During the IUMI annual conference in Toronto 2019, the following question was posed to the audience: ‘Digitalization/use of data – what is the impact on marine insurance’? 

47% of IUMI members polled stated that they believed underwriters would become ‘portfolio managers,’ where underwriting decisions would be taken based on fully digitalised information flows. Very few expected minor changes from the impact of data.

 

Figure 1: IUMI Annual Conference 2019 - Member Digitalisation Poll

 

Given this perception from an organisational, resource and budgetary perspective, how mature are marine insurers today? Is the market ready to generate value, and greater underwriting performance from the tsunami of new external data?

As a leading aggregator of external data using our digital platform and predictive risk models, we are aware of the frictions involved to qualify, prioritise, evaluate, process and clean data. This equates to approximately 80% of the work we perform prior to any data analysis.

When processing data we need to address due diligence, contractual governance and regulatory compliance. Could these factors be barriers to widespread adoption for the majority of the marine insurance industry moving forward?

In 2018, Gartner published ‘The Maturity Model for Data and Analytics’ along with the results of their 2017 survey. The conclusion was that ‘91% of organisations have not yet reached a "transformational" level of maturity in data and analytics.’ 60% of respondents rated themselves at the three lowest levels. This is a macro view and emphasises our need to be more aware of our positioning as an industry.

 

Figure 2: Gartner, Inc. 2017. Overview of the Maturity Model for Data and Analytics.

 

Where do you feel your organisation sits within the Gartner data and analytics maturity model? Do you feel your organisation is ahead of the curve (4 or 5), lagging (1), or prepared to leapfrog to (3)?

To gain a better understanding of our industry specific state, take part in our quick survey on data maturity. All respondents will benefit from access to the publication of our findings, which will be anonymised and aggregated before publication. Click HERE to access the survey.