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Data & Analytics

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Kelly Sheridan
Kelly Sheridan
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Defining Big Data in P&C Insurance

Peter Hahn of Zurich North America explored the affects of data growth on commercial P&C insurers at this year's I&T Executive Summit.

As their data stores expand by the second, insurers struggle to generate useful sources of risk insight. This is the goal at Zurich North America, which has proven a frontrunner in the analytics space amidst the growth of big data.

Peter Hahn, the head of predictive analytics at Zurich, discussed the evolution of big data and its role in insurance at the Insurance & Technology Executive Summit 2014, held this past week in Bal Harbour, Fla. Attendees listened intently as Hahn explored the trends and challenges of big data for P&C insurers.

Hahn explained how commercial P&C insurance, specifically, has experienced tremendous growth in risk profiles due to the events it handles. In order to effectively handle this expansion, Zurich is thinking outside the box in terms of the data it uses.

“We’re looking beyond traditional sets of data,” Hahn said. Because commercial P&C insurers handle a broad range of risks, each of which has a diverse of range of data sources, Zurich leverages both structured and unstructured data sources.  

[More from the Summit: Yes, Insurers Are Innovative]

Insurers must consider the integrity and lineage of the data they handle, he continued, and the ability to demonstrate where the data originated, and how it has been transformed, is essential.

“The ability to trace data is critical to ensuring its credibility,” Hahn asserted. 

After collecting their data, insurers can derive value by focusing on the right topics, involving underwriters throughout the process, and ensuring that their information is both comprehensible and compelling to those who are using it. Transparency and simplicity are key when working with data, said Hahn.

He also noted the importance of the human element in data analytics and hiring the right talent to handle information. Employees should possess the ability to communicate, influence, and listen, and bring skills developed through relevant experience in handling data.

After they generate usable information through the data, employees should follow up with top-level employees to receive feedback on their data models. Their colleagues’ insights will help them build upon their data strategies.

Kelly Sheridan is the Staff Editor at Dark Reading, where she focuses on cybersecurity news and analysis. She is a business technology journalist who previously reported for InformationWeek, where she covered Microsoft, and Insurance & Technology, where she covered financial ... View Full Bio

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