SigmaWay Blog

Packing and moving your living space is quite a headache. Especially in India, most of the people try to find someone providing the cheap shifting services and hence get trapped as they do not provide safety to your good, thus resulting in an expensive net cost. Thankfully, technology is again helping humans to get a fair deal in terms of safety of good and proper quotation of charges. Some of the reallocating companies have started to use AI based softwares that can quote exact amount to be charged from customers based of the quantity and nature of goods, destination, path to destination, floor of new location, whether lift is present or not and many more relevant factors. These softwares also helps to find the price for the goods so that they can have an insurance of that amount. Customers can also use the GPS technology to track their goods while they are being shifted to a place too far.

Read more at https://www.analyticsinsight.net/relocation-industry-working-algorithms-comprehend-consumer-needs/

Natural disasters bring loss of life and property and some insurance covers protect yourself and family during any natural calamity. Life insurance provides cover in case of death by special perils like fire, storm, cyclone, earthquake, and flood. A term policy supports the family in case of any unforeseen circumstances and the premium rate for the same is normally low. Home insurance also provides protection against burglary, damage and electrical breakdowns. Personal accident insurance is useful in case of permanent disability and death; you get 100% lump sum amount of the sum insured and in case of partial disability, you get some percentage of the sum insured, depending upon the insurance company. Read more at: http://www.financialexpress.com/money/insurance/crisis-insurance-how-to-protect-yourself-against-natural-disasters/624700/

Automobiles are becoming highly advanced with the high-performance engines and technologies. Telematics provides the information about the performance of both vehicles and drivers. This automotive technology along with Internet of Things (IoT) is creating favorable impact on the car industry and its related industries like insurance, transportation and logistics service-based companies with fleets and infrastructure. The concept of autonomous vehicle has been there for ages, but with the application of AI it has gained new life. AI can act as an assistant to the human driver providing them a safe driving and with the help of biometric it adds a new level to the car security. Information asymmetry is the main problem in the insurance industries, but with predictive analytics using the available data this problem can be solved. The AI creates a win-win situation for both the user and provider. Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianrashid/2017/05/16/how-ai-pioneers-will-affect-the-car-industry-and-why-its-a-good-thing/#7c2fcfde57c2

In this digital age, people are extensively buying gadgets like laptops, computers, mobile phones etc., and Manufacturers provide a one year warranty though limited to manufacturing defects. But what about a gadget being stolen or damaged. Insurance companies are introducing insurance cover for gadgets and they cover the following aspects-:

# Theft and Burglary

# Physical and Liquid Damage- 

# Accidents 

To know more, please read the article written by Kapil Mehta (Executive Director, SecureNow Insurance Broker) at The Economic times ( Technology ) -: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/can-your-electronic-gadgets-be-effectively-insured/articleshow/50133249.cms

A recent study by MIT University shows that there is a 78% increase over the past three years in the job posting related to analytics and this led universities to launch specialized program in Master in Business Analytics. Nowadays, data analytics are used in marketing, finance, health care, logistics, insurance ecommerce, manufacturing and government services. To know more, please read the article by Michael Norton (Writer at lowellsun.com)-: http://www.lowellsun.com/business/ci_29635724/mit-reports-spike-analytics-job-postings

Wearables are more than a fitness tracker. Life Insurance providers are now using this gadget to track their customers' heart rate, sleep patterns and physical activity and reward policy takers with policy discounts and movie tickets. It is also being used to redefine traumatic medical events like heart attacks and claims correspond to that. To know more, please read the article by Ruth Liew (Reporter at ‘ The Sydney Morning Herald’ ) -: http://www.smh.com.au/business/wearable-tech-the-future-of-life-insurance-20160309-gnf60l.html

Image source -:http://www.healthworkscollective.com/veer-gidwaney/163271/how-wearables-will-transform-health-insurance-game

A recent survey on customer retention revealed that insures lose as much as 20% of their customers each year. For the insurance agency this corresponds to approximately £500,000 to £1 million in lost premiums for every 1,000 policies. Customer retention is thus an important issue facing the industry. Three key points can help insurance companies to eliminate customer churn.
• Firstly, they need to properly understand their customer, which means determining overall market segmentation to understand cross sell and up sell opportunities at individual policyholder level.
• Secondly, insurance companies must be able to provide tailor made policies for each individual and also have a unique selling point in comparison to their rivals.
• Lastly, companies need to realize that they have to listen to their customer’s preferences rather than the customer having to choose from the list of policies the insurer has to offer.
Should the above be kept in mind in a company’s planning and operations customer churn can certainly be minimized if not completely eliminated.

For more information visit:
http://blogs.sap.com/banking/2015/06/19/preventing-customer-churn-with-better-data-analytics/

A recent survey on customer retention revealed that insures lose as much as 20% of their customers each year. For the insurance agency this corresponds to approximately £500,000 to £1 million in lost premiums for every 1,000 policies. Customer retention is thus an important issue facing the industry. Three key points can help insurance companies to eliminate customer churn.
• Firstly, they need to properly understand their customers, which mean determining overall market segmentation to understand cross sell and up sell opportunities at individual policyholder level.
• Secondly, insurance companies must be able to provide tailor made policies for each individual and also have a unique selling point in comparison to their rivals.
• Lastly, companies need to realize that they have to listen to their customer’s preferences rather than the customer having to choose from the list of policies the insurer has to offer.
Should the above be kept in mind in a company’s planning and operations customer churn can certainly be minimized if not completely eliminated.

