“What does disruption mean to you?" Elevate opening keynote speaker Shawn Kanungo asked virtual attendees at Elevate Part Two: Data yesterday, July 21.

Answers included “interruption," “breaking a pattern," and “changing direction."

“To me, ultimately, disruption is an opportunity," Kanungo said. “I believe this pandemic is an opportunity for us to reimagine what insurance looks like."

The keynote presentation, Strategy in a World of Disruption, from Kanungo, acclaimed speaker and disruption strategist at Queen & Rook, covered future skills needed in the industry, the paradox of data, consumer expectations, the business of insurance, and how to “dent the outside"—how to disrupt ourselves. The presentation launched the fast-paced, half-day second installment in the Elevate Trilogy, presented by the Big “I" and Agency Nation. It is available for all conference registrants to view now on demand. You won't want to miss this very unique and insightful presentation that will change the way you think about disruption and innovation in business.

Next on the agenda for participants was the chance to lunch with experts: a choice between three Lunch & Learn sessions.

In one lunchtime session, Data and InsurTech: Separating the Reality from the Hype, Vertafore CEO Amy Zupon sat down with Big “I" President & CEO Bob Rusbuldt in an informal and candid discussion on the data and tech issues facing the independent agency channel.

“Ten years ago—five years ago—it was just about aggregating data whether it was clean or not," Rusbuldt said as he and Zupon discussed the importance of actionable data to improve customer experience and team efficiency. “Just having a lot of data doesn't mean anything unless it's clean data. And I think a lot of agencies are learning that."

Additionally, Agency Nation Un-conference-goers had the choice of diving into three afternoon sessions, each hosted by a stellar roundup of industry leaders. A workbook with takeaways from all three workshop sessions is available for registrants to download on the event platform site.

In Cybercrime: What Every Insurance Broker/Agent Needs to Know About Keeping Their Family and Clients Safe, retired supervisory special agent Scott Augenbaum shared what he learned in his 30 years with the FBI. Spending the majority of his career handling cybercrime investigations, Augenbaum discovered that most of the crimes could have been prevented if the end-users were only aware of a few key pieces of information.

“Are you, your family and your clients prepared or are you the next victim?" Augenbaum asked. “I had three decades with the FBI—I've heard it all. I've seen it all. I've had the opportunity to interview almost a thousand victims. And if you are not taking this thing seriously today, I'm just going to tell you: One click of a link in an email and the cybercriminals will destroy your life, your family's life."

Attendees learned Augenbaum's four truths about cybersecurity, tips and resources for preventing the most common forms of cyberattacks without buying new products, and a drill-down on ransomware in its recent forms. 

 The party rounded out with a happy hour hosted by the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois and the Young Agents of Illinois, including a virtual tour of the state, games, prizes and lots of entertainment—plus a special cocktail menu with downloadable recipes.

Want to know more? Watch everything you missed! Registrants can check out the recording of the sessions on demand on the Elevate conference event platform. The virtual conference was made possible with support from Vertafore (Platinum sponsor) and IVANS (Diamond sponsor). 

Sad to miss out? Stay tuned to the News & Views e-newsletter for registration details on Elevate Trilogy Part 3: Culture.

AnneMarie McPherson is IA news editor.