While data analytics has become increasingly important in the insurance industry in recent years, misclassification and missed opportunities continue to be major issues for many MGAs, brokers, carriers and vendors. Limited information is one of the most important factors, and more comprehensive access to better third-party data can improve decisions at all stages of an insurance policy lifecycle, from point of sale to policy maintenance and renewal.
It is important to identify some of the major roadblocks to securing valuable, accurate data. Antiquated data collection systems (with many systems built 30 years ago and not pertinent in today’s market) can have a significant negative impact. Other identified limitations of existing data analytics products include that “non-claims” are not differentiated from “not founds,” that policy and claims data are not linked, that carrier contributions are not vetted for accuracy (with up to 30% material errors or omissions) and that, perhaps most significantly, carriers and their agents often know little about the consumer at the initial point of contact.
In addition, insurance professionals had to access multiple applications and field separate calls for each of the data sources and types of information, a time-consuming and cumbersome process.
See also: Achieving a ‘Logical Data Fabric’
But innovative technology can provide instantaneous access to better, more comprehensive data. It is now possible -- as we are showing -- to use application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate data on a single platform and provide carriers, MGAs and brokers with immediate access to the prescriptive scores and comprehensive data they need, at the time needed, to allow for better decisions surrounding the sale, and growth, of policies. What we call a “single source” point of entry for all information, regardless of the source or type, provides a high-confidence hit rate to the prescriptive analytics and the pre-arranged knockout logic that facilitates rapid decisions based on extensive data into consumer behavior and insight.
In addition, by harnessing the power of more accurate and complete information through prescriptive analytics earlier in the customer acquisition process and providing more opportunity for expansion and customer retention, today’s technology can help insurance industry professionals avoid the missed opportunities throughout the insurance lifecycle that have limited their potential.
