WTW has launched a custom-built, AI-driven performance monitoring tool for insurers.

Radar Vision, which took WTW 18 months to create, can be used by portfolio managers and underwriting, claims and pricing teams to complete calculations and assessments automatically.

It monitors the effectiveness of a property and casualty insurer’s analytical model and provides suggestions for change.  

The system has been launched in the UK and piloted with customers in Australia.  

Mehul Dave, Asia-Pacific P&C practice leader at WTW’s insurance consulting and technology business, says the tool is ideal for Australia’s mature market, where insurers have large teams of data scientists and actuaries working on pricing and analytics.  

“It’s a global launch, but Australia is a very important market. We’ve got lots of companies that are interested already,” Mr Dave told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Radar Vision allows those types of insurers to get ahead of their decision-making. What Radar Vision does – and vision is the name for it – is give very clear insight into how the business needs to change in a machine-led way, gives the actual recommendations to how the portfolios or the segments or where they’re targeting needs to change based on how the market is moving, so the company doesn’t miss anything.

“It’s the first of its kind – there is no other tool that does that ... to take it one step further and say, ‘What does it mean, and how do we keep the finger on the pulse of the market?’ ”

The tool gives early insights on inflation, competitor activity, claims and customer behaviour. WTW says key benefits to insurers include enhanced underwriting profitability, new growth opportunities and reduced costs. It also helps with governance and compliance.

“Australia has had some attention when it comes to companies relying on models to make certain decisions, and that’s led to miss-selling and fines. Radar Vision pre-empts that ... Models might flag outcomes not appropriate for, say, vulnerable groups,” Mr Dave said.

“It picks up on that and it creates warning mechanisms to make sure that as we get more analytical, we don’t end up over-relying on the models – that there is enough vision and foresight and insight into what models are doing based on data, and what the markets desire and what the regulators want in terms of the conduct of the industry.

“Radar Vision kind of pulls that all together in a very automated, machine-led way to make it efficient.”

WTW says other solutions are resource- and time-intensive, and analyse data that is obsolete, incomplete and inaccurate.  

By automating manual processes and applying AI, Radar Vision allows insurers to “identify changes in actual versus expected performance quickly”, giving insurers insight into potential risks to their businesses and emerging opportunities, it says.