To prepare for the data challenges of 2015 and beyond, health care fraud, waste and abuse investigative units (government funded and commercial insurance plans, alike) need a data management infrastructure that provides access to data across programs, products and channels. This goes well beyond sorting and filtering small sets of
I feel like I'm singing a song called Data in the Sky – With Options! The cloud is forever in our minds these days as a lower cost option because it requires fewer resources to address our data needs. Cloud solutions are an increasing part of many organizations' budgets every year. Whether enterprise data is
Having a mentor is the number one factor in increasing the steepness of your personal learning curve. So says my oldest, Garik, a Park Scholar at North Carolina State University (class of 2012), during a discussion he recently had with the incoming Park Scholar class of 2019. To accept the
Similar to claims fraud, money laundering is seen as a victimless crime, and often glamorized in movies and books. Think “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “Scarface”. But money laundering is a SERIOUS problem. According to a 2013 report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that $1.6
Customer intelligence will help an insurance company deepen its customer insights, choreograph its customer interactions and continuously improve its marketing performance. Unfortunately for all the progress made in recent years on customer relationship management and getting to know customers better, insurance companies are still not focusing on customers as much
This guest post was written by Andy Pulkstenis, Director of Advanced Analytics for State Farm Insurance. He leads a team of advanced analytics professionals providing statistical analysis and predictive modeling support for the enterprise across a variety of business units. His background includes more than a decade of experience improving
I moved to Australia from Belgium two months ago for a short-term assignment. I am very concerned by the exchange rate. My dollars have lost over 15% of their value in euros and I share my frustration around me. People tell me, "Just wait, it cannot stay so low, the
It’s rather appropriate that the rock band Europe recorded the hit “The Final Countdown”, because today, September 22nd, represents 100 days until the much anticipated (and delayed) European insurance legislation Solvency II will come into effect on January 1st 2016. Designed to introduce a harmonized, EU-wide insurance regulation, Solvency II
In the UK, technology trends move a little slower than for our US counterparts. It was about 5 years ago when I first met a data leader at a conference on this side of the pond who was actively engaging in large scale big data projects. This wasn’t a presenter
One question I get asked a lot is: What is the most exciting new statistical feature in the 14.1 release? And they get a bit frustrated when I say: It depends. But it does depend! SAS statistical software provides a broad array of capabilities that help users track disease outbreaks,
I realized a little while ago that I may have more loyalty cards and memberships than the average person. (And that I more actively prove my loyalty than the average person). But as anybody who has ever signed up to a mailing list or for a store card knows, having
Big Data has become a technology buzzword. But how is Big Data changing insurance? Historically, insurance companies have used SMALL data to make BIG decisions. Today, insurers are using BIG data for SMALL decisions. What does this mean? Traditionally, insurance companies have aggregated data to group risks into broad categories
While not on the same level of Rush, I do fancy myself a fan of The Who. I'm particularly fond of the band's 1973 epic, Quadrophenia. From the track "5:15": Inside outside, leave me alone Inside outside, nowhere is home Inside outside, where have I been? The inside-outside distinction is rather apropos
“Garbage in, garbage out” is more than a catchphrase – it’s the unfortunate reality in many analytics initiatives. For most analytical applications, the biggest problem lies not in the predictive modeling, but in gathering and preparing data for analysis. When the analytics seems to be underperforming, the problem almost invariably
I enjoy watching TV crime series like Law and Order, Crime Series Investigation (CSI), CriminalMinds, Numb3rs, Person of Interest, as well as real-life mystery stories on shows like 20/20 and others. Obviously, the popularity of these types of shows means I'm not the only one who enjoys this type of entertainment. Here at SAS,
Oh, how times have changed during my 20-plus years in the insurance industry. Data wasn’t a word we used much back in the 80s and 90s, unless of course you worked in those arcane and mysterious IT data centres. Even amidst the computerisation of the insurance industry in the 80s, many
Oh, how times have changed during my 20-plus years in the insurance industry. Data wasn’t a word we used much back in the 80s and 90s, unless of course you worked in those arcane and mysterious IT data centres. Even amidst the computerisation of the insurance industry in the 80s, many
SAS recently held the Detroit Automotive Analytics Executive Forum to bring together leaders from the Industry. We heard from an experienced group of leaders on the future of the automotive industry, best practices for analytics success, innovative retail analytics, customer experience analytics, the connected vehicle, and competing on analytics. Following
Good news...an analytics survey last year found that 72% of insurance executive agreed that analytics is the biggest game-changer in the next 2 years. Bad news...compared to other industries the adoption rates of analytics in the insurance has lagged other industries. To reverse this trend and help insurers travel down the
One of the most important skills for data scientists and business analytical professionals is communications. If decision makers and managers don't understand what the numbers mean -- results won't turn into action. Jeff Zeanah, President of Z Solutions, Inc. has been presenting on the topic of speaking “analytics” for many
There's a lot of talk right now about the Internet of Things and how it's likely the prime catalyst for the digital transformation of organizations over the next few years. Billions of sensors, and devices with sensors, all generating data in a hyper-connected world where it can be easily shared
The insurance industry is heading for a crisis. Depending on which report you read the insurance industry is facing a shortfall in job vacancy from anything from 40,000 to nearly half million in the next few years. Baby boomers in specialized jobs like underwriters and claims adjusters are retiring and insurers
This is my second blog on the topic of anonymization, which I’ve spent some time over the past several months researching. My first blog, Anonymization for data managers, focused on the technical process. Now let’s dive into the role for analysts, report designers and information owners. To analysts and reporting
SAS/IML software is used by many SAS programmers, primarily for creating custom algorithms and macros that implement statistical analyses that are not built into any SAS procedure. I know that PROC IML is used regularly by pharmaceutical companies, by the financial and insurance industries, and by researchers in medical colleges
Summertime has arrived! Here are some fun, serious and what some might think are absurd questions about water safety. Take the quiz and test your knowledge.
Double negatives seem to be everywhere, I have noticed them a lot in music recently. Since Pink Floyd sang "We don't need no education", to Rihanna's "I wasn’t looking for nobody when you looked my way". My own favourite song with a double negative is "I can't get no sleep" - Faithless. This
If you buying or selling a house. The relator will tell the value of the property is all about location, location, location. For insurance companies location is just as important. For an underwriter assessing the risk on a property is essential that they consider the location of the property. How
Who is your best customer? The answer to this question can vary dramatically depending on your industry. A retailer’s best customer is someone who comes back to their store over and over again. A gym owner’s best customer could be considered consumer who pays their monthly on time but never
For health and life sciences organizations, discussions about big data include gaining value from that data in the form of real-world evidence. Consider for a moment the amount of healthcare data that exists today thanks to the adoption of electronic health records. Then think about the future with data from
You might have lots of data on lots of customers, but imagine if you could suddenly add in a huge dollop of new, highly informative data that you weren’t able to access before. You could then use analytics to extract some really important insights about these customers, allowing you to
