AXA to launch data enrichment for commercial lines

AXA is adding data enrichment to its commercial insurance business after signing a deal with credit data firm Experian.

Data enrichment allows insurers to use information about policyholders, such as credit scores, when underwriting to understand risks better and price policies more accurately.

Insurers commonly use data enrichment for personal lines, but AXA said that its application in commercial lines has so far been “very limited”.

AXA says the deal with Experian means it will now be able to draw on a wide range of commercial information and customised claims risk scores to inform underwriters of a business’s risk profile.

The process will give AXA underwriters a real-time commercial risk score, which the insurer said will enable it to give a more accurate rate for the risk being underwritten.

The company added that it will allow faster, more accurate decision-making and give brokers a better view of their clients’ risk.

AXA said data enrichment will be applied to mid-market commercial risks by early in the first quarter of 2015.

SME business will be added early in the second quarter.

AXA commercial intermediary managing director Jon Walker said: “This will be a real game-changer for us and puts us ahead of the competition in rating ability in both the mid-market and in the SME space.

“This is more than a technical underwriting tool – it is about pricing more effectively to the risk presented. A crucial feature of the tool is that it allows us to flex the product, price and risk management offering in accordance with any increase in the risk profile, ensuring that the client always has the most appropriate cover for their risk.

“By sharing the client risk profile with our brokers, they will be able to target and nurture successful businesses, allowing them to work in partnership with AXA to grow into profitable areas of business as our economy moves further through the recovery phase.”

Experian pH managing director Paul Henry added: “The current environment poses new and complex challenges for businesses today, so understanding both the risks they pose, in addition to the potential they may have to succeed, is not as simple as it used to be.

“The tools and information being employed by AXA will play a key role in gaining the insight they need to deliver pricing that is fair and accurate.”