In my last blog I detailed the four primary steps within the analytical lifecycle. The first and most time consuming step is data preparation. Many consider the term “Big Data” overhyped, and certainly overused. But there is no doubt that the explosion of new data is turning the insurance business
Advances in technology, evolution of the distribution channels, demographic shift, economic conditions and regulations changes. How does an insurer prioritize all these seemingly competing goals and create sustainable competitive advantage. One answer is analytics. Many insurance companies are just beginning to take steps toward becoming an “analytic insurer” – one
Business analytics is about dramatically improving the way an organization makes decisions, conducts business and successfully competes in the marketplace. At the heart of business analytics is data. Historically, the philosophy of many insurers has been on collecting data, data and more data. However, even with all this data, many
According to analyst firms, consulting companies and various other research, customer experience is the primary priority for insurance companies. But is customer experience overrated? Let’s start by considering the primary interactions between an insurance company and its customers: new business, billing, renewals and claims. Ask any insurance executive, especially property
Over the past decade in insurance, the rise of the aggregators (organisations that compare quotes between different insurers) and direct channels has had a profound impact on personal lines distribution in the UK. However, personal lines brokers remain a critical route to market, especially at a time when many insurers
~ This article is co-authored by Binod Jha, Global Product Manager for Insurance Solutions at SAS, and Amol Kokane, Senior Development Manager for Insurance & Risk Management Solutions at SAS ~ How might insurance policies change if sensor data could be automatically transmitted and analyzed from your car, your home and even your
I cannot speak from experience, but predominately an Insurance CEO has three primary objectives: Grow the business Reduce expenses Ensure compliance. Let’s individually consider each of these objectives in more detail. Grow the Business How does an insurance company grow from a $2bn to a $3bn organization? Essentially, insurance has
Earlier this year, I was speaking with an insurance executive and he said something that turned out to be my favorite quote of 2014: “Premium revenue is like heroin.” While this seems like an unlikely analogy or simile?. The point this executive was trying to make an interesting argument. Insurance
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the Insurance Networking News Analytics Symposium. This great event had several engaging speakers. As analytics becomes more prevalent within insurance, it was refreshing to see that many organizations discuss their successes and share best practices in this essential aspect of the business.
People often talk about the customer experience and the engagement model. This is an easier task when a business has regular interactions with its customers like banks and retailers. However, for insurers, this is a challenge. First of all, insurers have infrequent interactions with their customers. When there is interaction,
Let’s go back in time to the summer of 2007. The original iPhone had just been launched. Miley Cyrus was Hannah Montana. The San Antonio Spurs were NBA Champions, and LeBron James was the savior of Cleveland Cavaliers. Insurance Executives were only concerned about legacy replacement systems. On the surface,
Perhaps I should have titled this post, "Riddle me this Batman..." Bam! Zap! etc.... now back to our regular scheduled blog post, where we explore the many lessons that can be learned from one industry to the next. Let's start with one of the easier comparisons: How is an
Kimberly Holmes doesn't want to put any limits on what analytics can accomplish at XL Group plc. As the Head of Strategic Analytics, Holmes recently selected SAS Visual Analytics to help the global insurance and reinsurance operations at XL Group meet that lofty goal. We spoke with her at a recent
After all the Christmas parties and new year dinners are over, many would like to forget embarrassing behavior or over-indulgences of the season. By way of putting all that behind, it’s not uncommon for most to start the year by embracing a sober regime, diet and even a few New
When discussing fraud and abuse, it often (very often) becomes a philosophical discussion of whether aberrant activities are fraudulent or abusive. The quick difference being that fraudulent is intentional and abuse is not. The distinction quickly becomes an issue of legal and illegal as opposed to right and wrong. What
Tomorrow I was going to go visit one of our insurance clients. I was really looking forward to the meeting – a chance to share experiences with a strategic analytic team. Unfortunately, I got an e-mail from the team’s administrative assistant: “I’m sorry, but so-and-so needs to cancel. An important
I’ve been hanging out in Canada again, eh? Just last week, I snuck over the border to meet with some of our insurance customers in the Greater Toronto Area (affectionately known as “GTA”). This was my fifth trip this year and I’m pleased to say that not only have I
Summer has almost come to a close – and thank goodness! Up here in the Northeast, we’ve been subjected to tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. I’ve been waiting for the locusts to descend! And outside of dodging hail and charging my laptop with my car’s cigarette lighter when we lost
A midsize regional health insurer with approximately 3,000 employees across 10 locations in the Western United States created a role for a business continuity manager (BCM) reporting to the chief operating officer. In this organization, the enterprise risk management (ERM) functions, established in 2004, are owned by the chief legal
Okay…I don’t usually do the rah-rah SAS stuff, but it was a really great week here and I wanted to share. The Analytic Cheerleader is getting out her pom-poms and cheering for SAS! Since I’ve been a SAS employee for exactly 3 months, I thought it was a good time
Recently I was listening to an NPR (National Public Radio) documentary about the history of cancer and medicine’s evolution in understanding and treating cancer. This was an amazing story. I would venture a guess that nearly everyone who is reading this post has been affected by cancer in one way
As I mentioned in an earlier post, having an information strategy and analytic goals tied to key business objectives are critical components of being able to competitively leverage your analytic assets and capabilities. In general, in the insurance industry vertical I support, we don’t see many organizations that have a
