Big data investments in the insurance industry are expected to account for more than US$2.4 billion by the end of 2018, according to new data from market research and consulting firm SNS Telecom & IT.

Originally used to describe data sets whose size was beyond the ability of traditional databases, “big data” has expanded over the years to refer to not only the data itself, but technologies that capture, store, manage and analyze it to solve complex problems.

According to SNS Telecom & IT, the insurance industry has found a host of applications for big data, from targeted marketing and personalized products to usage-based insurance, more efficient claims processing and proactive fraud detection.

SNS Telecom & IT estimated that big data investments in the insurance space will hit US$2.4 billion this year alone. With opportunities for insurtech specialists, insurers, reinsurers, insurance brokers and other stakeholders, big data investments are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 14% for the next three years, the company said.

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