For those in risk management, great data is the equivalent of gold dust. You can have a fantastic team, good workflows and insightful hunches, but rich data is the element that will propel you forward. Any kind of integrated risk management system must be designed to gather quality data.
The more comprehensive and accurate your data is, the deeper the analysis you can undertake and the more creative you can be in going to the market.
In order to do that, we’re looking at three elements that will make a big impact in collating your data.
We know that the entire insurance renewal process can be a lengthy one, with the amount of liaising and collating involved, so the sooner you can start the better. In the initial stages, it is valuable to ensure that you have a very clear end-goal — and that all departments involved know that is what and how they can help you meet it.
Once you’ve established that, it’s important to ascertain:
Knowing these things will help to minimise potential gaps in the data, and clarify what the insurers will need from you. Starting early also will give you more time to analyse the data, uncover new opportunities and identify anomalies or negatives that arise in the data and anticipate the issues insurers could have.
In order to gather this disparate amount of data to make these arguments, you need to be able to communicate what you’re trying to achieve and what you need from the departments involved in the process.
Clear, transparent and constant directives are imperative at all stages of the insurance renewal process, but particularly at the questionnaire stage, where you will be gathering a significant amount of data. There are a number of ways to ensure that you are communicating clearly.
To establish whether you are communicating properly, you need to ask:
If you are clear and transparent in your expectations and you make the process as pain-free as possible for your colleagues, then your data will be richer. The better the data, the better the picture you can get of the business; great data is the difference between seeing a snapshot of the business versus a high-definition video.
However, the best way to gather effective renewal data is to ensure that your system is online.
An online system, such as a Risk Management Information System (RMIS system) can transform the way you gather and interpret your data. An online RMIS will:
This last point is particularly important because a RMIS software doesn’t just allow to gather data, it empowers you to analyse the data in the context of your organisational history which will help you identify trends that can save your company a significant amount of money.
Want more tips on how to streamline the insurance renewal process ? Download our Zen guide today.