Mastering risk is at the heart of what insurance professionals do, enabling them to help consumers when it comes to protecting the things they own and the people they love, all while enabling communities to recover from disaster. Consumers across the UK got a very real sense of the value of insurance protection only recently, following storms Isha and Jocelyn[i].
In continuing to provide essential cover, the insurance profession is displaying extraordinary levels of agility and adaptation. Externally, regulatory pressures from industry bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are increasing the need for compliance. Meanwhile, other factors are changing the nature of risk, such as electric vehicles, more advanced car safety technology and the ongoing effects of climate change.
While the pace of change may appear daunting, data can be used for good to make sense of these complex scenarios and help navigate an ever-changing environment. By harnessing next-generation artificial intelligence and high-performing predictive analytics, it is possible to help insurance providers make better, faster decisions, enabling everything from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and prior claims and policy history, to perils risks and public records data integrated into insurer workflows.
In essence, data and analytics are helping insurers to create fair premium pricing, even finding opportunities to introduce pricing discounts in some cases.
Data technology is enabling another critical shift in the industry: a rethinking of the customer experience. Today’s consumers expect a seamless customer experience; if anything is clunky, they are likely to move elsewhere. By injecting data directly into the quote and claims process, the average consumer can obtain an online quote in minutes.
At the end of every decision made by an insurance professional lies an ultimate beneficiary, a person who is looking to their insurer to protect their hard-earned property. By covering large groups of people, insurance gives individuals more control over their lives and softens the blow when disaster strikes.
However, perhaps data’s biggest impact lies in the forging of a new relationship between insurance providers and their customers, one in which the consumer is an active partner in managing risk. With better data at their fingertips, consumers can take steps to reduce their risk – whether that means preparing for flash floods if they live in a basement property, or choosing a car that’s safer to drive.
Using the power of data, insurance becomes about far more than numbers. Insurance providers get to use the best of today’s technology to protect people and the things that matter most to them.
[i] https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2024/2024_02_storms_isha_jocelyn.pdf
Content provided by James Burton, Managing Director UK and Ireland, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
