Chairperson’s Corner: 2023 Welcome and Strategic Themes

By Manisha Dias

NewsDirect, May 2023

And with that, the 2022 season has come to an end. For our existing members—thank you for your continued membership with us, and to our new members, welcome!

2022 went quickly for all, but we were grateful to deliver across our single centralized theme of Emerging Trends in Product and Distribution through our webcasts, newsletters, and podcasts. We had diverse discussions on building digital platforms (with InsurTechs, Carriers, and Reinsurers), developing and distributing products in the digital world, trends in distribution and marketing across different segments, agent channels and more. We continued to offer our Competiscan report service to members, and funded research projects we felt were aligned with our strategic purpose and would bring value to our membership.

We also felt grateful to connect in-person again with members at our first networking event since pre-pandemic, jointly hosted with the Product Development Section at the SOA Annual meeting.

Our Section Council composition this year has its highest diversity yet—deep Life Marketing & Distribution experience with a lens across InsurTech, technology, and consulting. Our Section Council is filled with energy and excitement to kick off the 2023 programming, building off a successful 2022.

Our strategic themes for 2023 are focused on the following three areas:

• Back to Basics: Key Life and Health Distribution Channels for 2023
  • Traditional
  • Emerging
  • Embedded Insurance
• Simplifying Product and Distribution
  • Ease of Sales and Seamless Customer Experience
  • Automated and Improved Underwriting
  • Product Design: Modularization and Simplification
• Marketing Differences by Generations (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z)
  • Best Methods and Approaches
  • Strategies to Connect and Engage
  • Attitude and Acceptance of Insurance
  • Protection Needs

These are continuously evolving topics and become increasingly relevant when marketing and distributing insurance in this digital age. We will be delivering on these through different mediums throughout the year, so keep an eye on our webpage for the latest updates. We will also be adding an additional Competiscan report quarterly to have rotating hot topics in addition to the base report.

Meet the Section Council and Volunteering

We are always looking to hear from our members, have new volunteers get involved with our content, and network together at industry events. Don’t hesitate to reach out and connect!

Section Council leadership: Manisha Dias, FSA, CERA, SPLP, RYT (chair), Christopher Siudzinski, FSA, MAAA (vice-chair), Erika Dochney (secretary), Vladimir Krepkiy, FSA, MAAA, FCIA (treasurer).
Section Council members: Matthew Wolf, Aneesha Deshpande, Art Lewis, Jim Lucas, Helen Duzhou.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Manisha Dias, FSA, FCIA, CERA, is the chair of the Marketing & Distribution Section Council. She is vice president, Strategic Partnerships at SCOR Life & Health. She can be contacted at mdias@scor.com.