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[00:00:00] Cameron Scott: So amalgamating that into a single view is critical in order to succeed in this market. The AI can only be as good as the data behind it. 

[00:00:08] Paul Lucas: Hello everyone, welcome to Insurance Business tv. And welcome to a special edition. As we look at the impact of technology data and specifically AI on the insurance landscape to take us through it, we have one of the most fascinating areas of the market here, of course. Well, we have a true expert on hand. That man is Cameron Scott, VP of Sales and Marketing at ISI. Cameron, welcome to Insurance Business tv. 

[00:00:32] Cameron Scott: Thanks Paul. Great to be here. 

[00:00:34] Paul Lucas: So let’s start with a little data talk. If we can. As commercial insurers and MGA’s manage business across broker direct program channels, how important is it to unify that data into a single view of the book of business? 

[00:00:48] Cameron Scott: Certainly seeing an increased need for providing a single view of data. There are countless ways that an insurance company receives interactions from the end insured or the consumer. So amalgamating that into a single view is critical in order to succeed in this market. We’re certainly seeing a growth in MGA and program business, which requires additional views of the data when it’s coming in from multiple sources in order to appropriately select risks and underwrite risks. Fragmented data often comes in via an upload or an accounting posting, and that can be risky. It doesn’t allow for leaders to quickly respond to the shifting markets. 

[00:01:28] Paul Lucas: Okay, so what should commercial carriers prioritise then to create that sort of unified view? And indeed, how does that foundation improve underwriting in reporting and then the ability to apply AI? 

[00:01:38] Cameron Scott: It really comes first with a data strategy and having a data strategy that supports AI use. So the data strategy can be one where you are deploying a data lake or data warehouse to bring a consolidated view of your various systems. Or it can be an approach where you’re migrating all of your existing data into a single platform with similar data structures. We found the latter to be the most successful in proper risk evaluation and providing underwriters with real time data, especially around accumulation across the book of business to prevent from overexposure. This can be especially critical in property lines. And if insurance companies are not yet using AI at scale, they’re certainly talking about it. And the AI can only be as good as the data behind it. A unified data foundation that follows similar structures provides the most benefit for AI. And this benefit can be seen across submission, ingestion and submission handling, generating underwriting insights across the full portfolio, but also automating day to day workflows and mundane tasks, setting up for AI use really comes first with data strategy. 

[00:02:44] Paul Lucas: None of this is possible really if you’re working on a legacy system. Many insurers, of course, still operate across multiple legacy systems and data silos. So what are the biggest operational or strategic risks of continuing with that sort of fragmented approach? 

[00:03:01] Cameron Scott: Yeah, beyond the operational efficiency, that’s a key one. Manual workarounds, re keying data, duplicated effort. We are certainly seeing a missed AI opportunity. 

[00:03:12] Paul Lucas: Let’s continue that AI theme if we can. There’s of course a lot of discussion around AI and underwriting and operations, but also a fair amount of hesitation as well. So where are you seeing AI deliver sort of tangible value today and where is it still more, I guess, promised than reality? 

[00:03:30] Cameron Scott: First and foremost with AI, we’re focused on human in the loop. And I think most insurance companies today are certainly having policies in place where there has to be a human in the loop with any AI use. So we see it as enabling teams to move faster, with more confidence. So where it can hit the front of the life cycle of an insurance policy at submission, ingestion with triage and prioritization, and also providing underwriting insights, it can surface early risk indicators, highlight missing information rapidly get that information back from the prospective insured. But all of that is done with a human in the loop. Where we’re seeing more promise than reality is fully automated underwriting decisions. Where there isn’t a human in the loop, where responses generated by AI actually are booking and binding the risk. We aren’t seeing that as much today. And certainly without human oversight, you’re not going to be wanting to push out AI decisions. 

[00:04:31] Paul Lucas: Your experience working, of course, with carriers and MGAs, what tends to be the biggest barrier when trying to modernize those core systems? And indeed, how can organizations overcome that without disrupting the business? 

[00:04:43] Cameron Scott: It can be very challenging to do it without disrupting the business. I think strong alignment between the business and it is critical for any of these projects. There’s just going to be disruption. There’s going to be disruption to the business as part of any of these projects. But you do that within mind of the efficiencies that we’re going to gain and the benefits that we’re going to gain after the fact. 

[00:05:06] Paul Lucas: So looking ahead then, how do you see expectations from brokers and policyholders evolving over time? Indeed, what do insurers need to have in place in order to keep up with those demands? 

[00:05:17] Cameron Scott: So we’re seeing the demands of insurers to be ever increasing, especially based on the news of constant AI advancement. I see it falling into four different categories speed, transparency, self service, and consistency. Insureds are looking for faster quotes and faster decisions. They’re looking for transparency around the status of their underwriting, around the communication throughout the policy life cycle. Ideally they can have self service capabilities where they can access some of that information themselves and get real time responses and consistency having the same experience across various channels, whether they’re engaged through the broker direct or through an MGA partner. We would like a consistent experience, look and feel and access to the information. 

[00:06:01] Paul Lucas: When there’s definitely going to be a fascinating landscape to watch. And Cameron, huge thanks for your time today and thanks of course to you for watching. We’ll see you next time right here at Insurance Business TV.