There’s a lot of noise right now around technology in the insurance space. New tools are emerging quickly. Many promise to transform how brokers work.
TPG’s Commercial team is paying attention. But instead of chasing every new tool, they focus on those with real impact.
“Innovation obviously has to be at the forefront,” says Craig Pankow, Regional Market President & Exec Vice Pres Property/Casualty. “But you have to be careful what you’re selecting, how you’re vetting it, and what you’re doing to test it.”
That mindset shapes their process. New tools must solve real problems, not just offer novelty.
A simple standard drives decisions: outcomes must be worthwhile. Improvements in accuracy, efficiency, or client experience are required before adopting anything.
One example is policy review. Today, the team uses technology to compare issued policies with the original quotes, helping catch discrepancies faster and more consistently. As Craig puts it, it’s a much more efficient way to work through what used to require hand-reviewing 100+ page policies.
That focus on accuracy delivers clear benefits by reducing surprises, giving clients greater confidence in their coverage. The greater challenge is focus. With so many tools, filtering is as important as evaluating.
The team starts by narrowing the field through BrokerTech Ventures. This helps eliminate much of the early noise. From there, they take a closer look at a short list by reviewing demos and meeting with vendors, and evaluating the companies behind the tools. Long-term stability is part of that conversation. Still, nothing rolls out immediately. Tools are tested in real workflows by internal power users to catch issues early.
“We don’t want to implement anything without feeling like we’ve had the chance to really dig into it,” Craig says. This step shows the tool’s daily performance and allows adjustment or withdrawal before wide use.
They also weigh the cost of change. Even the right solution causes short-term disruption, and that’s taken into account.
“Anytime you’re doing something like that, there is disruption,” Craig says. “You have to make sure the benefit outweighs the pain of getting there.” In practice, they carefully time rollouts to ensure progress doesn’t come at the expense of consistency for clients.
You can see this balance most clearly in claims work. Technology helps the team quickly compare a claim to a policy and flag potential issues. From there, the work shifts back to people. Advisors review the details and, when needed, bring in additional expertise, including in-house professionals and a coverage attorney on retainer, to dig deeper into complex situations and support client advocacy.
Technology helps surface information, but it’s one part of the process.
That same level of care shows up in how they think about data. Protecting client information is a constant consideration that shapes where and how tools are used. The team relies on controlled systems, supported by audits, checklists, and regular process reviews.
Even as tools evolve, one expectation stays the same: The work still needs a human perspective.
“We want to make sure there’s a human touch,” Craig says. “The human anticipation of a problem.” Experience and judgment are key. Technology surfaces information, but interpretation and action stay with the team.
Looking ahead, the pace of changing technology is only going to increase. The Commercial team expects this, so they continue to explore new solutions using their established approach: careful review, rigorous testing, and steady evaluation, always centered on what works for clients.
