All Aboard for Modernisation: Next Stop Underwriting - Paper - Page 4
Foreword
The insurance industry is on the verge of the next phase of
modernisation, with underwriting at the heart of this evolution.
Traditionally a paper 昀椀rst, manually intensive process, underwriting
has long struggled with ine昀케ciencies across the insurance lifecycle.
With underwriters estimated to spend 50-70% of their time on
manual and multiple system data entry1, document review and data
collection, rather than core risk analysis, there is a clear opportunity
to improve the beating heart of the insurance business.
The insurance risk landscape remains an everchanging environment. Survival to remain competitive
and relevant to customers takes several forms, but
‘adaptability’ is a core characteristic insurers are
shi昀琀ing to. Retail insurance business lines continue
to pivot towards digitalisation to modernising
underwriting. Advanced technologies such as
machine learning and predictive analytics, are now
essential for managing complex risk portfolios,
improving pricing accuracy and enabling faster
policy issuance. Ever increasing connectivity is
enabling 昀椀rms to improve their product o昀昀ering; from
monitoring driving behaviours, occupancy rates in
homes, to health diagnostic and 昀椀tness tracking.
All enabling a more accurate and personalised
understanding of an individual’s risk pro昀椀le.
Automation and AI will play a crucial role in improving
e昀케ciency across the underwriting value chain.
Modern underwriting platforms are beginning to
solve the industry’s data silo problem, consolidating
fragmented information to streamline workflows and
boost decision-making speed, meaning underwriters
can utilise their core skills for the job at hand.
This whitepaper will explore how modern underwriting
practices across the insurance market can address
the challenges of the future, o昀昀ering practical insights
on leveraging technology, understanding core
capabilities and building new processes, to not only
enhance operational e昀케ciency but also deliver more
accurate, tailored risk solutions in an increasingly
complex risk environment.
Mark Andrews
Insurance Director
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1
https://insuranceblog.accenture.com/why-underwriters-dont-underwrite-much
