This session will feature individuals discussing the status of InsurTech in the life insurance industry, its role, and providing insight on how it may continue to reshape the industry.

Work is changing at fundamental levels: where we work, how we work, and who we work with (human or machine). Given these changes, how do we stay relevant in our careers, and as leaders? How do we balance our life and work? During this session, Al Chiaradonna will share his unique perspective on the evolution of work, what that means to you, and tips on how to navigate your own integrated journey of personal and professional growth. The session will provide guidance on how to manage your own career while also offering a framework that will allow you to take action, and begin your own journey towards thriving as leaders and individuals.

Nobody wants to expect the worst. But for Kirsten Schowalter and her family the worst case scenario found them. As she shares her inspiring story of how she and her family picked up the shattered pieces of their lives after a fatal car crash, Schowalter emphasizes how the life insurance industry helps us show our love for people we care about most.

Brandon Carter will share his perspective on why the life insurance industry must accelerate the use of technology to improve experiences for consumers and the evolving role advisors must play in a digitally led, holistic advice conversation.

As life insurance products evolve and become more innovative, so must the infrastructure and technology to support these products from underwriting and issue to administering the policies. Presenters in this session will provide insight into the necessity for product development and IT to collaborate to ensure new products can be deployed effectively and efficiently for a seamless launch of a new life insurance product from the IT perspective.

What drives people to buy individual life insurance? And what makes a good agent who can sell it to them? LIMRA’s Center of Excellence for Analytics has tackled these big questions using the power of data and predictive modeling. In this session, we explore the factors that influence customers’ life insurance purchase behavior, based on data we collected from life insurance shoppers. We also discuss the factors that influence agent productivity and retention, based on our analysis of agent-level data sourced from our member companies.

Whether it is attracting them to be an advisor or client, women today provide a huge opportunity for insurers, yet there is a struggle to understand how to reach them and motivate them to act. Penn Mutual is pursuing that opportunity by building a consumer facing brand, myWorth, which provides education, tools, and resources for women. In this session, you will discover the pitfalls and keys to success in building an internal innovation lab to drive transformation and create sustainable sources of growth within a 171 year old insurance company.

This session will cover what’s happened since tax reform on the tax issues facing life insurers, with particular emphasis on investment issues, including guidance from Treasury and IRS, and what companies should be thinking (and worrying) about for the future.

For 65 percent of consumers who shop for life insurance, the Internet is part of the process. What happens there? Are consumers finding what they want and need? And in the rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive digital landscape, are you finding them? This workshop will share new LIMRA research exploring the online shopping experience of today’s consumer.

This session will feature a unique perspective on the life insurance industry and how a traditional life insurance company is achieving success through reinventing the life insurance experience. This reinvention and innovation is an example of how transformation in the life insurance industry is more than electronic apps, automated underwriting, and straight through processing. Attendees in this session will get a glimpse into the future as these presenters offer insight on this innovative journey. 

Professionalism as an actuary requires diligence and a concerted effort. It don't come easy. Are you all in as a professional? In this session, a combination of presentations, brief case studies, and audience discussions will be used to look at professionalism, what it takes to be a professional, and why it really matters.

The goal of this session is to demystify AI to help attendees understand which technologies are considered AI in the life insurance industry.  While AI may mean different things to different industries and different companies, the perception and level of investment in AI in the life insurance industry will be presented in this session.  Scales will share insight on areas where carriers may successfully focus their AI efforts as well as barriers to success.  Perhaps most important, this session will suggest steps companies should take to effectively launch an effective AI strategy.