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As we head into the next decade, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the year in review and the opportunities ahead. I'm a technology entrepreneur, so I'm looking at the industry through this lens, and I'm pretty excited about what the future may hold.
(Related: Technology Is Not the Enemy. It's an Enabler)
For agents, in particular, I believe 2020 is the start of an exciting journey fueled by a strong economy and enabled by technology.
The pace of change is so fast that what seems likely today could be different tomorrow, but I think there are four trends that will stand the test of time.
1. People continue to move centerstage.
A big industry trend in 2020 will be the continued movement to centralize insurance around people -consumers, of course, but also agents. Insurance agents play a vital role in helping families ensure financial security and cannot be replaced by technology -but technology will help agents serve more consumers, and attract new talent to the cause.
The need to modernize and streamline distribution is well understood and empowering agents with digital tools and service offerings is a great investment opportunity. Consumer buying habits have changed and we'll continue to see growth in direct-to-consumer sales, but not to the exclusion of advisors. Moreover, the ability to provide a modern advisor experience will help our aging industry recruit new talent.
We're also experiencing a major change from the industry's traditional product-centric approach to delivering new consumer-centric solutions. It has been slowing going but the pace is picking up as we enter 2020. Chances are the digital channels have already impacted how you interact with customers, but over the next few years, many agents will experience significant changes to daily workflows as well.
Advanced analytics will help identify propensity to purchase based on consumer behavioral data and dispatch leads accordingly. Data gathered by the IoT, from wearables to connected autos, will add to and enrich our understanding of our customers and provide the foundation for individualized policies. Automation will streamline time-intensive processes so agents can focus on serving customers.
It's clear that the insurance industry realizes that people matter more now than ever, and I expect that this will reinvigorate agents and consumers alike.
2. M&A and partnership activity will Increase.
A Deloitte survey of 200+ C-Suite insurance executives found that 73% believe that mergers and acquisitions will drive at least 50% of the industry's growth over the next five years. This activity is expected to help insurers compete in the rapidly changing digital world.
Ian Jeffrey is the chief executive officer of 
