It’s a fair statement to say that underwriting is the backbone of insurance. Without thorough underwriting processes in place, the industry would not succeed.
In some areas, underwriting is straightforward, and inspection technology can make former processes more automated and efficient. For example, when underwriting personal lines, the process of collecting key data points such as the insured’s age and health background can be automated to speed up the underwriting process. However, there is a significant number of instances where automating the underwriting process does not serve insurance carriers well, such as when underwriting commercial properties.
An experienced underwriter is equipped to identify risks that would not otherwise be noted in data, such as if the adjacent property operates a biomedical research facility. Without an in-person property inspection, significant risks can go undetected and pose a serious threat to insurance carriers.
There’s a lot of value in combining the use of inspection technology and automation with human underwriting processes as this wealth of information and experience will allow insurance carriers to make informed decisions. After all, technology and data help humans do what they do best: thinking and reasoning. Insurance carriers that take advantage of the resources at their disposal to enhance underwriting practices will be able to speed up processes and mitigate risk.
How Insurance Carriers Can Support the Evolving Role of the Underwriter
Today’s insurance carriers are faced with the challenge of establishing deeper relationships with insureds while also adequately underwriting risk. Outsourcing aspects of underwriting–such as in-person property inspections–allows insurance carriers to get more face time with insureds, identify risks that would not otherwise be mentioned in data, and speed up the underwriting process.
Our team at Insurance Risk Services has nearly 40 years of experience in partnering with property and casualty insurance carriers to provide them with high-quality underwriting support in the form of thorough property inspections. When we meet with an insured to complete a property inspection, we are there on behalf of your company, therefore serving as the face of your brand. Our knowledgeable and professional property inspectors have a trained eye for identifying risks that would not otherwise be mentioned in data.
Accurate underwriting needs to continue to be a top priority for today’s insurance carriers. Contact us at Insurance Risk Services to learn how our in-person property inspections can help you to best determine which risks are worth taking.
