big data

The controversy surrounding the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica’s use of personal data harvested from social media accounts without the users’ permission is among the first of what likely will be a long series of public debates about how the use of “big data” can shape our lives. And one of the most obvious battlegrounds where we should expect such fights to play out soon is in the insurance industry.

In theory, it is the depersonalization of the consumer experience and process in search of the cheapest and easiest alternative in doing business.  Life insurance is unfortunately one of those entities subject to these forces, whether by Amazon or by other methods insurers are now using to amalgamate the process.

Why “We have always done it this way” is not an ideal approach for insurers today.

Sears Merritt says the company has already learned interesting things about how people age.
 

Munich Re assessed LexisNexis Risk Classifier, a predictive modeling tool developed and owned by LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Inc. that accurately stratifies mortality risk using public records, consumer credit history and motor vehicle history. Insurers considering alternative data-based mortality scores should begin with a retrospective validation study on their own experience data.

Can big data from a bad flu season yield insights into all-cause mortality and help guide insurance risk assessment? RGA and Blue Dot partner to explore the global spread of infectious disease and arrive at fascinating insights. 

Munich Re assessed the effectiveness of physical activity as measured by wearable sensors in stratifying the mortality risk profile of a U.S. population-based dataset provided by Vivametrica. Munich Re examined the dataset, performed classical actuarial mortality analysis and used survival analysis and machine learning techniques to evaluate the extent to which physical activity predicts mortality. 

Slides from presentations given at the 48th annual M.U.D. Conference have been posted at their website. Presentations include:

• The Population is Abusing Drugs, but Are Drugs Abusing Insurance? 
• Update from the Cuckoo’s Nest: Mental Health Underwriting  
• Electronic Medical Records - State of the Union Update
• The Rise and Fall of Liver Biopsy
• Prostate Cancer- To screen or not to screen that is the question 
• Through Thick and Thin – Red Blood Cell Disorders
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Evaluating Those with a Big Heart 
• Using Third Party Scoring in Accelerated Underwriting
• Data Analytics & Underwriting: Are 20th-century regulations still appropriate for 21st-century underwriting? 
• Anti Aging, Youthful Medication, Longevity/HGH 
• Mind the Gap- Understanding the influence of anti-selection and various holes in the underwriting process of accelerated versus traditional underwriting 

The predictive power of credit behavior data can accelerate the underwriting process for life insurers.