The future success of Location Intelligence equals how quickly it offers vertical industry applications. It must explode away from the traditional GIS world which has unfortunately been too much of a back room operation and not integrated into the key operations of corporations. Earlier this week, a few of us DMTI folk were talking with Natasha Leger, Editor of LBx Journal and we spent the better part of an hour talking about just this point. As we were comparing notes with Natasha about what really drives Location Intelligence success, we were in sync that its really about the business applications of Location Intelligence within actual business processes that counts. Its about the payback. And that verticalization of the business applications is where the real success of Location Intelligence lies.
Take insurance underwriting as a great example. It's one of the real hotbeds of LI. Understanding where a property is in relation to risk elements is a key decision affecting an insurance carrier's profitability. Using LI is a simple solution to a complex, real-world problem for the insurance industry. Insurers depend on geographic and demographic information to assess underwriting risk, handle claims, match coverage, expand markets, serve existing customers and develop new business.
What complicates matters? The sheer volume of data - claims histories, natural and man-made hazards, risk factors, and the competition. Storing, retrieving, interpreting, and applying all of this data in a meaningful way can be a staggering and expensive proposition.
Location-based technology has become an invaluable strategic tool to many leading insurers. Mapping allows insurance professions to quickly access information, recognize patterns and trends, and drill down into data for detailed analysis and sound decision-making.
Insurance companies can realize the most immediate benefits in productivity and efficiency in the discipline most driven by complex data - underwriting. With Location Intelligence solutions commercial underwriters can quickly assess risk for any given address.
Address cleaning and geo-coding are the essential beginnings of the policy lifecycle. They provide instand location validation and correction to ensure "clean" data. They also assign precise geographic coordinates, which are used later in other applications such as underwriting, claims, call-centers and marketing.
Due to the fact that addresses can be accurately identified on a map, underwriters can assess risk and set premiums in ways that may otherwise have been difficult.
When you net it out, a ton of insurance business process is about assessing the risk of a property. In simple terms, what is a property? It's the heart of Location Intelligence to know as much information to assess a property as possible.
LBx Journal has a great idea about creating Industry Forums and we have advised them we think it's a winner!
No comments:
Post a Comment