For more information visit:
http://blogs.sap.com/banking/2015/06/19/preventing-customer-churn-with-better-data-analytics/

In the present economic landscape, operating costs are critical in deciding competitive advantage. To explain cost gaps, size, sales channel, product mix and geography comes into the picture. Management decisions play a key feature in operating cost in the following roles:
1. Business complexity an important player, as large product portfolios and multiple brands produce higher cost on average. Higher complexity leads to inadequate priced contracts.
2. Operating models show that optimized setup reduces costs. Workload backlogs lead to customer dissatisfaction and deteriorate financial performance.
3. IT system landscape is a root cause to failing economies of scale.
4. Performance management helps reducing costs and improve company’s culture
To know more:  http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/financial_services/what_drives_insurance_operating_costs

Micro lending is a way through which micro finance institutions (MFIs) provide micro credit to support entrepreneurship in rural areas. According to a Wall Street Journal report, experts have come up with ways that would make micro lending more effective. Instead of providing loans solely for investment purposes, MFIs could also lend for personal expenses if the borrower has the ability to pay back the loan with interest. Also, lenders should employ research to measure the success of the financial programs, making sure that the client not only returns the debt but does so while making a profit and not by selling his assets. Another way to make micro lending effective is to take up a holistic perspective. Quoting Iskenderian “Micro lending will be more effective if there are other safety-net and asset-building products in place—like insurance, savings and pensions—so that families can be secure and repay that loan.” Last but not the least is to make use technology for money transfer and big data analysis of mobile phone usage thereby easing out the whole process and saving time. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/ad/article/mlf-5-ideas-to-make-microlending-more-effective

Through a study, Gallup (research organisation) found that two thirds of the Americans are satisfied with the current health care system. People who own insurance schemes are more satisfied with the current health care system compared to others who don’t have insurance schemes. According to Gallup, health care insurance status plays an important role in the life of an American. Researchers also found that most of the young and old people like the present health care system. The article by Laura Matthews, U.S political reporter for the International Business Times, speaks about the Americans’ reaction towards the current health care system.  

For more information please visit http://www.ibtimes.com/majority-americans-say-healthcare-system-isnt-crisis-1561795

FICO, a predictive analytics and decision management software company, has done a global survey which revealed that 55% of customers want insurance renewal reminder more frequently through mail and Smartphone.

For more information, please go through: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140312-906735.html

Stuart Rose, global insurance marketing manager at Cary, talks about how Insurance companies gather piles of text based data everyday about customers’ detail. It also addresses the different patterns used to explore unstructured information and analyze them. Text Analytics helps in understanding the details contained in the unstructured sources. The areas where text analytics can positively impact on insurer profitability are – Subrogation, Fraud Detection and Brand Reputation.

For more information please follow

http://www.insurancetech.com/business-intelligence/3-insurance-business-applications-for-te/240165269

Insurance organisations face problems in storing information. With the increase of information, innovations are required to handle information to detect risk properly. With the help of analytics in distribution channel, market products have improved. It also helps in taking decisions and reduces customer retention.

For more information, please go through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN-KgCgZdTE

The main threat of any insurance organisation is to detect fraud. To prevent fraud effectively, SAS has taken a Hybrid Approach, which enables detection of fraud 10times more effectively. The technologies in this Hybrid Approach are: Business rules, Anomaly Detection, Predictive Models and Social Network Analysis.

For more information, please go through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJmJ_jK7gU

Susanne Sclafane, senior editor at Wells Media Group, talks about the extensive use of predictive analytics in insurance sector. The most prevailing uses of predictive modelling are rating, underwriting, marketing and forecasting. It also conveys some of the threats faced by the insurance industry.

For more information follow http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2013/11/07/310601.htm

The biggest challenge for any insurance company is  to capture, store, search, share, analyze and visualize big data. Moreover, handling these data is also very challenging for the insurers. Étienne Castonguay, partner and co-founder of InEdge, suggests that Predictive Modelling in insurance can help them in solving the problems.

For more information, please go through: http://tdwi.org/Articles/2013/02/26/Insurance-Analytics-Trends.aspx?Page=1

Data Analytics is very significant for the insurance industry helping to reconstruct the processes. Around 74% of the insurance sector is creating aggressive dominance for their companies by using analytical tools. To challenge and succeed in this charismatic environment, insurers must amend the value of big data. While the industry has upgraded in evaluating the structured data linked with their products but the unstructured and semi-structured information is yet untried. By focusing on the appropriate expertise, the insurance companies will be on the correct path to contend and bloom globally.

For more Information please follow

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/thoughtleadership/big-data-insurance/