Downey speaks to CSAA Insurance Group employees last month at their 2018 Strategy Summit. (Photo: CSAA Insurance Group)
For many students in high school and college, internships provide a glimpse of what's to come after they graduate. When Paula Downey was in high school, her internship all but confirmed her future in insurance.
A Michigan native, Downey was eligible to graduate by her junior year. At that time, however, early graduation wasn't an option. An assistant principal, realizing she could easily become disengaged with all her free time, got her an internship with AAA in their claims department.
"I absolutely loved that job. And the reason I loved it is I learned something about myself I didn't fully realize, which is how much I really enjoyed helping people," says Downey.
Downey loved it so much, she completed her undergraduate and graduate studies — from the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, respectively — while working at AAA. After receiving her bachelor's degree in accounting, AAA found her a job in the accounting department. Shortly after starting the job, however, Downey says she wanted to go back to claims because she missed that "direct connection to the customer."
Now, Downey is the president and CEO of CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA insurer.
The personal and professional balance
As many executives at the top know, you don't get there easily. Balancing the personal and professional on a day-to-day basis often determines their success.
"When we talk about balance, it's not just the balance of how you spend your time, but it's the balance of what we call — what I would call — head, heart and body," says Downey. She credits her success to her support system, exercise, her focus on priorities and how she uses her time.
With a finite amount of time each day, Downey strives to make the most of it. A significant amount of that is time is spent reflecting — whether it be on what's happening in the workplace; the marketplace; the communities the company strives to enhance; or making sure the organization is furthering its goals.
"I often begin each day with just writing down those priorities, even if they repeat every day for a while. I have to make progress every day toward those goals," says Downey. "As a CEO, and at the executive level, our priorities are around strategy, our culture, developing leaders and on execution. I think those are our four key priorities, and those priorities take time and thought and persistence."
The future of insurance
Our society is constantly changing before our eyes. As a result, the insurance industry must adapt in order to keep up. In the last 10 years, CSAA has invested more resources into its policy and claims platform and customer relations management, among others.
"We really are changing the business in order to make it more simple, proactive and personal, which is what consumers want from all businesses these days," remarks Downey.
In Downey's opinion, the insurance industry has two strategic imperatives: Continue to focus on core business and innovating for the future while also determining what the future of insurance companies will look like.
"I think the disruptive trends in the marketplace now are going to have a profound impact on the insurance business, including ours," says Downey.
Specifically, Downey cites the Internet of Things, a growing shared economy and autonomous driving as disruptors the insurance industry needs to keep in mind. Especially with autonomous driving, Downey believes it's a matter of when, and not if, it will happen.
Although autonomous driving may put a damper on the long-term future of the personal lines insurance space, Downey thinks the market still represents a great opportunity. It will be some time before autonomous vehicles fully phase out semi-autonomous and traditional vehicles, so until then, roads will likely be a mixed bag of the three — and therein lies the opportunity for insurers.
These are some of the items given out by CSAA to help in the wildfire relief efforts. (Photo: CSAA Insurance Group) More than car insurance
Because CSAA Insurance Group falls under AAA Insurance, it's easy to assume that its primary focus is auto. However, CSAA has provided homeowners insurance to AAA members in California for more than 40 years. After wildfires blazed through the Golden State in the last three months of 2017, CSAA has worked to help those affected by the fires.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones of California revealed that insurers have received nearly 45,000 insurance claims totaling more than $11.79 billion in losses from the wildfires. CSAA has successfully concluded more than 2,000 homeowners' wildfire claims and donated $100,000 to local community groups and agencies providing assistance, including the American Red Cross, the Latino Community Foundation, the Napa Community Foundation, The Community Foundation of Mendocino County, and The Community Foundation of Sonoma County.
With Downey at the helm, CSAA continues to do what she thinks insurance is all about: helping people.
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