Data potential still relatively untapped by re/insurers: Gossmann

The re/insurance industry needs to unlock the potential of the huge amount of data it possesses, Arndt Gossmann, chief executive officer of Gossmann & Cie told Baden-Baden Today.

He said that although the industry is awash with data, much of it is still largely untapped due to underuse of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.

Gossmann’s newly launched product, ExPRO (Expiring Policy Roll-Over), eliminates all expired policies within active underwriting portfolios, with Munich Re as its exclusive reinsurance partner. All policies within ExPRO will be digitised to make full use of data analytics.

“This product is inspired and enabled by the new possibilities in technology and data,” he explained.

“Our industry is sitting on a lot of data, and data is capital. It is a huge source not only for product innovation but also for improvement.”

He believes the industry as a whole has a long way to go to fully embrace this potential.

“I was surprised to find that the solutions you can buy on the market have a technical core that is 15 years old or older,” he said. “It’s like building a new car and putting an old engine in it.”

He added that ExPRO’s ability to release capital from active books is possible only thanks to advanced data analytics that facilitate forward pricing.

“It would have not been possible four or five years ago,” Gossmann said. “There was no existing pricing model for that, so we went from scratch.

“We started to analyse portfolios from a pure data perspective, we used data analytics, and out of this analysis of real portfolios we developed an algorithm to price forward. It’s a completely different way of doing due diligence.

“We are more accurate in our expectations and that enables us to price a policy when it has expired.”

ExPRO will use blockchain technology to enable fully digitised contracts, keeping everything in one place and always up to date.

“Blockchain is the opening to further advances such as AI machine learning. It will save a lot of money because it is boosting efficiency,” he said.