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Conference shows how analytics has helped clients in Fort McMurray disaster
Nancy Carr on May 12, 2016
Smoke fills the air near a parking lot in Fort McMurray, Alberta on Tuesday. CP
Analytics are starting to prove their worth to the insurance industry, and if you don’t believe it, their indispensable use in the Fort McMurray disaster is Example A.
Opta Information Intelligence, a company that helps insurance and corporate clients manage and authenticate risk information, had a satellite fly over the charred city and take photos of the damage. That data was then paired up with city maps to determine the exact addresses of the properties that were photographed.
“We used machine-learning technology to come back to our customers and tell them which homes definitely had losses and what the expected losses on those home were,” explained president Greg McCutcheon, noting that his company identified 2,115 damaged homes and 127 commercial properties and then built an online interface to deliver the information to Opta’s clients.
That kind of investment in science and technology has been championed by AIG’s global CEO, Peter Hancock, since he joined the company in 2010. AIG has since hired about 120 data scientists and built up a sizable analytics department.
“Customer-centric analytics have the power to help customers become safer and help us become more efficient,” Marc Lipman, COO of AIG Insurance Canada, told the Insurance Analytics Canada conference in Toronto Thursday. “It’s also a powerful way to transform conversations with clients and highlight AIG’s innovation and advanced capabilities.”
Lipman pointed out that besides the value of the essential data about customers, analytics can allow them to have ongoing conversations with their clients throughout the year—not just at renewal time or for processing claims—“so we can create a new and higher level of engagement.”
For example, AIG once reviewed historical claims data from one of its clients, a transportation company it didn’t have a particularly close relationship with. The findings revealed that one type of truck in the company’s fleet reported losses that were 20 to 30 percent higher than others. AIG was able to present this data to its client, who made changes, saved money and deepened its relationship with the insurer.
“People are saying, Don’t ask me questions that I don’t have time to answer, allow me to buy insurance through a mobile app quickly and easily with about two questions,” said Greg McCutcheon. “Traditional underwriting has a hard time letting go of their questions, but there is a revolution coming. These customers want change, and if we can’t deliver it, they will find another way to get there.”
In the view of AIG’s Lipman, “We’re doing our best to run as fast as we can without tripping,” said Lipman. “Either you’re a 21st or 22nd century kind of insurance company looking at new horizons or you’re not, and if you’re not, you’re probably not going to be around for much longer.”
Conference shows how analytics has helped clients in Fort McMurray disaster
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