DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Sean Russell , Senior Data Governance Consultant at DTSQUARED , sees this double-edged sword as a great opportunity , albeit weighted in responsibility . He says the race is on to be among the first to capitalise on the potential for insights into customers , markets , and products . However , he points out , “ It also means there are new regulatory requirements to consider , especially in the ESG , Privacy , Security and Ethics spaces . Most importantly , it means that insurance businesses will need to see data as an asset and manage that data effectively .”
The change that insurers are facing in terms of managing these assets , should not be understated though , as more regulatory safeguards will need to be issued .
Real-time insights for a faster world Lorenz Graff , CEO , and co-founder of bsurance , says while insurers are used to the process of data collection , the future presents them with high-resolution data sources in real-time .
" Of course , insurers have been collecting data and using it for years – but it has been limited . Take , for example , a standard consumer risk assessment and evaluation . Hereby , the onus is on the intuition and expertise of the underwriter , whereby the price and potential risk is informed by the most basic of data such as the policyholder ’ s age , address , occupation .
" But this is changing – and fast . Combined with the latest advances in computing power , the processing and analysis of this data when combined with internal material offers invaluable insights needed to inform better decision making in product development , distribution , marketing , and sales .”
Graff cites customer profiling as a prime example of the way data can be used , even though real-life contact with the customer is minimal . " Through the rich intel provided by social media and telematics , insurers are able to build 360-degree views of consumers and use real-time monitoring to track their habits . This data can prove invaluable in learning more about the customer to enhance existing solutions and even identify cross-selling opportunities – say , where the same demographic of customer is likely to purchase life and household insurance in close proximity .”
66 March 2022