BIG DATA, BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES

Transcription

1 BIG DATA, BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES TECHNOLOGY WILL IGNITE POST-FINANCIAL CRISIS OPPORTUNITY AND GROWTH FOR THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY. By Chandan Sharma and Stephen Busateri

2 THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008 CONTINUES TO HAVE FAR-REACHING IMPLICATIONS, FROM THE HEALTH OF GLOBAL MARKETS TO SHIFTING CONSUMER FISCAL ATTITUDES. ALTHOUGH NOT AS DRASTICALLY IMPACTED AS THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY, MANY INSURERS FOUND THEMSELVES ON UNFAMILIAR GROUND AND ON THE WRONG SIDE OF RISK MANAGEMENT. Though long an industry considered recession proof, large insurance companies are finding themselves at the center of a storm. But even those that maintained conservative, risk-adverse strategies are facing plenty of tough new challenges, including: 1 Increased policy shopping. Consumers are shopping for discount insurance, making it increasingly difficult to acquire and keep low-risk customers. 2 Fewer assets sold or insured. Decreased economic activity is leading to fewer high-premium policy sales. And fewer policies mean fewer funds available to pay claims. 3 Limited business resources. Rightsizing of employees and reduced investments in technology mean less focus on innovative solutions. Despite recent miscues, the insurance industry tends to be conservative and risk adverse. It s a mindset that often extends across the enterprise, so technology adoption tends to be slower than in other industries. And that needs to change. TECHNOLOGY WILL BE CENTRAL TO THE INDUSTRY S ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THESE AND OTHER POST-FINANCIAL CRISIS CHALLENGES, AND DEVELOP NEW, MORE PROFITABLE OPERATIONAL MODELS. A platform that integrates cloud services, machine to machine (M2M), data mining, and analytics will help companies: Gain a clearer view into risk. Optimize insurance pools. Deliver differentiated services. Connect with and better serve tech-savvy customers. Expand into emerging markets. It s true that the challenges facing today s insurance companies are considerable. But the opportunities enabled by emerging technologies are even greater. 2

3 INFORMATION DRIVES POOL OPTIMIZATION. IN EVERY BRANCH OF INSURANCE, OPTIMIZING THE INSURANCE POOL IS A CENTRAL CHALLENGE. PROFITABILITY IS DEPENDENT ON NOT ONLY IDENTIFYING AND DRAWING IN LOW-RISK CUSTOMERS, BUT ALSO ACCURATELY MATCHING PREMIUM RATES TO RISK LEVELS. ANY INSURANCE POOL WILL CONTAIN BOTH HIGH- AND LOW-RISK CUSTOMERS. BUT POOLS CAN BECOME UNBALANCED AND REVENUE LOST IF THE COMPETITION LURES AWAY ALL OF THE LOW-RISK CUSTOMERS WITH MORE COMPETITIVE PREMIUM RATES. And those customers, empowered by a wealth of online information, are shopping around, looking to be rewarded with the lowest possible premiums. A healthy, 35-yearold jogger isn t going to settle for the same rates as his 50-year-old work buddy who has chronic smoker s hack and a serious TV habit. FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN HIGH- AND LOW-RISK POOLS. COMPANIES CAN ALSO GET STUCK WITH AN UNPROFITABLE POOL IF RISK LEVELS ARE MISCALCULATED. That 35-year-old may appear low risk at first glance, but he has high stress, his father had a heart attack at age 38, and he just bought a new sports car that he likes to open up on the way to work. { ADOPT TECHNOLOGIES } To create and maintain better balanced and more profitable pools, insurance companies need to adopt technologies that can help them make more informed underwriting decisions. Because the financial risk of getting stuck with a poorly balanced pool far outweighs that of investing in new technology. 3

4 INNOVATION EMPOWERS DIFFERENTIATION. AS THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY BECOMES MORE TECHNOLOGY BASED, CLOUD SOLUTIONS WILL PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR NEW DATA-DRIVEN UNDERWRITING MODELS AND POOL OPTIMIZATION. Cloud computing supports the aggregation and storage of the vast amounts of valuable data that can now be collected from mobile devices and M2M applications. That information can be enhanced, mapped, and combined with data from other sources like actuarial models to calculate risk and possibly even predict events. USAGE-BASED INSURANCE (UBI) SYSTEMS PROVIDE NEAR REAL-TIME INSIGHT INTO CUSTOMERS DRIVING HABITS AND RISK LEVEL. UBI systems include a small device that contains a cellular radio, an accelerometer, a GPS unit, and a processor; this device is installed in the customer s vehicle to provide the carrier with information on driving habits, based on how the vehicle performs. This information is augmented by additional proprietary information in a cloud environment and then analyzed to help insurers set rates tailored to the individual s level of risk.! HEALTH INSURERS ARE ENVISIONING SIMILAR SCENARIOS, SUCH AS PROACTIVE HEALTHCARE MONITORING. DOWN THE ROAD, HEALTH INSURANCE CUSTOMERS MAY VOLUNTARILY MONITOR THEIR VITAL SIGNS TO HELP INSURERS WRITE TRULY PERSONALIZED POLICIES. 4

