Deloitte: Here's how insurers can bolster the value of data
Cultural changes are necessary to maintain data management as a competitive differentiator.
While data has been the insurance industry’s lifeblood since the first actuary was hired, many carriers are still struggling to refine their most basic raw material to produce more impactful insights and outcomes, research by Deloitte has found.
As summarized in my last article, many challenges are keeping insurers from realizing the full potential of their data and analytics initiatives. A report by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services identified a multitude of problematic issues, including:
- A fractured infrastructure making access to and sharing of data difficult.
- A shortage of higher-level specialists capable of maximizing the value of data.
- A lack of collaboration with operational leaders about how best to utilize all the data being collected by insurers directly as well as purchased from third parties.
While overcoming these and other organizational challenges should help raise an insurer’s data maturity level, cultural changes in attitude and approach are also likely necessary to establish and maintain data management as a competitive differentiator.
What factors determine an insurer’s data management maturity?
As seen in Figure 1 (below), maturity levels depend upon both strategic intent as well as expected outcome, with key differences not only in how data is treated but also in how it is generally put to use.
At first, those at the Explorer stage usually are simply looking to leverage data to improve risk assessment and pricing accuracy, as well as cut loss costs through improved claims management and fraud detection. These are all very important goals but have essentially become table stakes by now, so should therefore be considered minimum outcomes of data/analytics initiatives.
Insurers advancing to Stage 2 have fundamentally transitioned from defense to offense, counting on enhanced data management to generate revenue growth and expand market share, rather than just reduce risk and lower costs. These Adopters have begun to depend on analytics to determine what types of products to sell, which segments to target, and what channels and individual distributors to tap.
Reaching the peak of this three-stage maturity model likely entails more of a cultural transformation, with advanced analytics driving the vast majority of business decisions across the enterprise. To maintain momentum and spur greater innovation, such Pioneers should be continually investing not just in data and analytics as strategic assets, but in the people leveraging those assets to develop new types of coverage, platforms, and business models, with the bigger-picture goal of establishing and sustaining competitive differentiation.
How might insurers raise their data management maturity level?
A combination of phased actions to establish a more holistic data management and analytics strategy is likely called for, linking the two sides of the carrier’s organizational “brain” — technical systems and processes, versus attitudes and approaches of those executing the plan (see figure 2 below).
To start, making data more accessible and sharable among those in underwriting, claims, product development and marketing could free information currently trapped in siloed legacy systems. Many insurers have already laid the groundwork for more holistic data management by migrating to cloud platforms, but often have yet to enable interoperability among various functions, departments, and lines of business.
Since maintaining data quality was also identified in our survey as a top challenge, regular audits for data accuracy, timeliness, and relevance should also be implemented. This can be a particularly important consideration when buying information from the growing number of third-party providers, given that insurers don’t have direct control over data collection and validation.
To reach the highest maturity stage as Pioneers, attitudes and approaches toward data management will likely have to be altered as well, emphasizing greater collaboration. Our survey of data and analytics leaders found that while three-quarters of respondents understandably work “very closely” with IT and half do so with cybersecurity, only one in five works closely with those in product development, marketing, or distribution. Chief Data Officers and IT heads should be working hand in hand with such front-line individuals to embed analytics into their decision-making processes.
For instance, one insurer interviewed said their data science team was working with heads of distribution to pinpoint which retail agents might be more likely to market specific products based on prior selling behavior and territorial demographics. The carrier believes this data initiative could be especially helpful for intermediaries unfamiliar with their company’s complete inventory or those prospecting in new markets.
Meanwhile, more insurers should be emphasizing data awareness and analytical skills as core competencies beyond the data science and actuarial departments, taking steps to raise literacy levels and bolster such capabilities in training and recruitment. In addition, CDOs should seek to become more active contributors during discussions at the senior C-Suite level, providing advanced analytics to help determine long-term strategic goals or set investment and budget priorities.
Not long ago, data was commonly referred to as a commodity—dubbed “the new oil.” Going forward, insurers should be treating data as a strategic asset nurtured by ongoing investment to become their new sustainable energy source and perpetual growth engine. That commitment alone should help insurers raise their data management maturity level, which is likely to differentiate leaders from laggards in an increasingly analytics-driven industry.
For more details about Deloitte’s study on “How to walk the talk by treating insurer data as a strategic asset,” you may access our full report by clicking here. You can also register here to listen to Deloitte’s webcast on “Bolstering the value of data in insurance.”
Former NU Property & Casualty Editor in Chief Sam J. Friedman (samfriedman@deloitte.com) is insurance research leader at the Deloitte Center for Financial Services. These views are the authors’ own.
This piece is published with permission from Deloitte. See www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about Deloitte’s global network of member firms.
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