AUSTIN, Texas–You wouldn’t expect to find an agile organization inside a 90-year-old company in the stodgy insurance industry that’s headquartered in flyover country, but that’s exactly what its CEO said you’ll find.
Bob Trunzo speaking at PSCU Member Forum
Bob Trunzo, CEO of CUNA Mutual Group, told PSCU’s Member Forum here the company has undergone significant transformation internally to help credit unions better serve members, driven by the recognition “four people in a garage in Palo Alto are working to figure out how to beat credit unions.”
“The threat is real and significant, and we’ve got to address it head on,” said Trunzo, who has been CEO for the past five years and with the company for 15.
Trunzo shared that he had kept in mind an observation made by a mentor that “What separates the good leaders and CEOs is the ability to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future. That sounds easy, but is really, really hard. Each day we have to produce the numbers and do our jobs, we have a board to answer to, but you have to also plan and think about the future.”
A Digital Disruptor
As an example of having one foot in the future, Trunzo pointed to CUNA Mutual’s TruStage life insurance product, which has seen $12 billion in policies sold over the last 18 months, $2 billion of which was sold online.
“We are the leader in the space of simplified life insurance online,” said Trunzo. “It is the leading product in the life insurance industry on a digital basis. CBS MoneyLine called us a digital disruptor. What does that tell you about your members? It tells you they want it, when they want it, in the channel they want it. At the end of the day it is all about delivering the member experience on their terms.”
‘Frickin Expensive,’ But…
Noting technology is “frickin expensive,” he said the company has invested more than $100 million in digital platforms over the past three years.
According to Trunzo, 20-million Americans now have at least one TruStage product, the sales of which he credited to the trust members have in their credit unions.
Trunzo pointed to the majority of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck and the statistic showing most have less than $400 to deal with a financial emergency. What that means, he said, is for most people the proceeds of a life insurance policy are the most valuable asset they can pass along.
“Like you, we’re in the promise business, and you have to be around to fulfill those promises,” he said.
As the TruStage data indicate, increasingly fulfilling promises is being done digitally, according to Trunzo, saying the company is projecting that by 2021 70% of loans made will be digitally enabled.
Three Things to Keep in Mind
Trunzo urged credit unions to keep three things in mind to guide their digital journey:
- Take the measured risk. “You have to do it in transformation and in running your business. We’re not good at taking risks, especially in the insurance business. You have to make a decision. Highways are littered with dead squirrels that couldn’t make a decision.
- You’re going to fail. “There is no harm in failing, but if you fail, fail fast. We’ve written off venture investments already.”
- You have to employ agile technology. “The time frame for decision making is getting faster.” He said what was once a 13-day window on decisions on simplified life insurance products has now been reduced to six minutes.
“This journey is painful. There are times when you wonder if you are doing the right things and if the organization can get there,” he said. “So, you have to measure yourself and figure out if it is working?”
Other Points Made
Other points made by Trunzo:
- Diversity and Inclusiveness. “You have to have a diverse and inclusive culture. That’s not new to us, we started that years ago. What does an inclusive culture mean? I say you’ve got to bring your original, authentic self to work every day. We have to have a workforce that reflects the customers we serve. We need more leaders of color, more bilingual employees, and we need more Millennials.”
- Speaking of Millennials… Trunzo said he has heard from his own children that Millennials don’t want to work for an insurance company such as CUNA Mutual or a credit union. His response is that few employers can offer the kind of career value a credit union does.
- Diversity and Inclusiveness 2.0. Citing the famous credit union symbol, the 1923 Joe Stearn illustration of the Little Man Under the Umbrella, Trunzo said, “Today, the Little Man is a middle aged, African-American woman who is your member and wants a digital experience and wants to be able to do what she needs to do, when she needs it. She wants to be able to read about it and wants to see some comparison pricing, and a year from now will want to do her whole darn loan from her iPad.”
- Year-End Performance. Trunzo said CUNA Mutual will report for 2018 $4 billion in revenue, with $221 million in profit. “We’ve decided our strategy is to invest back into CUNA Mutual and invest back in the system and invest back in technology, and we love it. We think that ultimately it is going to change your member experience, enhance that member experience, and put us on par or ahead of other financial institutions trying to eat our lunch and take our lunch money. Never have I felt more confident about what we’re doing at CUNA Mutual than I do today, because we have made much of the cultural shift we needed to make.”