Editorial Consultant

Pat Speer is an award-winning business journalist who has covered a spectrum of products and technologies that pertain to the insurance sector. With a 20-plus year career that includes an extensive background in business-to-business communications, Pat has held leadership positions in a number of trade publishing organizations and has reported on software systems and management issues that apply to companies of all sizes in a variety of vertical markets.

A business communications expert, Pat is the recipient of several business journalism awards, and during her career has led various teams to garner more than 15 American Society of Business Publication Editors awards for editorial and design excellence. She is the founder of Insurance Networking News’ popular INNovators program, the Vanguards in Insurance Practices Awards and INN’s Women in Insurance Leadership Program. A frequent speaker at industry events, she is a regular contributor to various Insurance Accounting and Systems Association’s (IASA’s) communications, has served as a judge for IASA's Technology Achievement Award and has anchored INN's video newscasts for both IASA and ACORD. Pat graduated magna cum laude from North Central College in Naperville, IL with a degree in Organizational Communications.

Industry's Image Fix Must Come From the Top
March 7, 2013 After a couple weeks of online dialogue regarding the industry's image problems, a solution may be emerging.

Does Anybody Know How to Fix the Industry's Image Problem?
February 21, 2013 Insurance is being considered an investment, which leads to consumers making poor decisions.

Maintaining an Environment Employees Want to Work In
February 5, 2013 Being in the one of the world’s largest industries, insurers face many challenges yet still have an obligation to create...

Adopting Tenets of Art to Tackle the Business/IT Challenge
January 9, 2013 Insurance business and IT teams share common traits not unlike those of artists, but can they adopt an artist’s mindset...

Insurers Should Awaken to Claims Analytics Possibilities
December 27, 2012 Applying entity analytics to claims detection and prevention is a proven way to outsmart the fraudsters.

Insurers Experimenting with Customer Engagement Methods
December 11, 2012 Health insurers, in particular, are finding innovative ways to engage their customers, keep them healthy and build brand in...

Distribution Channels and Growth: Finding the Logical Mix
November 26, 2012 Of the myriad technologies that engage and empower the distribution network, it’s strategic, not transactional,...

Can Insurers Learn from the Winning Campaign's Data-driven Ground Game?
November 9, 2012 Many insurers see the value in leveraging data and predictive analytics to improve a variety of objectives and outcomes; for...

Going Green Isn’t Just About Paper
November 1, 2012 Project managers need to remember that moving to a paperless environment is about changing how people work, how they rely on...

An Exciting and Intimidating Future for Insurers
October 16, 2012 In the mobile business space, insurers must play by the rules consumers dictate.