Annuity Issuers Use Death Forecasting Tech: Willis Towers Watson

Many North American life insurers are getting ready to make a lot more use of predictive analytics in forecasting how long people will live.

Few of those insurers are making much use of predictive analytics in individual annuity pricing or claim management operations today.

Analysts at Willis Towers Watson have published data supporting those conclusions in a summary of a new survey of 51 large life insurers based in the Americas.

(Related: Envestnet Launches New Advisor Analytics Tools)

The team asked the insurers how about they’re using predictive analytics technology, and how they might use predictive analytics technology two years from now.

Predictive Analytics

“Predictive analytics” is the art of using data to get insights into how things are going today, and what might happen in the future.

Willis Towers Watson has an interest in this topic because it employs consultants who can help clients buy, set up and use predictive analytics systems and services.

Number Sources

The insurers that participated in the new survey told Willis Towers Watson that they want to do more with the information they already have, and with information customers provide intentionally.

About 55% said they already use predictive analytics to analyze internal customer data, and 55% said they use predictive analysts to analyze the information resulting from customer interactions and surveys.

About 82% want to apply predictive analytics to internal customer data in the future, and 73% want to apply predictive analytics to customer interaction and survey data.

Only 13% are applying predictive analytics to social media; 35% hope to begin applying the technique to social media posts within two years.