Blog

The following is based on the RGAX blog post, 8 Imperatives for Managing an Open Innovation Project.

I’m often asked what lessons I’ve learned about how to manage an open innovation project. Bringing together multiple organizations to achieve a common goal is daunting. But industry challenges, such as insurance contracting and compliance, are ripe for open innovation and are often the most easy to spot. These are the issues that constantly dominate discussions at conferences and events, as everyone is trying to find a solution.

I recently convinced a friend to join me on a 3-day hike across the Trans Catalina Trail in California. After 2 years of building and launching APEXA I was ready to escape civilization and take on a different kind of challenge. This was no guided day hike. We’re talking on our own, everything on our backs for 27 miles and 1600’ elevation shifts. Luckily my friend was too busy to research what she was in for and booked a ticket on a whim. I knew that she had the fitness and mindset to conquer the hike, so I skipped further warnings. When the ferry approached the island and she saw the height of the mountains she turned to me, wide-eyed and said, “We’re going around those right?” I just smiled.

In October, I participated in a panel discussion at the CLHIA Legal Section Annual Meeting in Winnipeg with Erica Hiemstra, AVP Distribution CLHIA and Sean Noguera, AVP Market Conduct GWL. A topic of our discussion was the CLHIA policy paper on Advisor oversight, published in June 2017.

Earlier this year I was asked to speak at a conference on the topic of Attracting and Retaining Staff. Now, anyone who knows me would say that when I present at a conference, I like to feel passionate about the topic and to leave the audience with something different to think about. So after many hours of mind-cleansing time on my bike, I came to the conclusion that focusing on attracting and retaining staff is only half of the story. To truly drive organizational success, leaders need to sharpen their focus on attracting and retaining the ‘right’ staff and then cultivating an environment that maximizes employee engagement. I know what you are thinking, no earth shattering message there, but stay with me. 

Version Francaise

One of the key challenges for the Canadian Life Insurance Industry is to ensure compliance can be fairly and uniformly applied, regardless of the size of the MGA and/or Carrier. Among many of APEXA’s goals is to give every advisor, MGA, and Carrier in Canada the opportunity to uniformly apply consistent practices when it comes to advisor screening, monitoring, and compliance. This will not only increase efficiencies but will also promote collaboration across the industry

One of the movements we’ve seen recently to help reduce the burden of contracting and compliance for life and health insurance advisors is that of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Industry Association (CLHIA).

APEXA began in 2012 as a conceptual framework for streamlining and standardizing the contracting and compliance functions for Canadian Life and Health Insurance Advisors. Through the commitment of a group of MGA’s and Carriers, APEXA has grown from concept to a solution and now we are launching an industry-wide platform for the Canadian Life Insurance Industry.