When you serve as a director for five public companies and two dozen insurance technology service providers, you travel quite a bit. Sharing economy innovations have opened a world of new experiences that have made my trips over the past few years very memorable.Executive SummaryIt’s time for property/casualty insurers to take a broader view of the implications of the growth of a sharing economy. An important byproduct of the sharing economy—potential advocates sharing their opinions about brands—offers a new world of opportunity for commercial insurers, according to Dennis Chookaszian, the former chair and CEO of CNA. Here, he shares his enthusiasm for using shared assets from homes to cars to bikes, urging insurers to think more seriously about the overlooked marketing asset—their customers sharing opinions about insurance products and services.
Instead of standard hotel chains, where the rooms look similar in London or Chicago, you can now live in a foreign city like a local by using Airbnb. You can rent a whole house instead of just a room and meet interesting people at the same time.
When I need a rental car, I no longer use Hertz, Avis or Budget, the way I used to do. Why wait in a long line at the airport and then have to board a bus to a parking lot to find my vehicle? Instead, just have a Corvette delivered right to the curb at the airport. That’s what we did recently when my wife and I had to attend a wedding in Los Angeles. Better yet, how about a Lamborghini?
Inexpensive cars are options too when you use a service called Turo to rent somebody’s private car. You pay for it in advance and decide where and when to pick up the car—the owner’s house or maybe an airport arrival door—predetermining a time and place to return the car just as easily.