Insurers: Data Science doesn't need to be so complicated

There has been quite a bit of activity – if not outright hype – regarding the promise of big data and data science. In October, I had a chance to participate in a panel discussion on the promises and perils of data science, in which fellow panelist and digital thought leader Dion Hinchliffe predicted the eventual emergence of "data science as a service." The time is coming when analytics and accompanying insights would be available online, without the need to hire a roomful of PhDs to help make sense of things. This has interesting implications for the insurance industry. Along these lines, I recently heard from Mike de Waal, president and founder of Global IQX, who sees data science as one of the most important developments yet for the industry – particularly an industry that increasingly is looking to data to better serve policyholders in new and innovative ways. Consider the many areas where data is playing a role these days: "telemetry, IoT, wearables, AI, chatbots and drones are tools that help group insurers better engage with customers and improve business processes," according to de Waal.