How Collaboration Can Lead to the Break Down of Silos and Innovation in Insurance Technology

Technology in insurance is no new thing, but it is a continuously growing space where new things are happening almost every day.

Organizations are responding to this vast influx of technologic advancement, moving from a more siloed working environment where developing solutions individually was the norm, to one where collaborative partnerships are blossoming.

During National Comp 2025 in Nashville, Tenn., four experts shared their insights on how this level of collaboration and partnership during high tech advancement is a boon to the workers’ comp industry, during session, “Silos to Synergy: Collaborative Innovation in Insurance Technology.”

“What’s changed in insurance? … It’s the technology available to us as carriers,” said Zachary Gustafson, general manager, InsuranceNow @ Guidewire during the session. He noted carriers used to have to spend the time on the technological side, implementing ideas that made sense for their businesses. But now, “As tech has evolved and billions have been invested, there have become more options” to collaborate.

“Carriers can think more about the craft of insurance and less about being a tech company,” he said.

The experts believe these types of collaborations within the industry will reshape the way systems are designed, implemented and leveraged. Joining Gustafson, were Nicholas Guarda, associate director, Verisk; Bonnie Piacentino, executive director, NJCRIB; and Robyn Jackson, vice president, claims, MEMIC.

Macro-Level Pressures Drive Collaboration Needs

Because technology and insurance are both ever-growing industries, stakeholders have become more expectant in the products being created and released. According to Piacentino, “Stakeholders want more, they want it quickly, they want it protected.”

Other macro-level pressures, like regulatory complexity, Insurtech disruption, a looming talent shortage and the threat of cyber risks also place innovation in something of a pressure cooker, almost necessitating collaboration.

Perhaps one of the biggest pressures driving a collaboration need is the amount of retirees leaving the industry. Years of experience and knowledge are will be lost without mentorships and new hires, and getting recent graduates into the industry can prove difficult if they didn’t even know an insurance career was in their purview.

“We’re in an industry where not many people are coming into this space, right? So, it’s the need to collaborate with one another and work together to fill those voids that are left from those that are retiring,” said Gustafson.

When Competitors Become Collaborators

Zachary Gustafson, general manager, InsuranceNow @ Guidewire

The pressures of the industry are also leading to less “rivalry” amongst competitors, noted the panel, leading the way to even more opportunity to collaborate across organization lines.

For example, because almost all organizations recognize that data is key to better understand trends and action areas, more and more analytics tools are being developed with utilize data to its fullest potential. What that means is, “we … happen to have some overlapping analytics products,” said Gustafson. “So be it, but that scenario means that we have to work extra hard to make sure that our products stand up in the market against others who have really good products as well.”

This friendly competition drives innovation and outside-the-box thinking that can lead to even better products that are actively helping customers.

“We’re all in it for the greater good. We’re all in to get the data to the right place accurately,” said Piacentino. “There’s a benefit to pooling those resources [outside your organization] and being able to leverage that technology across our book of business, as opposed to trying to create separate silos amongst our different business partners. Working together, you just come out with better product.”

The panelists agreed that having competition is the best way to continue to push to do better; it isn’t about putting out a product just to have it, but rather it’s about creating something that holds up to the standards of the competitors — all with the goal of serving customers and stakeholders, faster, smarter, and well-done.

“It makes for a better relationship and and an opportunity to learn what some of your competitors are doing, and learn from it and for yourself. If you’re implementing with someone while they’re doing this, maybe we should look to do this so that the next implementation will be easier and ultimately make our product easier to sell. Because the better you make your product, the more success you’ll have at it,” said Jackson.

Leading to Innovation and Opportunity

One thing the panelists made clear was that collaboration doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of innovation or that all products will be exactly the same. Collaboration leads to a certain layer of flexibility in innovation.

“Sameness isn’t as important as having it [be] flexible, that it can be interpreted,” said Piacentino. “Systems are so sophisticated now, so you can have multiple ways of doing things. So that sameness, I think we’re going to see in the next couple of years change, because [the tech] can take in multiple file types to understand, [while another competitor] can build in three different ways … and it’s all working toward the same goal. And I think technology is going to change standards in a way that whatever works for your company, you will be able to do, and you don’t have to necessarily completely conform to precisely any one claim systems, policy system, so long as at the end of the day, you can get it over a standard of expectation.”

Essentially, the panel agreed, having flexible systems and working together for the common goal enables individual organizations to develop better products, opening the door for innovations and opportunities they may not have found siloed on their own.

Robyn Jackson, vice president, claims, MEMIC

“You know, 10 years ago, if I was looking for a solution for my rating bureau reporting, we would have looked at our claim system and figured out, how can we internally build a solution, as opposed to going to our software vendor and saying, ‘Hey, we need to do this,’ ” said Jackson. Now, she said, “we [can] bring in our our vendor partner, then we bring in the rating bureau. We all sit at the table, we collaborate for a solution, and now we’re not carrying the full weight of that on our own.

“We have clearly defined goals and multiple resources and expertise at the table, as opposed to trying to define that internally by ourselves. It saves time, it saves money. It gives you a product that can be sustainable and can be resilient in an environment where technology is changing quicker than we can develop it,” Jackson added.

Future of Collaborative Partnerships

As technology continues to advance, and things like generative AI are introduced more frequently into the mix, the panel believes collaboration is going to become the norm.

Gustafson said AI is one area to keep an eye on: “AI, both generative and traditional, will fundamentally, irrevocably alter the way we think about delivering insurance. And two, there is absolutely an AI bubble,” he said.

“AI is completely transformational. We think that is unavoidable … We also think that it will happen far more slowly and far more gradually and far less, sort of, galactically exciting as some people will say,” he added, noting that insurance is very complex and highly regulated industry. But he reiterated that it’s not something to ignore and should be embraced in terms of creating deeper, better partnerships in the future.

“Certainly with technology today, with regulations changing more than maybe 15 to 20, years ago, we’re not quite as stable,” added Jackson. “Regulations change. Having … flexibility in our technology is vital to our success.” &