From Stone Tablets to Satellites

Barry Rabkin's "Stone Tablets to Satellites" is an absolute must read for P&C insurance professionals, technology companies and experts who aim to support or provide solutions to Property & Casualty insurance carriers. Insurance is one of the most mature industries in the world. We all know the universe of insurance commerce has been becoming more digital for decades. Mr. Rabkin brings his 40 years of insurance industry experience and expertly dives deeply into this shift in insurance commerce from face-to-face interaction to augmented/virtual reality. He educates, outlines and brilliantly identifies challenges and solutions for all of us who work in this highly developed industry to consider and think about. Insurance is not a commodity nor is it Netflix or Amazon and Mr. Rabkin masterfully shapes the reasons why this is so.

If you are an insurance producer, corporate executive, chief claims officer, chief underwriter, claims manager, chief actuary, sales or marketing leader, claim representative, investigator or adjuster and even an agent in this wonderful business of insurance you need to study this book—it will help make you better at your job, expand your understanding of this industry and will assist you in positioning your company to serve your valuable customers now and in the future—for without them we are nothing. If you are a technology professional (inside or out of an insurer), this book will aid you in supporting and guiding insurance incumbents and new insurance carriers along the path of serving their customers and protecting customer risks in more and better ways and to be able help them position their company to do it now and forever. Finally, if you just love P&C insurance and want to have success in this industry, I recommend you read this book more than once!

This book dismantles the belief that insurance is boring. Barry weaves historical references to an in-depth discussion on the structures, business models, processes, and opportunities in the insurance industry - just enough that you don't get sidetracked, but enough to realize that the business of insurance is foundational and sustainable, transforming as needed through time. Barry communicates the everlasting truths of the business, chief of which is that this is a customer-centric business.

Digital technologies continue to mature as the eras of technology (well described in the book) continue to unfold. There is no way to avoid such unfolding. The insurance business strategist is advised to be part of the unfolding, but always keeping in mind the everlasting truths of insurance.

Barry Rabkin's entire career has prepared him to write this book. He provides an insightful and well-articulated journey for both the insurance veteran and the novice, (the) lessons apply equally, as they envision how to deliver long term value to the modern customer and a continuous path-to-profit to the insurer while navigating a fast-evolving risk landscape. A "how to" must read for anyone exploring (or contemplating) a transformation of the insurance industry

I think Barry has taken an innovative look at the insurance industry and the title sums up the relationship the industry has with technology. It was interesting that he pointed out how many carriers still employ the use of mainframes.

I have been in the business since 1977 and he is correct in pointing out that carriers, and to a lesser degree agencies, have been slow to adopt new technologies but it has gotten better. His estimate at the end of the book (10 to 15 years) is probably not too far off.

Barry suggests on several occasions that insurance is not a commodity, which echoes what Bill Wilson and others have been saying for decades. I know it is probably beyond the scope of the book but how do we as an industry address the policyholder education issue? The industry advertises "price, price, price" but in fact there are differences in coverages (no commodity). Like I learned a long time ago, you get what you pay for. Here's an illustration of this idea.

If you want to take your spouse out to a nice dinner to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, you can go to a fancy restaurant or a fast food establishment. Both options will "feed" you but the fast food restaurant will cost much less. However, the quality will be much less (hopefully) with the second alternative.

This same concept applies to insurance policies as well. You can save money but are you getting the type of policy you need? Perhaps there is technology that can help individuals and businesses determine what they need without talking to a qualified agent but if there is, I haven't heard of it. I use the term "qualified" to mean someone who knows what he or she is doing. Unfortunately, there is a population of producers who could use some additional training on what is or what is not covered by insurance policies.

In a world dominated by subject matter experts like Wikipedia and InformationWeek, it is refreshing to find a classic and professional chronicler plying his trade. Barry Rabkin's passion and a deep-seated understanding of the infrastructure and dynamics of the tangible and intangible components of the insurance consortia are well documented. His appreciation of the industry's clients (past, present and likely future) are on full display in "Stone Tablets to Satellites" as he undertakes a journey befitting his robust and analytical career.

Beginning with a recognition that sounds eerily like my early dating experience, chronicler Rabkin delves into the ongoing conundrum of "intimacy and awkwardness." Unlike my dating, Barry is focused on an industry confronted by the realities presented by technology and its interactions with the many constituencies which comprise the insurance universe. Perhaps at its core, Barry exposes the simple and coincidentally confusing idiosyncrasies that human nature presents to what is essentially a financial transaction from the perspective of many sub cultures in the insurance consortia.

With that foundation in place, a bounty of business models are explored which provide a lens for Barry's deconstruction of strategies and tactics which are currently employed by that insurance universe. A refraining theme appears in the distance...the awkwardness with which the industry's sub cultures live and interact in an ever changing "ecosystem." Compounding the challenge presented, emerging technologies which sweep through the entire ecosystem confront all entities within it... no exclusions. Embracing the ever-changing technological elements and marrying them to the similarly changing infrastructure and soft elements of that universe is not in Barry's view a linear or easily extrapolated proposition.

Finally, Barry's journey takes the reader to a place where the real work begins...a framework upon which to begin the construct of a future state that enables the realization of a relationship that exudes simplicity and satisfaction for all parties juxtaposed to its underlying complexity. A "pipe dream?" Barry Rabkin thinks not. Simple to achieve? No. Conceivable? Yes. Attainable? Depends, or as Barry exudes, the "art of the possible" across a panoply of industry sub cultures.

In closing, Barry's message... "keep the intimacy, lose the awkwardness" does conjure memories of a famous line from "The Godfather" but it seriously notes (as Barry states) a very aspirational goal which in his view is both a noble and practical pursuit for those who share Barry's so well-informed views.

Not for the casual reader, "From Stone Tablets to Satellites" is an insightful read for those of us whose passion was and is the noble pursuit of this industry's best future.