Insurance companies face uncertainties from multiple forces including nontraditional competitors, changing monetary policies and regulations, but none is more powerful than customers’ changing expectations.

Customers’ growing focus on self requires a newly elevated level of personalization in products and services. They expect high-quality, frictionless service. And their desire for end-to-end connection through technology and social media is another way that they are compelling insurers to change from the outside in.

So, how do leaders of an insurance company construct an organization that will flourish amid increasing complexities? The answer lies in strategies that redraw the boundaries of innovation and benchmarks for performance. Insurers are finding it essential to extend their culture and talent well beyond the traditional focus on risk. It is imperative to empower the right talent with an organizational design that puts the customer at the center of all conversations, accelerating product introductions with new capabilities. This collaborative framework requires talent that is accountable and capable of owning distributed decision-making authority at all levels for nimbleness and flexibility.