For years, insurance companies have used external data, in or near real time, combined with internal data and powerful analytics to help them evaluate and determine the appropriate tier and rate for policy applicants. This has allowed insurers to quickly and accurately segment risks, using the most current information available about the prospective risk, generally real time, with the customer online, or on the phone.

The leverage provided by this use of technology in underwriting has also allowed insurers to dramatically redefine and improve their processes. Not only has the overall rate-quote cycle time been dramatically reduced, which benefits the consumer and allows the insurer much higher throughput, but the quantity and quality of data obtained in the process has improved, allowing further refinement of risk and segmentation of pricing in an ongoing continuous loop of process improvement.

Claims organizations generally do not use multiple data sources and analytics engines as regular tools when triaging an initial loss report, or throughout other points in the claim lifecycle. When claims does obtain and use data outside of the claims system, it is generally point-in-time information.

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