4299 Altus Insurance Whitepaper FINAL SPREAD - Flipbook - Page 25
Twenty years ago, an underwriter may have considered
the answers to 20 or 30 questions on a submission
form. Today, there can be as many as 500 relevant
data points on a single risk, and the volume of data
is only going to increase and become more re昀椀ned12.
The only way an underwriter can secure the full
bene昀椀t, is to 昀椀ght 昀椀re with 昀椀re, or data with data.
Modern underwriters can use data to monitor activity
in real time, track risk pro昀椀le changes by connecting
to external sources, all while keeping an eye on any
emerging risks. Fuelled by good quality data, they
are able to be much more selective, using data and
insight to seek out the risks they want in the areas
they’re most comfortable with. This approach has
led to the emergence of the modern-day underwriter
workbench, a tool that many insurers are starting to
explore as a distinct system.
As with most technological innovations to hit
insurance, the underwriting workbench has arrived,
promising to answer every underwriter’s prayers –
delivering all the information they need to assess
any risk, in one place and in real time; but it was not
always the case.
Not all technology is created equal
It is the latest stage in the evolution of how data is
held and transferred in the underwriting process.
From being stored in individuals’ heads or committed
to paper, to the advent of green screens and online
services, underwriting has always adapted to the
times, and the workbench takes data and business
integration to another level.
The awareness of workbench solutions has been
growing over the last decade, with search results for
the term growing exponentially, particularly in the last
few years.
It illustrates quite clearly the traditional approach to
technology in insurance – a solution is held up as
the panacea to a problem and the industry moves
en masse in the same direction, hoping to secure
a tailored solution to their problems with an o昀昀the-shelf approach. It also illustrates the inability
or lack of appetite among traditional technology
companies to help solve the data analysis issue for
underwriters. As can be seen in the accompanying
graphic, the companies leading the workbench charge
are Insurtechs, rather than the incumbents. Not all
technology providers are created equal, so the choice
of partner is as important as the choice of technology
in modernisation.
The rise of the underwriter workbench
Number of “underwriting workbench”
Google search results
250
200
150
100
50
0
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Technology vendor 昀椀rst ‘Workbench’ article
and volume of pages published since
(Projected)
Figure 4.2: The rise of the underwriter workbench
25
