The influence of Data in Digital Underwriting

Underwriters have long been essential in traditional insurance contracts, dating back to the 17th century ‘Lloyd’s of London’s’ marine market. Underwriters were subject matter experts and had to supplement scarce historical data with large amounts of personal intuition and experience. Over time, more advanced techniques were adopted. These techniques include event probability curves, accumulation limits and hazard rating. These only represent decision-support tools – in many cases underwriters still applied large amounts of judgement into the ‘art’ into the risk selection process, particularly in large, complex risks and special insurance. This not only encompasses technical risks, but the commercial realities of the insurance market. With this, we moved to discuss: 1. How insurer can best utilise its underwriting operation to leverage the benefit of big data for a better decision making process. 2. Where data will play a major role in modern underwriting from a digital context. 3. Currently, underwriters are working hard to select and price policies appropriately to maintain organisational profitability and remain competitive in the market. In this scenario, how automation of the underwriting process can get into the mainstream of the insurance value chain. 4. The internet has rapidly become a normal part of life and people are well equipped with technology. Today’s customers want online platforms to be straightforward and transparent, and they shop for products that meet their needs. Digital ecosystems and platforms are paving the path for direct sales in the insurance industry. Considering this, how direct sales can get impacted by automated underwriting. Speaker Bio: Michael Robinson, who is the Vice President for Insurance Transformation & Digital at Genpact for Europe. He works with a number of global carriers to transform their operations into digital and lean operating models, that move to pro-active insurance risk management instead of post event loss compensation, making insurers a partner for risk.