NeuralMetrics’ CEO Prakash Vasant and technical co-founder Marcus Daley address the impact of technology on underwriting, the balance between speed and accuracy in risk assessment, and the significance of transparent data sourcing in AI-assisted underwriting.
Q: How is commercial underwriting being impacted by technology, specifically artificial intelligence and natural language processing?
PV: The digitization of commercial underwriting is gaining significance as traditional workflows, static data sourcing, and legacy systems prove inadequate for today’s competitive insurance landscape. Intelligent technologies have ushered in a new era where human knowledge is combined with real-time data and responsive automation to deliver swift and precise underwriting judgments for all types of commercial risk. Gone are the days of manual risk data searches; insurers can now access deep risk insights with just a company name, address, and email or website.
MD: Commercial underwriting has traditionally been labor-intensive and time-consuming, especially in the small and medium business sector where data was scarce. AI at NeuralMetrics enables rapid and comprehensive risk assessment, almost in real time. We provide predefined risk qualification questions for specific business segments, which can be tailored to insurer requirements. Personalization doesn’t have to come at high costs; if data is available, we can deliver it confidently.
Q: What’s more important: understanding the risk faster or getting better information on the risk quality?
PV: In the competitive insurance landscape, speed is essential. Traditional turnaround times are no longer acceptable. However, accuracy is equally critical. Even if technology works quickly, it becomes irrelevant if insurers cannot obtain accurate risk-evaluation information. Carriers must prioritize both speed and accuracy to deliver comprehensive and fair policy pricing.
Q: How important is transparent data sourcing in AI-assisted commercial underwriting?
MD: Transparent data sourcing is vital in the face of increasing regulatory pressures. At NeuralMetrics, we ensure complete transparency for the data used to determine risk factors. Underwriters can scrutinize risk assessment questions and examine each information source in real time, ensuring compliance and fairness in the underwriting process.
To read the full conversation, click here.