Anthemis Insurtech Forum: Superior Data, Superior Product?

W. Edwards Deming, the famous engineer and statistician, is known particularly for his specialism in sampling techniques. He is credited with the famous phrase, “In God we trust, all others must bring data,” and his work is still used by the United States’ Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this quip originated from a wise actuary or an experienced underwriter, such is the frequency of its use within the insurance industry and, in fact, broader financial services. But does superior data mean a superior product?

In fact, what data? How…? And why?

With all of the above in mind, last week Ruth Foxe Blader and I convened a group of experts to talk about these topics. The session, “Superior Data, Superior Product?” featured Ambre Soubiran from Kaiko, Graham Chesney from Quantemplate, and Rosina Smith from Insurdata. Bring data, you said? No problem…

We questioned:

• Is deeper, more granular data a problem — or a solution?
• How do you build technology that’s scalable enough to accept exponentially increasing raw data?
• What technologies and techniques do companies use to transform data into information?

There’s no question that attitudes to ‘big data’ have changed over the years. At the inception of the data revolution, many people in tech positioned data as the solution to every problem. After a brief dalliance with disillusion (= a few failed — and sometimes expensive — proof of concept projects), it feels as though belief in the power of data is back and stronger than ever, not least because better tools to make data usable now exist. That’s where Graham and Quantemplate come in, integrating, automating and analyzing an insurer’s data sources, all in one place. The relationship is becoming ever clearer: better data infrastructure allows insurers to do better business.

Belief and value in data can differ by line of business, of course, but optimism seems particularly strong in commercial property underwriting. Traditionally considered a statistics game — bundle enough risks into a portfolio and overall you’ll be fine — Insurdata has caught insurers and reinsurers by surprise, highlighting the truly shocking benefit of integrating sources of high resolution data into the underwriting process. It’s not controversial to want to know what’s lurking within your portfolio…

Speaking of controversies, cryptocurrencies have been perhaps the most contentious technology topic for many years, if not always! The key topic in crypto discussions is data quality. Financial institutions, beginning to engage with crypto for the first time, need institutional-grade market data. This means that they need it at the right time, in the right place, and it needs to be 100 percent accurate. With over 85 exchange integrations and over 20,000 currency pairs, Kaiko provides an industry-leading solution that firms can rely upon.

After Satya Nadella’s comments that Microsoft had seen two years’-worth of digital transformation in two months — echoed elsewhere by other insurers too — it’s no surprise that these startups, especially given their focus, have been incredibly busy over the last few weeks. We’re grateful to these entrepreneurs for making the time to talk about what they’re working on. To hear more about the impact of geospatial data, the role of crypto in insurance and more, sign up and listen! Don’t forget to register for our next edition on climate change and its impact on insurtech!