LOMA Distribution Technology Conference

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay
San Diego, California,
USA
Join us at the 2009 Distribution Technology Conference and hear about the latest technology trends affecting the insurance industry. Meet with top technology vendors and learn about their newest products.

Attend the number one Distribution Event in the industry. Explore new ways to increase your company’s bottom line. Learn how to develop effective distribution technology strategies. Discover how to make the Internet a key priority for channel investment. Listen to how others create integrated service networks – the right way. Attendees will also have the opportunity to speak peer-to-peer about solutions, trouble spots and success stories in interactive sessions.

Who Should Attend?

The Winter Technology Conferences attract decision makers and influencers from a wide array of financial services companies, including many of the world’s largest insurers. Seventy-five percent of last year’s attendees were director level or above in their companies. The programs are ideal for:

*      C-Level Executives (CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, COOs, etc.)
*      Senior Management in Business, Technology and Financial Services
*      Line-of-Business Executives and Managers
*      IT and Business Staff
*      Anyone who uses technology to achieve their business objectives

Program Details

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

12:00 Noon
Registration Opens

1:00 PM – 1:40 PM
Introducing New Technology to Life Agents
Steve Leigh, Principal Analyst, Insurance Advisory Services – Insurance
Gartner
Companies are tired of wasting money because new technologies are not being adopted by the intended audience – the agent. Leigh shares research and strategies to roll-out software so that adoption is assured and value is maximized.

1:45 PM – 2:30 PM
How Web 2.0 Can Help Design the Insurance Products of Tomorrow
Murray Jennex, Ph.D., Associate Professor, IDS
San Diego State University

Today, individuals have the ability to pull information onto their home pages in order to make better informed decisions. These decision support tools can help an individual determine what product to buy or locate one that is tailored to their needs. In light of this, will it be necessary for agents to use a wiki or blog to engage their customers in a dialog to design products they want or need, perhaps in a Second Life-type of interview? Will we be using social networking to sell insurance online? Come listen to the possibilities.

2:30 PM – 2:40 PM
Networking Break

2:40 PM – 3:25PM
Independents’ Day: How Data Exchange Enabled MetLife’s Expansion into New Distribution Channels
Andrew Falvey, CLU, ChFC, Director, Firm Automation, Service Solutions and Technology Delivery
MetLife

Get the inside story on how MetLife utilized data exchange to expand into the independent producer channel and become a carrier of choice. Learn how they gave independents the ability to conduct business by implementing straight-through processing and faster policy issuance. Falvey will also share some thoughts on how to gain business efficiency by using readily available technologies, bypassing the need to implement expensive, high-maintenance development projects.

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
Optimizing Multichannel Strategies to Enhance Insurance Marketing Results
Linh DePledge, VP Sales & Marketing
DTRIC

In a competitive world, maximizing the impact of marketing dollars is more critical than ever. Staying ahead means examining every channel and every method of distribution, then creating an integrated multichannel marketing strategy that drives cost-effective incremental leads and sales. Bringing theory to life, this session features a case study of how DTRIC applied advanced data practices to drive down the cost of customer acquisition and retention – without increasing its marketing budget.

4:20 PM – 5:05 PM
How One Company Simplified the Term Life Buying Process
Dave Wickersham, Board Member
Capitas Financial

Isn’t everyone looking for a new business processing system that is quicker, more profitable, meets consumer expectations, expedites commission payments and reduces the time and cost of distribution? Hear a case study of how Capitas Financial implemented a term life processing system that meets the needs of the carrier, their financial services advisors and consumers alike.

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Reception Sponsored by IBM

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

8:00 AM – 8:50 AM
Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Insurance and the Internet – Who’s Visiting, Who’s Buying?

Chad Hersh, Principal, Insurance
NOVARICA

Brian J. Schlessinger, Vice President/Practice Leader – Financial Service
Nielsen Online

While property and casualty companies are leading the way when it comes to the online marketing of insurance products, life and health carriers have been slow to take advantage of this growing marketing channel. Backed by a wealth of statistics developed by Nielsen Online, Hersh and Schlessinger share some astounding numbers about online insurance purchases and shopping trends. Find out who is visiting, who is buying and the value of the web as a part of your distribution strategy.

10:00 – 10:20
Networking Break

10:20 AM – 11:05 AM
How End-to-End New Business Automation Improves POS and Provides Quick ROI
Ron Pizur, Senior Vice President, Information Technology
Allstate Workplace Division

Efficient implementation, fast deployment and immediate ROI are the critical keys to introducing solutions in our fast-paced business environment. Hear how Allstate’s scalable, web-based solution for new business streamlines workflow, automates underwriting and manages the entire new business process for carriers and their distribution channels. The result is faster turnaround times on applications and an improvement in customer service levels. Hear too how Allstate rolled out the project to their agents and facilitated user acceptance.

11:10 AM – 12:00 Noon
Platinum Session Sponsored by IBM
Gaining a Competitive Edge through Trust, Transparency and Technology

Andrea Eichorn, Customer Focused Strategy, Associate Partner
IBM Global Business Services

From thought leadership work that is concluding in late 2008, Eichorn shares perspectives on the importance of driving customer advocacy with US insurance customers. Insurers who focus on what is important to their customers and prospects, including the varied attitudes, values and resulting actions found in today’s markets, will have an edge in reaching, retaining and driving growth with tomorrow’s customers. To achieve this, insurers and agents will need to work together to deliver trust, transparency and technology.

