New Zealand’s Tower Insurance is partnering with the University of Auckland to streamline the insurer’s processes and also lay the groundwork for a data-driven industry future.

The collaboration will advance customer experience and deliver business efficiency, Tower says.

“By working together both organisations will be able to make better use of data to engage in joint research activities and come up with better outcomes for New Zealanders and improve customer experiences,” Tower’s CEO Blair Turnbull said.

The partnership will begin analysing fire trends in New Zealand residential property to give more tailored pricing to customers, geocoding residential locations in the Pacific Islands and optimising the design of insurance surveys.

That will enable Tower to give customers a bespoke experience with a price and offering that suits their needs.

Long term, the focus will be making data available to customers to increase education around risks like climate change and severe weather.

The collaboration is facilitated through UniServices, a not-for-profit company of the University of Auckland which champions bridging the worlds of academia with business and government to build knowledge and new solutions.

University of Auckland Head of Data and Customer Platforms Miles Fordyce says insurance offers a significant but “historically understated” opportunity for data science students.

“The practical application of their research and skills in solving complex business problems is something we are very excited about and hope that we can open doors towards future careers in the industry,” Mr Fordyce said.