Change: ‘Gradually, Then Suddenly’

The phrase “gradually, then suddenly” comes from Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” when Mike Campbell is asked how he went bankrupt.

“Two ways,” he answers. “Gradually, then suddenly.”

These simple but profound words also apply to changes in the insurance claims IT industry over the last few decades, and to how today’s insurance industry leaders need to be thinking and acting to avoid the “suddenly” outcome.

The insurance claims process has changed enormously since 1980s.

Back then, it was stubbornly long and involved many phone calls and messages, dozens of hours of effort, numerous different insurance staff, field appraisers, desk adjusters and managers, hundreds of local claims offices, rooms full of mail, mountains of paper, cavernous file storage facilities and a great deal of time and frustration for everyone involved.