All Aboard for Modernisation: Next Stop Underwriting - Paper - Page 23
Making underwriting dreams a reality
While it’s true to say that insurance hasn’t yet
transformed itself, there have been signi昀椀cant
developments that have had a material and lasting
impact on the market. Individually, they have created
small e昀케ciencies, but collectively, they start to paint
a picture of what might be possible with a more
thoughtful approach.
Everything from advanced data analytics and
predictive modelling, through to AI and machine
learning, have been introduced at various stages of
the underwriting process over the last decade, some
to great e昀昀ect.
Pricing is far more granular than an underwriter
of even 20 years ago could ever have imagined,
allowing insurers to provide ever more personalised
products and risk programmes. Technology is helping
underwriters better understand the scope and the
scale of their exposures, augmenting submission data
and scoring the underwriter’s likelihood of success
in securing it. Increasingly, technology is giving
every underwriter what they always dreamed of –
huge amounts of data that they can actually use, on
demand, to help them assess risk more accurately.
The impact of technology on underwriting is
undeniable, but as the operating model outlined in
Chapter 1 makes clear, it is only one of many crucial
elements that make up the whole. Whatever function
or whatever process is being modernised, it must
be undertaken with the full business estate 昀椀rmly in
mind, ideally starting with underwriting.
“It can’t just be about technology.
You need to map out the business
and look at all the processes,
the environment it operates in
and the way its people work.
When modernising a business,
the technology comes second
to process and while you need
to look at and understand every
aspect of those processes, you
don’t need to do everything
straight away. Take baby steps
rather than seeking quantum
leaps.”
Matt Carter
Altus Consulting
23
