Sam Marsh, director of product management, UK and Ireland LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Insurance
Q. Sam, tell me about your role! What do you do, and what do you find most interesting about it?
A. In essence, I take the germ of an idea for a data product or solution and make it a reality. Every solution we offer at LexisNexis Risk Solutions has to tell an insurance provider something they don’t already know about a person or their asset – finding those nuggets of insights is what’s really interesting to me.
For example, right now I am working on the launch of LexisNexis® Precision Claims, our cross market contributory claims solution. This will enable contributing insurance providers to access a unique view of an individual’s home and motor claims history, as well as the claims history for the vehicle or property from one platform. They can then make more informed and more automated pricing decisions at point of quote, mid-term adjustment and renewal, and have the potential to speed up the claims process. Whilst the sharing of claims data is well established in the market, this next generation solution enables new use cases, and the granularity we offer brings something unique and valuable to the market. That’s really exciting!
Q. What are the challenges facing your business right now, and how are you working to overcome them?
A. The introduction of LexisNexis® Precision Claims completes the ‘data trinity’ of Quote, Policy and Claims data that we can share with the market. This presents a huge opportunity to discover new actionable insights to support our customers through the insurance lifecycle. Our challenge is to walk in our customer’s shoes – to understand the challenges the market faces now but also to anticipate the challenges that will come in the future. This means close collaboration with our customers, and in some cases, their data intelligence teams too. Many of our data innovations, not least our contributory data solutions, come from taking this more collaborative and consultative approach.
Q. If you could go back to the start of your professional career, what piece of advice would you give to yourself?
A. Don’t let minor details overwhelm you! As someone prone to worrying, I’ve likely spent excessive time fretting over matters beyond my control.
Q. What would be your prediction for the industry in 2024 and beyond?
A. Insurance providers will embrace cross market granular claims data to support better outcomes for customers in pricing through to claim, as I’m really excited about the milestones we’ve reached in onboarding customers’ data to our Motor and Home claims databases. We’re currently in the early stages of engagement with major players in the travel insurance market, learning about the opportunity for expansion into travel claims to solve increasing fraud challenges. That’s definitely one to watch!
Q. What made you want to work in this industry?
A. My Dad had a lifelong career in insurance, which is why I started my Product Management career in engineering! However, several years after I moved into financial services data enrichment solutions, I took the opportunity to work for the start-up Insurance Initiatives Ltd (IIL), which was set to disrupt the UK insurance industry and was ultimately acquired by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The diverse range of challenges the industry faces (and the opportunities that arise as a result) keep innovation at the top of our agenda at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and that’s what keeps the day job interesting. My role in product management exposes me to those opportunities – whether that’s from changes in vehicle technology, the impacts of climate change, the societal impacts of under-insurance, or increased regulation.
Q. Thus far, what has been your most significant or proudest achievement in your current or previous roles?
A. Earning the CEOs ‘Distinguished Contributor Award’ off the back of a successful new product launch. I am particularly proud that I am the first international employee within the insurance business to win this award.
Q. How would you like to see the insurance industry improved in the near future?
A. The market is always going to be faced with the challenge of public perception, even though many organisations are clearly highly customer-centric and continue to invest heavily in improving consumer outcomes. Identifying how data enrichment solutions can benefit society more widely is an area I’m passionate about, whether this is helping people mitigate their own risks or ensuring that individuals can access the cover they need.
For example, weather-related property claims are a growing problem. By using shared industry data to know more about prior claims as well as the perils risks for a property, insurance providers are in a great position to share information on the experience of flooding or subsidence with future property occupants – ensuring they have the cover they need, and perhaps taking action before costs escalate.
