More than 3,800 insurance and technology enthusiasts gathered at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in October for the second annual InsureTech Connect Conference. In addition to insurance executives, the attendees included technology entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, management consultants, data scientists and state insurance regulators.

Immediately after the conference, Carrier Management shared some initial impressions in a column, InsureTech Connect Conference Highlights: Does Anyone Need a Toothbrush?

Two months later, we offer some afterthoughts in a top 10 countdown of takeaways on some the hottest topics discussed—from blockchain and P2P to Netflix and insurance distribution.

Read the observations related to each top 10 item by clicking on the topic title.

  1. Ganging Up on Blockchain. Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is getting a reputation as the most hyped technology, but peer-to-peer insurance isn’t far behind.
  2. Netflix vs. HBO. Drawing an analogy to media giants, attendees debated the question of who will win the race to insurance customers: incumbents or InsurTech startups?
  3. Language Lessons. As the industry embraces new technologies that could bring them closer to customers, a lingering language problem keeps them a world apart. Maybe it’s time to sell insurance and others services without ever using the word insurance, one conference attendee suggested.
  4. A Billion-Dollar Challenge. Facing the “when, not if” scenario of declining insurance revenues that will result from autonomous vehicles and on-demand driving, one traditional insurance company has turned the challenge of replacing $1 billion in revenue over the next 10 years as an organizational goal.
  5. Regarding Agents and Brokers: It’s Complicated. Does the digital insurer spell the end of agents and brokers?
  6. Want Fries with that Policy? Insurance customers may want or come to expect complementary products, even non-insurance products. (Maybe not French fries.)
  7. Next to What? Insurance customer experience is worse than ________. InsurTechs are filling in the blank.
  8. Legacy Liability. Insurers need to decide: Is technology a core competency or a bolt-on?
  9. Inside or Out. Insurtechs and traditional insurers offer differing views on the question of whether to use external resources to build and improve systems.
  10. The Year of AI? Unlike blockchain and P2P, AI lives up to the hype as it replaces the back offices of carriers.