Agenda

08.30 Coffee and registration

09.30 Chairman’s welcome

09.45 Opening keynote address: A CEO’s view of technology

The role of technology within insurance companies has grown exponentially over the course of the last decade. The importance of IT in running every aspect of the business can no longer be ignored – so how is it viewed by those at the top? Do CEOs see technology as a necessary evil, or an exciting opportunity to create growth through strategic investment? And what do they expect of their CIOs?

Speaker: John O’Roarke, managing director, LV= General Insurance

10.15 Defining an aligned IT strategy to support and enhance your company’s business strategy

The evolving role of technology, and the CIO, in providing insurance services to the 21st Century customer
Developing relationships with the board to ensure strategic alignment and management buy in for technology projects
Ensuring that technology is flexible enough to evolve with the business’ strategy in response to feedback and market conditions
Implementing fit-for-purpose performance management technologies to connect frontline staff with the organisation’s strategic objectives
Gathering and managing data effectively so that all parties can see whether the strategy is on track

Speaker: Jem Eskenazi, chief information officer, Groupama Insurances

10.45 Innovation: why, when and how?

Constructing a process around innovation: where does the impetus come from and what happens next?
Working with other business functions to innovate collaboratively and ensure that all stakeholders and bought in
The foundations of innovation: understanding the constraints of the existing organisational and IT structure, and developing innovation within them
Delivering innovation smoothly and cost-effectively
What can insurance companies learn from the way other industries handle innovation?
Responding to innovations in the marketplace: minimising the impact of competitors’ innovation on your business

Speaker: Ambarish Mitra, head of innovation, Swiftcover.com and Axa Direct

11.15 Questions and comments

11.30 Coffee

12.00 Technology focus groups
Each of these streamed, interactive sessions will look in detail at a key technology, assessing the opportunities and threats it poses for the insurance sector specifically.

Cloud computing: what’s new, and will it work in a regulated environment?

Mark Masterson, innovation lead, CSC
Neil Trussler, chief technology officer, CSC Financial Services EMEA

Leveraging location based services to minimise cost and risk

Phil Ford, director of consulting, Metaskil

The Social Network: its impact to you and your business

Geoff Whitemore, director of infrastructure services, CGI

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Developing future IT leaders within your business through effective succession planning programmes

Conducting an IT skills audit: is your IT department fit for purpose? How well is technology supporting the business’ objectives?
What proportion of a CIO’s time should be devoted to technology, and how much to managing the team?
What skills will insurance IT professionals need in the future, and how can the industry find, secure and develop the best young talent?
How will offshoring impact the flow of home-grown IT talent into UK businesses, and should insurers be concerned?

Speaker: Gary Mason, director – systems development, Allianz UK

14.30 The outsourcing debate: evaluating its current and future potential for insurance businesses

What will outsourcing look like in the future, and what lessons should we be taking from the outsourcing projects of the past?
Sustainable sourcing strategies: knowing which tasks can be outsourced and which skills must be kept in house
Where can you outsource? Is offshoring always economically beneficial and culturally challenging?
Managing and monitoring an outsourced operation, and understanding the regulatory implications

Speaker: Craig Beattie, analyst, Celent

15.00 Closing keynote address: The future of insurance IT

What is the current state of technology enabled innovation in the insurance sector? How does this compare with other industry sectors, and what can be learned from them?
What are some of the key strategic forces impacting insurance companies today, and what technologies should you be considering over the next two years to adapt?
Scenarios for 2020 – how might technology developments over the next decade impact the insurance sector, and the wider business environment, by 2020. What opportunities will this create?

Speaker: Richard Burdge, chief marketing officer, Thunderhead

15.30 Questions, comments and chairman’s summary

15.45 Close of conference