Big data is becoming one of the key words in the contemporary era and the transition process for companies is certainly not being aided by looming regulatory shifts and the costs of funding the transformation.
With that being said, there has been a push within the insurance industry toward mastering enterprise information management and for the companies who have not fully invested in the process, a new report from Deloitte could lend some helpful insights.
Titled, Information rich, knowledge poor: Overcoming insurers’ data conundrum, the report highlights the state of the insurance industry’s big data outlook, establishes a plan for providers to follow and identifies what lies ahead for big data in insurance.
“Just to sum it up insurers have always used tons of data to run their businesses and the volume velocity and the variety of data is only going to continue to grow,” says Michelle Canaan, Manager of Strategy, Brand & Innovation at Deloitte. “In spite of considerable efforts for the most part, insurers haven’t mastered seamless enterprise-wide data fluency, even for their traditional information.”
Generally speaking, insurance companies need to stop just tweaking their systems/process and need to look at data under a new lens. They need to take it in small bits rather than one encompassing initiative and know that it is going to be a multiyear journey.
Most importantly companies need to envision enabling information as a strategic asset, not a transitional burden. (continued.)
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This process begins with what Canaan deemed a ‘roadmap,’ which outlines the strategic trajectory of the company’s data transition. Following this it is fundamental to get executive or board level buy-in because without their funding and support the initiatives are doomed to stall or fail from the onset.
Frequently in the preliminary stages of the strategy it is advised to keep complexity low to win over any skeptics and ensure a good start to the initiative.
Equally vital is to establish a data champion to spearhead the initiative. This person and their team will act as the primary liaison between the business units, their functions and IT operations. They’re also going to spearhead the data governance initiative for the enterprise wide deployment.
“Finally, you need to decide which business unit is going to kick-off the effort,” says Canaan. “Marketing, actuarial and finance are probably the best suited because they each have a vested interest.”
