Opinion | An Open Data Relationship: It’s Time to Work Together to Manage Risk

For years we heard about this push and pull as it relates to the data we need to underwrite risk. We heard from property underwriters who openly wished that the companies they insured would share more data with more granularity.

On the other side we heard from risk managers and claims managers who alleged that carriers were not good partners when it came to sharing data. They hoarded it, we heard, fearing their competitors would get their mitts on it.

It’s becoming apparent that those days, those dynamics, are running out of gas.

No more will an arm’s-length approach to sharing data be a workable risk mitigation and risk transfer strategy.

More and more, we hear about carriers, brokers and risk managers who want to work together to build platforms that house data, data that can be shared between the insured and the underwriters.

The reason they are doing this is that risk is outrunning the status quo when it comes to risk management. Climate change, cyber and reputational risk will wait for no one.

The stakes have grown too high for us not to adapt a closer relationship around the data that can give underwriters a clearer view of the risk.

This change is not simply about numbers, premium rates and the like. It’s about changing cultures and mindsets. It’s about recognizing that only in a new, more open data relationship can we collectively manage risk effectively. &