12:00 Noon – 2:00 PM
Lunch in Hall of Innovation

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Beyond e-Signature 101
Gregory T. Casamento, Partner
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP

Patrick J. Hatfield, Partner
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP

When speed is critical, e- and voice signatures can mean the difference between a closed sale and just a possibility. They reduce costs, increase efficiencies and improve customer satisfaction. But e-signatures are not without potential pitfalls. This session discusses the opportunities and differences among e-signatures, voice signatures and the complete process required for legal compliance. Hear how companies can assure that their records management process holds up in the event of a challenge. And learn how to ensure that what the client read or heard is the same as what they are agreeing to. In short, it’s the information you need to implement e-signatures in any organization.

2:50 PM – 3:30 PM
Technology Solutions that are Cost-Effective and Offer Speed to Market – They do Exist
Brent Littleton, Chief Technology Officer
Security Benefit

When regulatory requirements necessitated a swift, cost-effective solution, Security Benefit leveraged methodology and technology to quickly meet the business need. The use of the Agile process Scrum allowed the team to work closely with the project’s primary customers in setting priorities even prior to finalization of the IRS 403(b) regulation changes. The system allows the customer service and administration areas to access only one screen for service calls instead of multiple interfaces providing a reduction in service costs. This presentation features a discussion of how Security Benefit implemented an administrative system that mitigates compliance risk for the insurer and account holders, improves service and demonstrates the company’s commitment to its stakeholders.

3:35 PM – 4:15 PM
Building Increased Customer Engagement through Personalized Communications
Chris Nicholson, Director – Strategic Communications
Humana

With industry-specific terminology, the wide variety of plans and confusing coverage options, it’s no wonder that health insurance is poorly understood by consumers. Hear how Humana has gone to great lengths to develop personalized, consumer-directed statements using tables, charts and dynamic messaging to present complex information clearly and relevantly, thereby reducing marketing and administrative costs. Humana is uniquely positioned to discuss best practices and how an effective document strategy can drive service improvements, customer satisfaction and deliver a significant ROI.

4:20 PM – 5:00 PM
Cloud Computing
Dave Sewell, Chief Technology Officer
Strongwood Insurance Holdings Corporation

Where does cloud computing fit with company needs and objectives? As it evolves and creates more opportunities to be more cost-effective and agile, companies need to develop a roadmap to ensure that they adopt the cloud computing technologies that are right for them while avoiding the roadblocks and risks. This session helps chart a course to implement this exciting new technology and develop an ROI model.

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Hall of Innovation Open

Reception Sponsored by ImageRight

Thursday, February 19, 2009

8:00 AM – 8:50 AM

Breakfast Sponsored by Oracle

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM

Keynote Speaker

Sponsored by Microsoft

Rob Salkowitz, Author, “Generation Blend – Managing Across the Technology Age Gap”

Sixty percent of the insurance industry workforce in the United States is over age 47. Each year, insurers face waves of retirement that carry off their most experienced, knowledgeable professionals, while having to compete with dynamic new businesses for the best and brightest of the next generation. Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wikis, instant communication and social networks can help transfer and preserve critical business knowledge, increase the productivity of a shrinking workforce, and send a strong message about your company to talented younger workers, but only if everyone feels comfortable using new tools and embracing new practices. Salkowitz explores the challenges of managing collaborative technologies in a multi-generational workplace: How do different generations learn and use technology differently? How can insurers balance compliance and governance requirements with the demands of Millennial-age workers? And how can companies facilitate knowledge transfer across the generational divide before it is lost for good?

Rob Salkowitz is a writer and consultant specializing in the social implications of new technology. He is the author of Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap (Wiley & Sons, 2008) and co-author, with Daniel W. Rasmus, of Listening to the Future: Why It’s Everybody’s Business (Wiley & Sons, 2008). He has worked with leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, HP, and nGenera, to forecast social and technology trends, formulate market strategy and articulate business goals. He also writes a popular weekly column for the website Internet Evolution. An entrepreneur and small business owner, Rob has helped start seven companies since 1994 and is a partner in the Seattle-based communications firm MediaPlant, LCC. He serves on the board of Older Adults Technology Services, a New York-based non-profit that does technology training and workforce development for people over 50. His next book, Generation X-ecutive: How the Generation That Broke All the Rules is Changing the Game, is due out in 2009. Rob earned a BA in Political Science/International Relations from Columbia University in New York, and lives and works in Seattle, Washington.

10:15 AM – 10:30 AM
Networking Break

10:30 AM – 11:15 AM
Results from the Multi-Polar World Survey
Michael Costonis, North America Insurance Lead
Accenture

Traditional business and operating models no longer equip insurers for success in a volatile new environment. The global economic crisis has come hot on the heels of the opening up of vigorous new markets and the advent of brash new competitors, which aren’t going to go away. The old economic order is not only under pressure – it’s also being replaced by a more globalized multi-polar economy. To survive the downturn, and to grow over the long term, carriers will have to fundamentally review their strategies and their operational capabilities, revamping them where necessary to produce step-increases in competitiveness and performance.

11:15 AM – 12:00 Noon
Going Green

John Albanese, Vice President, Financial Services Solutions
CSC

Green IT initiatives are now the rule rather than the exception. Insurance carriers are concerned with data security, infrastructure flexibility and cost-savings through eco-friendly measures. Likewise, green IT initiatives are top priorities at CSC. One solution is a next-generation virtual, portable and secure insurance work space on a smart card. Albanese shares details of the implementation in CSC’s BPO and the benefits derived from this eco-responsible desktop virtualization solution.

12:00 Noon
Lunch in Hall of Innovation