Q&A Giroux: Rising to the challenge through analytics

Describe Giroux’s experience so far with the insurance industry and how it might develop in the future?

GIROUX was born out of a frustration of failed analytical projects which become a huge drain on time and cost for data intensive companies. This is particularly true of Insurers who are facing an unprecedented level of challenges from intense competition, rapidly evolving technology and regulatory pressure. Giroux passionately believes that analytical solutions will play a pivotal role in helping insurers rise to these challenges. Therefore, the company is now focusing solely on the insurance sector and more specifically the MGA market. This particular market is in need of affordable and powerful analytical solutions to support binder management. As to the future, because the solution provides the essential foundation for development in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, it fully anticipates it will expand into the syndicates and larger insurers.

Will data analytics improve client relationships or will it replace the need to get to know your clients and customers personally?

Of course, it is conceivable that new technology may indeed reduce the personal interaction with customers in certain circumstances. Businesses in the sector will need to judge the extent to which this is appropriate for each of their customer segments. The customers will then decide whether they want to buy insurance with a swipe of their iPhone or walk into a broker’s office and talk to a human being or something in between. Successful brokers and underwriters of the future will be those able to match the right approach and the right products to the right customers. They will only be able to do so by harnessing the power of data analytics technologies. Data analytics is a required stepping stone to achieve profitable customer intimacy.

You provide MGAs with scalable insurance analytics solutions. Should other insurers take notice?

Giroux has a unique and proven process which translates your business goals and objectives into powerful and future proof data architecture. The solution helps clients establish which KPI’s will improve control, strengthen performance and drive profitable growth. The approach consists of mapping critical business events and profiling data quickly and efficiently using the latest data warehouse automation technology. All data is then organised from multiple sources in the most optimal way with the strongest governance and highest security. It allows cross analysis of internal and external/ big data sources (e.g. flood mapping, sanctions lists etc.) and enables the creation of purpose built dashboards at all employee levels or for other stakeholders such as capacity providers or brokers.

How do you see technology transforming the insurance industry in the years ahead?

In the next few years, personalisation of insurance will likely break down broad traditional insurance policies into bite-size insurance consumables. The days of the annual policy may be numbered, we already see companies selling insurance that can be turned ‘on and off’ to suit the customer. With the use of data analytics, insurers can discover interesting and accurate predictors of risk that do not involve asking customers questions. The industry is at its polaroid moment, as ground-breaking mobile technology underpinned by Artificial Intelligence is beginning to change the way customers buy insurance. Data analytics is the key to successfully exploiting this trend.

How is Giroux making the job of underwriters easier?

Giroux’s solution comprises of a data warehouse where all your company’s data is stored and a powerful analytical platform where users can tailor their system to meet their needs. It is still an unfortunate truth that many underwriters and their teams waste so much time trawling through spreadsheets, logging into different systems and manually creating reports. The solution removes the menial, administrative tasks, and places all data in a simple, user friendly dashboard tailored for each role. As well as delivering all the data they need in one place and in the format they wish to see it, it also frees up the crucial resource of time, thereby allowing underwriters to be more creative and entrepreneurial.

Data security is a key concern, especially with next year’s introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Every second, more and more personal data is being collected, processed and analysed by businesses to gain commercial advantage. Sometimes this benefits the consumer, sometimes not. It is easy to understand why governments are seeking to protect their interests via regulation such as GDPR. Add to this the growing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks and you have a perfect storm. Businesses that can’t demonstrate control and governance over such data run enormous reputational and regulatory risk. So of course, data security is a key concern for insurers. Data is at a greater risk of exposure when it is stored in numerous locations, in a disorganised, ungoverned manner. It will also be very difficult to comply with GDPR if you don’t know what data you have on an individual or where to find it!

The insurance industry can be slow to adopt new technology. Is that your experience?

Since the industry willingly takes on so much insurance risk, it is typically averse to operational risk. Therefore, making significant investments in terms of time, human resource and capital is a big step to take. This is particularly true for more established insurers with legacy IT systems. There is perhaps a preconceived notion that projects to build a high quality, scalable data analytics capability take years, cost millions and drain human resources. With the latest data warehouse technology utilised by Giroux, this is no longer the case. This perception of high cost and risk, combined with an under appreciation of the benefits perhaps explains some of the reticence in adopting new technology. However, insurers will increasingly appreciate the value data analytics can add to their business, such as enhanced pricing capability and efficiency, greater ability to spot growth opportunities and improved governance, compliance and risk management. So rather than a sunk cost, this should be seen as a shrewd investment with a very tangible return.

What key skills will insurance professionals need to acquire to cope with the increasing role of technology?

The insurance industry is not known for its propensity to embrace change whilst technological innovation has advanced rapidly, therefore future insurance professionals will have to be far more adaptable, agile and open-minded in their thinking. For industry trainees, there is already a movement away from traditional tasks such as collation, organisation and cleansing of data towards its analysis and interpretation. Insurers should be looking at their recruitment process carefully and try to choose candidates that have the technical capabilities to fully leverage this new technology. Clearly the fields of actuarial and data science will be of great benefit to the future generation of underwriters and insurance entrepreneurs in this data revolution. Senior management may want to consider providing a forum for younger employees who are perhaps far more tuned in to the way insurance will be purchased in the future.

Eric Giroux

Eric Giroux holds an MBA from the London Business School (MBA FT99), and a BEng in Mechanical and Robotic Engineering from École Polytechnique. He is a certified MicroStrategy and Microsoft BI consultant. Eric has a 20-year track record in business analytics; including extensive financial management consulting with Deloitte in London. Eric has advised clients in many industries including household names such as GSK, BP, Barclays, Maersk and HSBC. In recent years, Eric has provided MI consultancy and solutions to insurers including the likes of Prudential, Amlin, Willis and companies in the MGA sector.

Giroux the Company

Giroux are acknowledged experts in data analytics tools for insurers. They have developed their solutions over ten years, constantly evolving to service the needs of a growing customer base. Today, they combine world-class consultancy with data warehouse automation and analytics tools to provide the ultimate data solution with transparency, insight and innovation.

Giroux the Product

Partnering with data leaders, MicroStrategy and Wherescape, Giroux’s data warehouse solutions connect and combine all data sources into one centralised store, organise data for richer analysis and present data in a user-friendly, feature-rich dashboard for dynamic insights.