This article is part of our insurance innovators interview series.
- Stanley A. Galanski, President and CEO, The Navigators Group, Inc.
- Mark E. Watson III, President and Chief Executive Officer, Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd.
- Kevin H. Kelley, Chief Executive Officer, Ironshore Inc.
- John Wurzler, President, OneBeacon Technology Insurance
- Alan B. Colberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant, Inc.
- Manny Rios, President and CEO, American Modern Insurance Group
- Dave Pratt, General Manager, Usage-Based Insurance, Progressive
- Berto Sciolla, EVP and Manager of North American Treaty Reinsurance,Gen Re
- Greg Hendrick, Chief Executive, Insurance, XL Catlin
- Anand Rao, Principal, PwC U.S. Advisory Practice
- Mike McGavick, Chief Executive Officer, XL Catlin
- David M. Lightfoot, Managing Director, Head of GC Analytics – Americas, Guy Carpenter
- Conan Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton USA
- Ming Lee, Chief Executive Officer, AIR Worldwide
- Laura Hay, National Insurance Sector Leader, KPMG LLP
- John Lupica, Vice Chairman, ACE Group; Chairman, Insurance–North America
Q1: In your view, what has been the greatest innovation in the P/C insurance industry in recent years? Explain.
Pratt (Progressive): One of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in our industry over the past decade is the emergence of usage-based insurance. It’s changing how carriers price and how consumers think about auto insurance.
We’ve found actual driving to be more than twice as predictive of future losses than other nondriving variables traditionally used to price insurance.
We’ve advanced our usage-based program, Snapshot, as the technology itself has advanced. What once used a large piece of equipment that required a mechanic to install has evolved into a small, pocket-sized device that plugs into a car’s on-board diagnostic port, transmitting driving information to us via cellphone technology.
We’ve collected more than 12 billion miles of driving data through our Snapshot program, and we’re able to provide consumers with fairer, more accurate prices based on how they actually drive.
Q4: Describe one or more ways in which your company encourages innovation. (Feel free to describe any elements of the culture or process.)
Pratt (Progressive): Progressive is a test-and-learn culture, and over the years we’ve developed a number of programs to help foster innovation among our employees. One example is our Business Innovation Garage (BIG).
BIG provides Progressive with an internal “lab” to test and learn in such a highly regulated environment like the insurance industry.
Read more Innovation Insights by Person:
- Stanley A. Galanski, President and CEO, The Navigators Group, Inc.
- Mark E. Watson III, President and Chief Executive Officer, Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd.
- Kevin H. Kelley, Chief Executive Officer, Ironshore Inc.
- John Wurzler, President, OneBeacon Technology Insurance
- Alan B. Colberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Assurant, Inc.
- Manny Rios, President and CEO, American Modern Insurance Group
- Dave Pratt, General Manager, Usage-Based Insurance, Progressive
- Berto Sciolla, EVP and Manager of North American Treaty Reinsurance,Gen Re
- Greg Hendrick, Chief Executive, Insurance, XL Catlin
- Anand Rao, Principal, PwC U.S. Advisory Practice
- Mike McGavick, Chief Executive Officer, XL Catlin
- David M. Lightfoot, Managing Director, Head of GC Analytics – Americas, Guy Carpenter
- Conan Ward, Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton USA
- Ming Lee, Chief Executive Officer, AIR Worldwide
- Laura Hay, National Insurance Sector Leader, KPMG LLP
- John Lupica, Vice Chairman, ACE Group; Chairman, Insurance–North America
Read other innovator’s response by question:
- Q1: The greatest innovation in the P/C insurance industry
- Q2: Describe the greatest innovation at your company
- Q3: Innovation or innovator outside the insurance industry
- Q4: How your company encourages innovation
- Q5: The biggest obstacle to innovation within the insurance industry?
- Q6: The next innovation to impact the P/C insurance industry
- Q7: Your role in leading innovation.
- Q8: Best book you have read about innovation
- Q9: Describe a failed initiative at your company
- Q10: Collaborating with market competitors
- Q11: Can P/C insurers disrupt other industries?
Get all 16 interview neatly packaged in a single PDF download. Explore ideas by personality and by question. More than 60 pages of content.