— Murray Izenwasser, SVP, Digital Strategy
Welcome to the third edition of our blog series, “Under the Hood: Unlocking the Hidden Value in Insurance Data.” This blog post explores the importance of a centralized data source for insurers. Despite having a wealth of customer and other historical data, accessibility remains an issue within insurance organizations. The data isn’t always available to everyone across the organization. When it is, the data isn’t necessarily all from the same source, raising the question: how dependable is the data?
Can You Trust Your Data?
Data resides in various systems across an organization. Before big data and the cloud revolutionized business, it was common for different departments to create and manage their data. Each department created its own policies, procedures, and goals and developed discrete ways of working with data. Most legacy systems were also implemented to operate in isolation paving the way for data silos. These silos made it harder for insurers looking to make data-driven decisions, as not everyone in the organization was operating off of the same data.
However, having one location for all of this data — one trusted source of operating information — ensures everyone has access to the same information.
Build a Single Source of Truth (SSOT)
To get the most value out of the data, carriers must ensure they work from a single source of truth for everything from underwriting and claims to customer service data, sales, and marketing conversion rates. Those who do can make better data-driven decisions based on the data from the business as a whole rather than from any one department.
When data is organized and combined into one data source, stakeholders can analyze information faster and get the insights they need to bring ideas to market quickly. A robust data infrastructure that runs on a SSOT:
– Eliminates duplicate data entries, saving time and increasing productivity
– Reduces time spent on verifying data accuracy, improving quality, and freeing up time for other tasks
– Improves data intelligence capabilities, driving a competitive edge
– Enhances decision-making, allowing insurance companies to respond to changes in the market quickly and effectively.
Read our customer story here.
Bring All Your Data (and Insights) Together
If carriers must get all the data in one place, they must first tear down data silos and make data more shareable. It involves identifying where the data currently sits, how it is collected, and how relevant it is. Once the data has been gathered and audited, and individual teams have identified the challenges with their existing data management system(s), the business can zero in on the platform they will use as their single source of truth, including the systems that will be integrated into it.
The Conflict Disparate Data Sources Create
- Without a single source of truth (SSOT), various departments find themselves with competing data sources. Each department operates as a black box.
- A lot of time is spent debating conflicting sources and delaying decisions.
- Too many data sources create data sprawl across the organization’s systems. Without a centralized system to make sense of the most critical information, decision-making is impacted.
- Data inconsistencies and errors in non-integrated systems can impact reporting. Inaccurate or incomplete reporting hinders decision-making and the carrier’s ability to identify trends, track performance, and seize opportunities.
Bridge the Gap Between Different Teams and Disparate Data Sources
A single source of truth empowers insurance leaders with a holistic 360-degree view of their company, systems, and processes. With more trust in the data, carriers can better separate the strategic signal from the operational noise, prevent subpar decisions, and guide the organization in the right direction.
If you’d like to learn more about how to unify your data and work from a single source of truth (SSOT), get in touch with us.
