With 2020 now here, it is more important than ever to understand how technology and online habits will continue to influence the insurance industry so you can make sure your agency stays competitive.

For instance, a Nielsen study found that Americans interacted with media for more than 11 hours per day — and that number increased by 10% from the previous year. In 2020, the number of hours we engage with media is likely to increase even more.

Digital media is the future and present, and as brokers look to integrate new strategies to adapt to evolving media consumption, they will have the opportunity to increase business efficiency and improve client interactions.

With that in mind, here are three ways technology will likely impact your business in 2020.

1. Tailoring Interactions to Increase Engagement

As our lives continue to be transformed by digital media, consumers are increasingly self-educating online. Today’s self-educated buyers have researched their intended purchases and have studied everything from price points to endless product and customer reviews before even talking to a salesperson.

What’s more, Zywave’s latest survey of employers found that nearly 80% of clients want to hear from their broker at least monthly, and 40% would consider changing brokers due to a lack of communication. Clients not only expect consistent communication, but they also expect tailored communication.

One of the most effective ways to create content for your clients is through digital media. Industry-wide, this is a steady trend that shows no sign of stopping. With the ease of customization now available through targeted email marketing campaigns and other powerful digital channels, such as social media, blogs and videos, the agencies that are thriving are the ones that are feeding their consumers’ needs for personalized education and establishing themselves as trusted thought leaders.

2. Increasing Efficiency Through Automated Processes

Insurtech solutions available today can support once-manual agency workflows. This has increased the possibility of what brokers can accomplish in a day — everything from streamlining small group quoting to simplifying the enrollment experience for employees. Automation will continue to be huge a trend in 2020 and beyond.

However, there is an important limiting factor that can hinder your success in taking advantage of new technology. In an age where there is more access to solutions than ever before, the issue becomes data accuracy. To drive better outcomes for your clients, you must fully understand the data available within those systems and what gaps exist.

Maximizing success relies on accurate data, and effectively managing that information is a significant competitive advantage. If you have multiple systems and tools that depend on one another, consider consolidating your workflows and looking for ways to integrate these solutions.

By evaluating your current processes to create a more integrated tech stack, you can unlock greater efficiency and promote more open data sharing. This strategy will allow you to win more business in 2020 and better serve your clients.

3. Using AI to Leverage Data

In a practical, day-to-day setting, artificial intelligence (AI) is not as much about robots and sci-fi as it is a series of small decisions stacked on top of one another in a software application. When you layer millions of microdecisions, a detailed decision tree forms that enables intuitive, powerful user experiences.

A study by Accenture shows that AI has the potential to increase economic output by $14 trillion by 2035. Additionally, this study estimates that insurance and financial services are in the top three industries ripe to capture that opportunity.

The most immediate application for AI enables you to automate low value-added tasks so you can focus on bringing in more clients and customizing communication. You can do this by leveraging available data and integrating your tech stack to streamline workflow. Through this process, you can free up more time to work on important responsibilities that can’t be automated, like deepening client relationships.

One specific example of how you leverage this technology is by selecting a content management platform with advanced machine learning capabilities. As noted above, today’s clients want personalized content, but finding these resources can be time consuming and take you away from other important tasks.

By leveraging advanced machine learning within a content management system, you can get instant recommendations on the most relevant content for each client or prospect, helping to save you time and prove your expertise.

Moving Forward

These are just some of the tech trends that brokers and agents will face in 2020. By taking steps now to embrace new technology, you can better prepare your agency for future success and find new growth opportunities that will benefit both you and your clients for years to come.