5 ALL OF THIS DATA IS OPENING THE DOOR TO A UTILIZATION OF CLOUD-BASED ANALYTICS THAT WILL EMPOWER INSURERS TO DEVELOP NEW PREDICTIVE RISK MODELS. THAT DATA COULD LEAD TO A MORE PROACTIVE, LESS REACTIONARY APPROACH TO UNDERWRITING. FOR INSTANCE: IDENTITY THEFT CURRENTLY: WHOLLY REACTIONARY The current model for identity-theft insurance is wholly reactionary. Once a person s identity has been stolen, the policy pays compensation and provides legal representation to untangle the multitude of issues associated with reestablishing identity and reputation. NEAR FUTURE: PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS Insurers could use real-time monitoring, universal identity models, and contextual identity proofing to model a customer s identity, including how it interacts with retailers and service providers and other facets of life. By applying predictive analytics, the insurer could then develop anticipatory intelligence about when and where theft might occur, and take measures to prevent it. IDENTITY THEFT REACT POLICY PAYS COMPENSATION VS a UNIVERSAL IDENTITY MODELS a CONTEXTUAL IDENTITY PROOFING LEGAL REPRESENTATION SAFE SPENDING a REAL-TIME MONITORING REESTABLISH IDENTITY PROACTIVE IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION THIS COULD BE A MAJOR SHIFT, ONE THAT LEADS TO A WHOLE NEW SPECTRUM OF PERSONALIZED AND DIFFERENTIATED OFFERINGS THAT MOVE FAR BEYOND COST INCENTIVES. 5

6 GLOBALIZATION PROPELS EXPANSION. ANOTHER NEW, TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED FRONTIER FOR INSURERS AND A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY WILL BE IN EMERGING MARKETS. IT S ESTIMATED THAT THE EMERGING SIX (E6) WILL CONTRIBUTE 47% OF GLOBAL GDP GROWTH BETWEEN 2006 AND 2020, WHILE THE GLOBAL SIX (G6) WILL CONTRIBUTE LESS THAN 24 % DURING THE SAME PERIOD. 1 THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR INSURANCE IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 1.5 AND 3 BILLION POLICIES. 2 As consumption in these countries increases, demand for insurance products will not only give rise to countless start-up agencies, but propel many existing enterprises into the global market. To serve customers in emerging markets, insurers will need to partner with a network provider that can deliver seamless, reliable, highly available access to people, systems, and data around the planet. With a truly global technology infrastructure, insurers can expand operations and service offerings, and, at the same time, become more agile and efficient. { In a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 30 percent of respondents believe new emerging market insurers will move into the developed world to become global insurers, and 28 percent foresee truly global markets. 3 6

7 COLLABORATION ACCELERATES SUCCESS. FOR TODAY S INSURANCE COMPANIES, THE REAL RISK IS IN DOING NOTHING. BECAUSE THE COMPANIES THAT QUICKLY MOVE TO DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED MODELS WILL BE THE ONES WITH THE MOST BALANCED POOLS AND UNIQUE, VARIED, AND INDIVIDUALIZED OFFERINGS. FORWARD-LOOKING INSURERS SHOULD BEGIN BUILDING THEIR PLATFORMS NOW. CRITICAL FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS WILL BE: 1 Building technology platforms that securely integrate: Mobility M2M Cloud Analytics Security 2 Developing a service-centric architecture that supports flexible, responsive, and agile business models and global capabilities. 3 Creating social platforms to drive business intelligence and create new customer channels, and the employees to support them. 4 Partner with trusted global technology provider(s). Tomorrow s underwriting and operational model will be radically different from today s. It will require a whole new mindset, as well as new skillsets. But it will also attract a new generation of young, techsavvy employees, who will bring their experience and insight into mobile, social, network, and data-driven technologies to reenergize the industry. THINK FORWARD. To access additional content, provocative analysis, and collective insight from the minds of forward thinkers, explore our thought leadership site. VERIZON.COM/ENTERPRISE/THOUGHTLEADERSHIP ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chandan Sharma is the Global Managing Director, Verizon Financial Services Practice. Stephen Busateri is the Global Manager, Verizon Financial Services/Insurance Vertical; and Product Manager, Verizon Usage-Based Insurance Telematics Program. 1 Economic Intelligence Unit, Foresight Lloyds 360 Risk Insight 3 PwC Research from more than 150 C-suite executives polled at a presentation of the Future of Insurance to the International Insurance Society (IIS), June Verizon. All Rights Reserved. The Verizon name and all other names, logos, and slogans identifying Verizon s products and services are trademarks and service marks or registered trademarks and service marks of Verizon Trademark Services LLC or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. ES /12 7