A report on UK home insurance has underlined the benefits of data and analytics, and how technology providers can give insurers a competitive edge.
The report*, by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, is based on a study of digital trends among a cross-section of insurance professionals. It says that the use of big data has become the industry norm, with nearly all home insurers (89 per cent) now using data and analytics somewhere along the insurance chain.
However it found that only 57 per cent of them use data and analytics to price policies, while only 54 per cent use data to detect fraud.
The report discusses the high value of data and analytics in improving the customer experience, with technology that reduces the number of questions in an application form being of particular benefit. This technology, which uses third party data enrichment to learn about a risk, significantly improves underwriting because it means that the customer isn’t being asked for information they aren’t sure about, such as the year their house was built.
Finally the study also showed that only 10 per cent of insurers are confident in the accuracy of their flood risk assessment. The more that insurers know about the area and the precise position of a house, the better they can assess such risks. However many insurers still rely solely on postcodes for this, even though a host of other, more accurate, data points are available.
How RDT is helping
RDT’s technology helps insurers price more accurately, reduce fraud, and enhance customer experience.
RDT provides a comprehensive insurtech solution for the home market through its policy administration system, Landscape, centralised rating platform, Equator, and its web and app capabilities.
- Third-party data enrichment at point of quote provides fine detail to support pricing and reduce fraud
- Supports all aggregators and broker software houses and integrates easily with websites
- 50+ million quotes a day
- Mapflow to enable geographical calculations to be made based on flood plains, subsidence regions, etc
- Scripted journeys to enhance efficiency and accuracy
- Third-party integration with numerous value-added suppliers
- Postcode identification and referencing
- Creation of user-friendly web and mobile app technology for on-demand service
- Short customer journey
- Real-time access to a huge range of data enrichment sources such as LexisNexis and Experian, ensuring accurate risk assessment as well as swift quotes through interface with Equator
- APIs enable data exchange with policy administration system Landscape
* Promise and potential: how data and analytics are shaping the UK home insurance market
UK Insurance Underwriting Digitisation Study, LexisNexis Risk Solutions