Aon is piloting a new renewal data platform for brokers, risk managers and carriers called Big Ticket that connects every participant in the insurance chain and says it will “revolutionise the broken renewal experience”. 

The risk sector has been “crying out” for the solution – an alternative to the "painful, laborious and insecure process” of spreadsheets and e-mail which takes months to complete and increases cyber security risks, Chair of the Big Ticket Advisory Board Julia Graham says. 

"Every year at the start of every insurance renewal, hundreds of thousands of companies use an industry-imposed process to collect exposure data. Unsurprisingly, companies hate this process,” Ms Graham said. 

“Big Ticket replaces it with one they love – one that slashes costs, enhances data security and frees up resources.”  

Backed by Aon, Zurich, Aviva, MasterCard and more, Big Ticket allows the secure and instant sharing of exposure data with a full “audit trail,” and is described as the first “neutral digital hub” for the industry. 

Commercial Risk Leader North America Joe Peiser says Aon is engaging in a pilot program “to assess its alignment with our broking and client service processes”.  

“We understand the benefits to risk managers and all industry participants from a standard, digitised approach to structuring exposure data … across all major P&C lines in a neutral environment.”  

The technology enables any insurance buyer to communicate with any broker or carrier using standardised, high velocity data.  

As well as improving the renewal experience and creating a secure shared space for data, the system will give Big Ticket clients “large-scale insights into their risk universe, and will drive innovation … helping clients understand and prepare for emerging systemic risks,” Big Ticket Co-Founder and President Ken Fraser said.  

The infrastructure allows digital exchange and collaboration in a secure environment and is provided free-of-charge.  

Aviva MD UK Commercial Lines Underwriting and GCS Matt Washington says Big Ticket "has the ability to fundamentally change the outdated insurance renewal process for the better,” and Aviva has been working with its clients and broking partners to explore the benefits. 

"It puts clients in control of their sensitive commercial data: who has permission to access it, how it is used and for how long – it’s a real game-changer,” he said.