Earnix Survey: Insurance Companies are Increasingly Using Advanced Analytics to Better Understand Customers [Professional Services Close – Up]

Earnix, a provider of integrated pricing and customer analytics solutions for banking and insurance, on August 21 released the results of its latest industry survey: 2013 North American Auto Insurance Pricing Benchmark Survey.

According to a release, with the objective of helping insurance executives and pricing professionals learn from the experiences of their peers, Earnix conducted the survey to uncover best practices in pricing used by North American insurance companies. Responses were collected from 73 executives and pricing professionals representing insurance companies that sell auto coverage in the United States and Canada.

Earnix reported that the survey results reveal that a growing number of insurance companies are using enhanced analytics to understand customer buying behavior, and are incorporating this understanding into the design and pricing of their products. The larger insurers are more likely to use advanced customer analytics in their pricing processes; about half (48 percent) of the companies surveyed with over $1B Gross Written Premium (GWP) use segment- level demand models to estimate the effect of rate changes. Conversely, most of the smaller insurers (62 percent) assume no change in customer demand as a result of rate change, an assumption that is far less accurate.

Additionally, the larger insurers lead the way in the use of price optimization, also known as scientific pricing. Price optimization is the use of mathematical algorithms to determine optimal values of rating factors to meet specific business goals while maintaining regulatory compliance. Close to three quarters (74 percent) of the insurers with over $1B GWP use mathematical algorithms to optimize their prices today or plan to do so in the near future, compared to 52 percent of the smaller companies that use such methods.

Additional key findings include:

-The top three challenges in the pricing process are:

-Effectively incorporating knowledge of customer price elasticity

-Getting and utilizing competitor data

-Predicting the business impact of new rates

-72 percent of respondents consider competitor's prices when setting their own prices. Other considerations include customer price elasticity, policy lifetime value, and the value of other policies in the customer's portfolio.

-The primary strategic goal influencing pricing changes over the past year was the drive for greater profitability, mentioned by 68 percent of survey respondents.

"We are pleased to share the findings of this survey with insurers in an effort to help them better understand industry pricing practices," said Meryl Golden, Earnix's General Manager for North America Operations. "The results signal that auto insurers recognize the potential benefits of advanced customer analytics for their bottom lines. Consequently, we anticipate continued uptick in the use of enhanced customer data by companies of all sizes in North America over the coming years."

Earnix Integrated Pricing and Customer Analytics software enables financial services companies to predict customer demand and its impact on business performance, enabling alignment of pricing and products with changing market dynamics.

Survey results:

earnix.com/resources/surveys

More information:

www.earnix.com

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