Phil Jeynes, director of corporate strategy at protection adviser Reassured, said the Vitality boss' priorities were right but highlighted the risks which come with overly digitised services.
“I agree insurers need to think about tech as part of their distribution priorities, although digitising too much of the process can cause frustration of the 'computer says no' variety!" said Jeynes. "Human touch, where appropriate, is still vital for our relationships with insurers."
He continued: "Similarly, as more distributors of scale create their own digital sales channels, it’s vital that insurers are able to integrate seamlessly rather than plough their own furrow and become unable to collaborate.”
Sam Marriott, director of CSE Financial Services, reckons the human element is now "a back up tool", rather than a forefront factor.
"I would agree - the world we live in now is a complete time efficient one," said Marriott. "If an adviser can't get multiple quotes in 30 seconds, check pipeline in an instant, or upload, or challenge decisions without human interaction, advisers will go to those providers that will."
He concluded: "I think the human element will always play a part, but has now become a back up tool rather than the forefront."
But for Kathryn Knowles, managing director of Cura Financial Services, a human team is everything. "When I think of tech, I don't think of people, I think of systems that I cannot talk to," she said.
"I think the key thing is for insurers to ask advisers what they need to be fully supported and then to try and action as much of this as possible. The best service that we have is with insurer's that have team members that actively engage with us, check how things are going, are readily available."
'Inspiring' insurance
Whilst Taurog emphasised Vitality's investments in automation over the last year, he also cited the health business' use of "empathy" as a model for the firm's protection arm going forward.
"If someone's phoning in for a Cancer claim, we make sure someone is there showing empathy and taking them through that journey," said Taurog. "The feedback we get from customers is just incredible, based on the fact they've got someone they can trust through that time."
The insurer has also offered around 420,000 health assessments in total to customers so far in return for 'Vitality Points', picking up anything from high blood pressure to prostate cancer.
"If it hadn't been for the health assessment, it might have been three, four or five years before they really started seeing any symptoms."
When Taurog joined Vitality more than 13 years ago, he sat with insurance industry members who posed the question: 'Can an insurer be an inspirational brand?' The sector had - and has since - struggled to separate its association with the reminder of death and serious illness.
