Confident decisions powered by trusted data
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
The Precisely Data Integrity Suite fuels P&C insurers with trusted data, providing a comprehensive view of property risk when underwriting new policy
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s businesses react to macroeconomic threats and lower consumer spending, the need for them to make more confident and agile
business decisions takes on added significance. Companies increasingly rely on data-driven decisionmaking to drive continued growth through uncertainty – and having access to trustworthy data to fuel that decision-making process becomes even more critical. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Precisely is the global leader in data integrity, empowering businesses to make confident decisions based on accurate, consistent, and contextual data – no matter what their industry, or the broader economic implications, throw at them. Working across industries – including financial services and insurance, government, proptech, retail, and telecommunications, the Precisely Data Integrity Suite is designed to be flexible, modular, and interoperable, meaning it can adapt to client needs no matter where they are in their data integrity journey. The fact that Precisely works with 99 of the Fortune 100 companies is a testament to the business-wide value that they are able to deliver through their unique combination of software, data, and strategic services. Within the insurance market, Precisely serves verticals such as life, health and annuity – but by far its biggest insurance line is P&C. There, the company has a similarly impressive footprint. All 25 of the 25 largest P&C carriers use Precisely solutions, along with a majority of the top 50. And generally, the company is talking to at least half of the top 300 insurers, helping them to solve complex day-to-day data challenges. precisely.com
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DANIEL TRATO TITLE: SOLUTION ARCHITECT COMPANY: PRECISELY
Daniel Tatro is a Solution Architect at Precisely. He has more than 2 decades in the field, spanning numerous verticals including insurance, telco and technology. He resides in Ballston Spa, NY with his wife and three children.
“We provide the confidence for insurers to make informed decisions about risk selection, pricing, and then overall understanding about the conditions of the property.” – Daniel Trato, Solution Architect, Precisely
“That could involve providing
understanding about the conditions
technology mix, providing an
a 360° view of a customer across
of the property.” Tatro says.
algorithmic snapshot of previous
multiple policy administration
risks and giving insurers greater
systems,” explains Daniel Tatro,
Does climate change make
insight into how that risk might
Solution Architect within Precisely’s
data more important?
evolve over time.
Insurance Practice. “It could
One of the greatest challenges
be different lines of business,
facing P&C insurers today is the
McKinsey’s Insurance 2030
it could be personal, it could be
shift in the business environment
forecast predicts that “AI and its
commercial, it could be just different
brought about by climate change.
related technologies will have
policy administration systems
According to the authors of
a seismic impact on all aspects
because an organisation either
a report by Tata Consultancy
of the insurance industry – from
grew organically or grew
Services, “climate change is
distribution to underwriting
through acquisition.”
manifesting itself in the form of
and pricing to claims”. For P&C
changing weather patterns and
carriers, this begins with a deeper
The company’s “sweet spot”
increasing frequency of natural
understanding of the risks
within P&C insurance is location
catastrophes” – something that
that each new customer,
intelligence and property
P&C insurers must adapt to in
each new property, represents.
insights, Tatro explains, which
order to protect their businesses.
One of the most difficult risks
give insurers and landowners
A key part of this puzzle involves
to underwrite today is wildfire.
greater clarity around the risk
the strength of data and ensuring
As a result, some insurers are
that a subject property faces.
they understand emerging risks.
even beginning to balk at new
“We provide the confidence
property insurance policies in
for insurers to make informed
AI and machine learning (ML)
California, making wildfire the next
decisions about risk selection,
can be vital components of
potential ‘uninsurable’ line. When
pricing, and then overall
the insurance industry’s future
individual wildfire events can lead to
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precisely.com
property damage in the
age, which is a key determinant
tens of billions of dollars, it’s
in the risk of structural failure;
easy to see why P&C insurers are
analysing the outline of a building
becoming hesitant to protect
as well as impervious surfaces or
homes at risk of wildfire.
structures such as parking lots;
Precisely is utilizing synthetic
and detecting localised flood risk
aperture radar (SAR) to monitor
or wildfire risk, including vegetation
the moisture level in soil and
near a structure that might
gauge drought, giving a near
aid the spread of a fire.
real-time overview of the risk
But Precisely is more than just
of wildfire spreading.
a software and data provider. Indeed, it sits at the intersection
99% of the Fortune 100 use Precisely
Precisely provides the most
between software, data, and
up-to-date property insights
strategic services. That is to say,
combined with easy data
its software is just the first step
enrichment, and sets up insurers
towards providing clients with
for success and innovation,
more trustworthy business data.
a certain property. It’s an added
“think of insurers combining our
Aerial images are incredibly
dimension that Daniel Tatro
property and enrichment data
useful – but they are not
describes as “ground truth”.
with areal imaging and drone
business insights themselves.
