AI Issue 11 2017

Acquisition International - November 2017 33 Connecting the World with Intelligent Insurance Solutions and areas of expertise also helps to generate an atmosphere of creativity and a wealth of new ideas.” Following on from the dynamic approach that Concirrus takes with its clients, Andy discusses the internal culture within the company, and explains how he and the team ensure that all members of staff are equipped to provide the best possible service to clients. “Being relatively small, we have a flat structure at Concirrus with a very open culture; staff are able to voice their opinion and suggest new and better ways of doing things. We encourage our customers to work with us collaboratively, sending actuaries and underwriters to spend time with us and understand our work with them. This makes it a very hands-on approach and everyone, from data scientists to developers, is involved in creating our products and making them better than anything that is currently available within the market. It is an inspiring place to be.” Providing us with a brief overview of the industry within London, Andy is enthusiastic about the opportunities presented to growing companies, citing the emergence of a number of ideas and new businesses within the area. “London is a great place for growing tech companies – especially fintech and insurtech (with access to the Lloyd’s insurance market and The City). Whether clients are seeking to disrupt an industry with a new offering or change the way an industry works by partnering with incumbents, there are lots of great ideas and businesses emerging at the moment. “In terms of our customers’ industry (and the world of commercial insurance in general), we expect there to be huge changes within the next five years. The London and Lloyds markets in particular are under pressure to innovate. With relatively high operating costs, increasing competition globally, and excess global shipping capacity putting pressure on profit margins, insurers are looking for new ways of working. They have to address efficiency costs and the way in which they select and price risk. New, connected, products and data analytics offer big opportunities for them and many organisations are looking to smaller, more dynamic, providers like Concirrus for new ideas.” Having commented on what the industry is like within London, Andy talks about the technology industry as a whole, describing what techniques the company employs in order to stay ahead of emerging developments within the fast-paced market. “Vital to our success is ensuring we are on top of developments and can anticipate potential advances within the industry. We constantly monitor what other companies in our space are up to, and we are very well connected within our customer’s industry. Recently, we held one of our regular dinners where we brought 40+ senior insurance personnel into one room to talk about insurtech and how this was affecting their organisations. What was fascinating, was the way in which everyone in the room was looking to everyone else to find out how to start! Ultimately, we find insurers look to organisations like us to help them start the process of innovation. As a smaller, dynamic business, we have crafted some very effective engagement models that allow us to help our customers take those first steps towards a connected future. “It is our prediction that in five years’ time there will be two types of insurers; insurers that have adopted connected technologies and the Internet of Things into their business models, and; insurers that used to exist. Connected technologies have made huge volumes of real time data available, and insurers need to learn how to use it, before the rest of the market does.” Furthermore, it is what differentiates Concirrus from similar firms within the technology industry which makes their approach so successful. Andy tells us exactly what it is that marks the company out as the best possible option for clients. “Firstly, our ability to manipulate and exploit real time data, using AI to bring it to life and incorporate it into the decision processes of our customer organisations. This is not something that is currently being offered within the marine industry. Secondly, our steadfast commitment to developing simple, clean, easy to use software that allows insurers easy access to vast, complex datasets is not something that is currently available. “Moreover, our understanding of our customers’ business needs. We have broad range of insurance expertise in-house, and we utilise this to develop our products. Lastly, our network of partnerships (with data source providers, marine industry players and systems integrators) gives us the unique ability to offer truly transformational products that revolutionise the way our customer organisations function.” In his concluding comments, Andy predicts what the future holds for Concirrus. He mentions projects that are currently under way and what upcoming projects will benefit the firm. He signs off by excitedly informing of us of how the developments within the industry will benefit the company, after explaining how the team at Concirrus will adapt to these changes. “Moving forward, we are focusing our attention on Marine at the moment, but ultimately you can apply our technology to all areas of insurance and risk management. Ultimately, it’s about gaining behavioural insight from data produced by connected devices and assets and using that insight in a way that is beneficial for the business – that’s something that is applicable across the board. As a business, we have a lot of experience within motor telematics (we have a telematics platform and have been working with Granite Underwriting for the past three years), and we also have experience within the Home Insurance space so we’re well placed to expand our operations into multiple lines of business. Our analytics environment is fit for purpose for any line of insurance (not just Marine), and this will become very relevant in the future as concepts such as live exposure management are applied by insurers across multiple lines. When the next Hurricane breaks across the Caribbean, insurers will need accurate, live information on what assets they have within the storm path, and these may be both on-shore and off-shore, mobile or static. Vessels, off-shore energy installations, cargo, warehouses, property & homes, transport infrastructure etc. Insurers need to be more efficient and intelligent in the way that they act (and the relationships they form with their customers), and this applies to all lines, not just marine. “The future looks very positive for us – we believe that if we help our customers win and their business flourish then so will we. Today, only 10% of the world’s risk is insured and the future is data-driven underwriting which places our technology and our company at the centre of this opportunity”