Clearspeed believes trust is built most effectively through responsible technology deployment, balancing speed and security, and enabling risk assessment tools. Clearspeed’s inaugural Trust Faster Summit brought a diverse group of leaders, each with their perspective on what trust means to them and the large role it plays in shaping organizational success. The summit provided key insight into how organizations can better manage risks and foster trust to build a competitive advantage.
The tangible value of trust:
One of the strongest themes at the Trust Faster Summit was that trust is not just a value system but a strategic asset. Trust is often the foundation for success in relationships, whether in our personal or professional lives. For organizations, it’s the ‘license to operate’ with their customers - and with their employees. And trust is not just about believing that someone will do the right thing, it’s also about believing that the systems and processes in place will function as expected - it’s individual and structural.
Dr. Chitra Anand, a leadership and trust expert, emphasized that trust can be a “competitive differentiator” for organizations and that businesses that cultivate trust are more likely to succeed in the long run, especially in industries where innovation and speed are crucial. Dr. Anand also introduced her concept of the “Trust Trifecta,” of which the three pillars are humanity, reciprocity, and practice, and upon which trust must be built. For leaders, maintaining trust with customers and teams provides a solid foundation for more high-risk decisions and drives innovation.
The intersection of trust and risk:
Alex Martin, Clearspeed CEO and co-founder reinforced the connection between trust and risk by noting, “Leadership is the assumption of risk.” The level of trust in a system of relationships directly affects someone's willingness to take risks and, in an industry like insurance, risk is at the core of business. He also touched on how organizations must have trust in the systems, people, and data they rely on to make informed decisions. “You have to trust the people and systems that you work with, understanding that you're using that trust to step out into the world and take risks,” Martin added. His message for leaders is clear: to grow and innovate, leaders need to take risks, but those risks must be built on a foundation of trust. Without trust, there can be no meaningful progress.
Freaky Clown, an ethical hacker, summed up the concept succinctly: “You can't have a trust relationship if there is not a risk to trust.” Trust and risk are two sides of the same coin and as businesses scale, they have to trust in their systems, teams, and partners to take on new challenges. At the same time, they have to recognize the risks inherent in those relationships and take steps to manage them. Through his experiences infiltrating secure buildings and systems, Freaky Clown explained how blind trust can lead to devastating security breaches, proving that risk must always be managed.
Technology’s role in trust:
Kim Garland, an insurance industry thought leader and former president of State Auto, emphasized the intersection of trust and risk and underscored the role of technology in identifying trustworthiness, especially in an industry where fraud is very prevalent. Garland stated that insurance “has lost trust with consumers dramatically over time” mainly due to the difficulty in identifying trustworthy and non-trustworthy individuals within the existing system. He highlighted that while the current system is struggling with inefficiencies and fraud, which erodes trust, companies often avoid investigation due to high costs. Meanwhile, plaintiff attorneys take a big portion of (often inflated) settlements which drives up costs and leaves all insureds worse off. In auto insurance, uninsured motorists increase the pressure on law-abiding drivers who end up paying higher premiums to cover those who don’t follow the rules. Garland argues that the system is inefficient when it fails to penalize bad actors, which leads to increased premiums, and ultimately a loss of trust in an industry that should deliver reliable protection.
As the SVP of Product Strategy and Development at CSAA, Rick Lanter guides a team focused on driving both offensive and defensive strategies - those that help the insurer deliver value to their membership while also driving internal efficiencies. Lanter stressed the importance of being customer-centric and deploying capital in a way that's supportive of the needs of their membership. He believes that the past three years have been particularly hard for the industry, marked by a challenging underwriting cycle. He emphasized the innovative role technology can play in modernizing practices to target the best-fit customers and better identify and prevent fraudulent actors.
The human element in trust:
While technology and systems play a major role in building trust, the human element remains fundamental. Martin emphasized that “at the core, human nature is unchanged. Bad actors will be bad actors. But, when we bring technology and the belief that most people are good together, it can help us do something different.” While there will always be people who seek to exploit the system, the majority are acting in good faith. Practices should be designed to support this majority and deliver a better, streamlined experience for them. The challenge lies in identifying and streamlining good actors. This is essential to building and maintaining trust.
Practical strategies for building a culture of trust:
Building trust is an ongoing process and as Martin stated, “every action that you take has a trust event that occurs with it,” meaning that organizations need to approach every interaction with customers, employees, or partners through the lens of trust. Dr. Anand reinforced this idea with her suggestion of making trust a continuous practice within organizations, something that requires intentionality and consistency.
Garland added, “If you want the trust to be of value, what you have to do is keep out non-trustworthy actors… who extract value, cost, from whatever system they are participating in. So, trustworthy people lose because of the untrustworthy people who are allowed into the system.” In insurance, this means investing time in removing bad actors and establishing a trusted ecosystem where companies and consumers uphold integrity so that they can offer lower rates and more flexibility.
Closing thoughts:
The Trust Faster Summit at ITC Vegas was an engaging exploration of how effectively navigating the intersection of trust and risk can drive organizational success. Through a series of unique perspectives, the summit’s speakers made clear that companies that prioritize trust can build better relationships with customers, drive more efficient processes, create a more resilient book of business, foster an empowered employee culture - and create a competitive edge.
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