Other parts of this series:
Allianz, Mitsui Sumitomo and Allstate are putting data at the core of their businesses and changing themselves into data-powered companies.
Data-powered companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Alibaba are using their data resources to delight customers, grow revenues and push into new markets.
Insurers have tended to lag these digital giants in unleashing the value of their data. Yet, some far-sighted carriers, such as Allianz, Mitsui Sumitomo and Allstate are starting to transform themselves into data-powered companies. They’re developing new business models that put data at the core of their all their key decisions. They’re using data to improve relations with customers, employees and businesses partners. And, they’re using data to access new markets. What’s more, they’re applying analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to better collect, manage and apply data.
Our research shows that 79 percent of insurance executives believe collaboration between humans and intelligent machines will become critical to innovation. Around 20 percent of insurers are already preparing their workforces to partner AI systems that are collaborative and interactive. Often these systems can explain the reasoning behind their decisions and recommendations.
Allianz opens its ABS platform to thirdparties
Allianz has set its sights on becoming a data-powered company. It has embarked on an ambitious program to use cloud computing and other digital technologies, such as data analytics and AI, to differentiate itself from competitors and secure closer ties with customers. The company has launched several initiatives that will enable it to unlock value from its extensive data resources.
Allianz recently opened its Allianz Business System (ABS) technology platform to third parties. Business customers will now be able to licence access to Allianz’s claims processing and contract management solutions that run on the ABS platform. As part of this Insurance-as-a-Service business initiative, Allianz has teamed up with Microsoft to migrate the ABS platform to the Azure cloud service.
Allianz has also joined fellow German multinationals such as Axel Springer, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank to form an identity management platform for consumers in Europe. The Verimi platform allows consumers to register their personal data on a single secure site and then choose the organizations with which they want to share this information. Verimi gives consumers greater control over their personal data while also promoting greater use of ecommerce by simplifying access to digital services.
Mitsui Sumitomo uses AI to support sales agents
Mitsui Sumitomo, one of the largest insurers in Japan, is using data analytics and other digital technologies to boost business value across the organization. Its RisTech ecosystem, for example, enables the company to combine its customer data with information from a variety of external sources to gain new insights into risk and insurance offerings. Since its launch early this year, RisTech has already helped Mitsui Sumitomo boost premium revenues.
As part of its drive to become a customer-centric insurance provider, the Japanese carrier is using big data technologies and AI to support its sales agents and improve its customer experience. The MS1 Brain platform gathers and analyzes information about customers and their requirements. It provides sales agents with a deep understanding of a customer’s needs and identifies products that best meet these requirements. This combination of AI and human expertise has enabled Mitsui Sumitomo to improve substantially the close rates of its sales agents.
Allstate turns to data to tap revenues beyond insurance
Allstate in the US has begun an extensive digital transformation that will enable it to become a potent data-powered company. It aims to unlock the value of its data by using analytics and diagnostics technologies to improve product distribution, marketing and customer service. The company is eager to tap revenue streams beyond the traditional insurance industry. It is looking to grow data revenues from business units such as its InfoArmor identity-protection subsidiary and its Arity telematics and predictive analytics firm.
InfoArmor provides companies with identity and privacy protection solutions for their employees. Its PrivacyArmor solution monitors digital transactions and alerts people covered by the service to potential fraud. It also notifies them if their personal information is publicly available on the internet and oversees social media accounts to check for threats, explicit content, violence and cyberbullying. InfoArmor’s soon-to-be-launched Allstate Digital Footprint will monitor all the online accounts that a user of the service has opened and identify any unsecure information that might expose them to risk.
Arity has transformed itself from a telematics firm that tracks and analyzes driving data into a provider of specialized knowledge services. Revenue from these services could reach as much as US$300 million a year. Arity uses innovative data management and data analytics technologies to collect, store and analyze vast flows of driver information. It processes around one petabyte of new information every month. As I mentioned earlier in this blog series, Arity is currently providing knowledge services to three sectors—motor vehicle dealers, repair shops and billboard advertisers. The data that Arity collects and analyzes is particularly valuable to companies in each of these sectors. It enables motor vehicle dealers to improve their marketing by gaining insights into the behavior of different groups of customers. It allows automotive repairs shops to better predict business demand and improve efficiencies. And, it gives billboard advertisers around-the-clock information about the volume, speed and composition of traffic that drives past their displays. Other potential markets for Arity include connected homes, healthcare services and wellness initiatives.
Other insurers use data to generate additional business value
Alongside Allianz, Mitsui Sumitomo and Allstate, other carriers such as UnitedHealthcare and Ping An are also putting data at the core of their businesses. There are still tremendous opportunities for companies that can provide insurers with data analytics technologies and services. The rapid growth of companies such as CoreLogic, Verisk and RMS, together with insurtech firms Betterview, Cape Analytics, Carpe Data and EigenRisk, shows that many insurers, like plenty of other companies, are eager to use data to generate additional business value. It also indicates that organizations often need partners to help them overcome the difficulties they’re likely to encounter when striving to release, at scale, value trapped in their data assets while often accessing additional external data resources.
In my next blog series, I’ll discuss some of the key trends at the recent 2020 Efma-Accenture Innovation in Insurance Awards. The submissions at this year’s awards included some interesting data–analytics, cloud and AI applications that enhance the customer experience and create considerable business value.
For more information about how insurers can monetize data and transform themselves into data-powered companies have a look at these links. Otherwise, send me an email. I’d like to hear from you.
For more information about how insurers can monetize data and transform themselves into data-powered companies have a look at these links. Otherwise, send me an email. I’d like to hear from you.
Accenture and M6: Monetizing big data
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