“If an insurer has a particular
footage,” says Tatro. This process
Instead, Precisely takes those
address, they could understand
covers a wealth of different
images and contextualizes them
that it’s a single-family residence,
possibilities – from examining the
to understand the risk that P&C
perhaps one piece of land,
condition of a roof, such as roof
carriers face from insuring
as well as what structures are
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on that land,” he says. “Precisely
Even when it comes to something
insurers confidence that
provides that level of ‘ground
relatively simple – like the
they have the full picture of
truth’ so that, when we as the
age of a roof – satellite imagery
a property’s risk. Precisely’s
algorithms to look at these
has the upper hand over self-
approach may also fill in data
images, they know the extent
reporting. A property owner
gaps, where data previously
of where to look and what to
may be unaware of their
didn’t exist. This can include risk
look for.”
roof’s age, or might only
factors such as roof height and
just have bought the property.
pitch, which can impact the risk
Providing insurers with
Yet artificial intelligence and
of hail damage. “It’s providing
greater trust in data
satellite photography can
confidence to the carrier that
Technology like satellite imagery
provide accuracy without the
they can trust the data they
helps provide an increased
human factor. But it’s not just
have in hand,” Tatro says.
accuracy level for insurers.
about accuracy. It also gives AI and ML also reduce the
All 25 of the 25 largest P&C carriers use Precisely solutions 6
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need for manual inspections, which, as well as being less effective at spotting risk, are labor-intensive and, in some cases, even plain dangerous. Aerial imaging prevents loss
adjustors from having to scale roofs, which could possibly result in them falling and getting hurt, because advances in technology allow this inspection process to be automated – with the overall benefit that assessments become more accurate. This
“I think the approach to risk detection and measurement is changing fundamentally. It’s becoming more current, the cadence is more dense.” – Daniel Trato, Solution Architect, Precisely
is complemented by the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, which Tatro believes will have a role to play in the insurance industry. Learning to live with a changing planet Although the fight against climate change continues, insurers need to find ways to remain resilient today. António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), has previously described the climate emergency as “a race we are losing”, albeit one that we can eventually win. Although many climate stakeholders remain confident of our ability to keep global warming below the agreed 1.5°C threshold, as set out in the
[become] daily, or it could
of threat at hand. This, in turn,
Paris Agreement, it’s still possible
be a few times a day. We haven’t
allows them to make more
that the short-to-medium term
necessarily had the technology
informed decisions about
will be defined by our ability
to support that kind of
accepting new clients, helping
to endure the side-effects of
measurement in the past.”
to optimise their loss ratios.
a changing planet.
He accepts that we don’t have
But it also empowers
the technology to change the
insurers to pass on practical
“I think we’re seeing the
path of a hurricane or prevent
advice to insureds that will
approach to risk detection and
an earthquake, but the depth
help limit their exposure to risk,
risk measurement changing
of data that Precisely has at
mitigate the damage caused
fundamentally,” Tatro says.
a property level, plus enrichment
to a customer’s property in
“It’s becoming more current,
of weather and demographic
case of an extreme weather
the cadence is more dense.
factors, allows insurance industry
event, and lower the amount
We’re seeing measurements
clients to understand the nature
they must pay out afterwards. precisely.com
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These timely warnings of
right staff to deal with claims in
lower a premium on a property
an impending event “could
a specific location.” Being able
in good faith if they believe
be as simple as putting your
to respond to a huge volume of
it to be high risk. “Of course
car inside a garage before
claims in a timely manner, and
insurers want to lower premiums
a hail event or convective storm”
allocating resources accordingly,
– just as consumers do – but
continues Tatro, noting on the
is another way that insurers can
more importantly they want
tangible and very real applications
realize cost savings in partnership
to ensure their premiums are
of data, like helping insurers to
with Precisely. “The ability of
in line with the potential
allocate internal resources in
an insurer to lower premiums
risk at a particular property.”
the build-up to a major event.
is entirely dependent on their
“A lot of insurers use third-party
understanding of risk at
What next for the Insurance
companies to deal with claims.
a location,” Tatro continues.
team at Precisely?
When a major event is coming,
“Those two things are tied at
As Tatro sees it, the end-result
they will make sure they have the
the hip. An insurer couldn’t
is not just about optimising an
“Some of the technologies we have mentioned weren’t commercially viable 18 months ago, yet they’re becoming table stakes for organisations.” – Daniel Trato, Solution Architect, Precisely
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12,000
have mentioned weren’t
intelligence and property
commercially viable 18
insight gives us an opportunity
months ago, yet they’re
to play in the P&C space,”
becoming table stakes for
he concludes. “It proves
organisations. AI and satellite
future compatibility,
imaging will force everybody
the way we’ve been able
in the industry to stay nimble.
to leverage our current
insurer’s bottom line; it’s about
“Precisely’s foundational
technology in some of these
growing their slice of the pie.
understanding of location
fast-growing areas.”
customers
Higher customer satisfaction leads to higher renewal rates and lower churn, meaning more customers return year after year. “All of these things contribute to a more efficient organization and drive lower premiums,” Tatro says. This is crucial in today’s economy, where hard-pressed consumers are constantly re-evaluating the value they get from their insurance policies – and, indeed, where many policyholders might be contemplating not renewing in order to save money. Looking ahead to the next 12-18 months, Tatro expects to witness a continued transformation within the insurance industry, he explains: “Some of the technologies we
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Precisely is the global leader in data integrity, providing accuracy and consistency in data for 12,000 customers in more than 100 countries, including 99 of the Fortune 100. Precisely’s data integration, data quality, data governance, location intelligence, and data enrichment products power better business decisions to create better outcomes. Learn more at www.precisely.com.
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