MGA : TPA
The dangers around personal data for insurers As the insurance industry migrates onto new technology , it needs to constantly assess its vulnerabilities . If a new platform exposes an insurer to fraudsters , it is clearly more of a liability than an asset . Throw into that mix a growing number of partnerships , acquisitions and integrations within the sector and you begin to see the extent and nature of risk that insurers face .
“ One of the biggest concerns in the insurance sector when it comes to using data is how widespread party sales functions are ,” says independent data consultant Caroline Carruthers , who was one of
“ Consumers understand the value of their data and believe its privacy should be protected , but this doesn ’ t mean they ’ re unwilling to share their information ”
JOE DIAMOND VICE PRESIDENT , PRODUCT STRATEGY - EMEA , OKTA
the UK ’ s first Chief Data Officers at Network
Rail and now advises public and private organisations on their use of data .
“ Agents who sell insurance often use third-party data , and they don ’ t always have a robust process for how data is transferred to each organisation . That in itself is a foundation-level issue because if you can ’ t rely on consistent , quality data coming to you , and you can ’ t rely on consistent governance and security of that data , you ’ re approaching data transformation with your hands and feet tied .
“ Any transfer of data between two different systems has an element of risk . Thankfully , most insurance companies have moved on from manual data entry , which poses the highest risk , but not enough companies have standardised how they transfer and store data across third parties . If you ’ ve paid for a lot of data from external sources , you need to be able to use it to drive value instead of being hampered by poor processes .”
Are consumers still willing to share their data with insurers ? Despite the high stakes , consumers don ’ t seem to be put off from sharing their data with insurers