London insurers fail to get to grips with Big Data

Xuber, Xchanging’s insurance software business, has launched the first chapter of its new report, ‘Mind The Gap: The Changing Landscape of the London Insurance Market’, in which it warns the London market is in danger of lagging behind global competitors by not working collectively to aggregate and analyse the wealth of data held by brokers and carriers.

The first chapter, entitled, ‘Big Data: The Devil is in the Detail’ explores the London market’s use of big data.  The insurance industry is built upon a significant amount of data, yet many would argue it is yet to unlock its real value. This was a matter for debate at Xuber’s ‘Mind the Gap’ roundtable, at which senior figures from the local market discussed London’s role as either a leader or follower in this area.

Richard Clark, head of business development and specialist commercial at Xuber, comments: “There is a deep sense of pride rooted within the London market; its idiosyncrasies provide it with a strong footing within a rapidly changing global market.  Having said that, the market faces several challenges over the coming years if it is to maintain its stronghold – and one of these is the need to utilise its data.

“The London market has so far failed to collaborate in its attempts to leverage data.  A market or company’s use of big data provides it with a point of differentiation from its competitors; it is no longer a case of it being a value added service, but rather integral to survival – a Darwinian challenge with those left behind unlikely to survive.”

Ian Summers, managing director, Qualitas London, echoed his thoughts, asking why the industry was not sharing data, and reminding the group that big brokers are already using big data to stay ahead of the pack.

Key themes regarding the London market and its use of big data within the report include:

• Global competition; the London market is at risk of falling behind its global counterparts by not accessing the true value of big data
• The use of big data often provides a point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace
• The power of data; do individual firms lose their competitive edge by sharing their data? Or by the market having the greatest control, will it maintain market power?
• Ownership; who really owns big data? – in a world where data sits in the public domain, who does it belong to?  Do brokers have a right to access client data, and how should they approach this?
• The importance of maintaining data integrity throughout the migration process
• How should the London market approach big data to ensure it is sourcing elements of real value; what tools are available to sift through this data?When it comes to a source as vast as social media, how much of this is information is truly useful?

The chapter, ‘Big Data: The Devil is in the Detail’, is now available to read as part of Xuber’s ‘Mind The Gap: The Changing Landscape of the London Insurance Market’ report, click here.