The underwriting landscape is undergoing change, driven by the rapid advancement of technology, data, and analytics. To succeed in this competitive and dynamic environment, underwriters need to adopt new ways of thinking and working, leveraging the power of digital data and tools to detect and prevent fraud, enhance risk assessment, and make better yet faster decisions. This is the essence of the Underwriting Revolution, and the theme of AHOU 2024.

The MIB team had a great conference experience, attending sessions covering the latest industry trends, participating in panel discussions on Fraud Stories and Electronic Medical Data, and meeting with many of our members to discuss their challenges and needs. As we listened carefully to what the session leaders and our members had to say, some key themes emerged around artificial intelligence (AI), cross industry collaboration and the continuing shift to digitization.

Artificial Intelligence

No discussion on the changing insurance landscape would be complete without covering the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI). There were multiple panels that focused on AI specifically, but the topic also emerged during discussions on fraud, digitization and use of digital health data, including EHR. It is interesting to note the similarities and differences we hear from our members in terms of their approach to AI. Some are moving full force to identify opportunities while others are more apprehensive. While not all carriers have a definite plan for the use of AI, it appears the industry generally concurs that leveraging AI as a tool to summarize and present medical records is an appropriate use case.

The question then raised at AHOU was – build or buy - are commercially available EHR summary products that use AI sufficient tools, or is there a need for a carrier to build a solution internally? We believe it comes down to cost/benefit. Many organizations have limited IT budgets, need to build a significant business case in order for a request for IT funding to fall “above the line,” and development of this type of summary tool can be expensive. It also requires significant business investment to ensure the specifications, and ultimately the delivered product, meet the needs of underwriting. The advantage, however, of developing in-house is that those requirements can be specifically tailored to the individual underwriting requirements of a carrier. But to what extent does the critical medical information needed by an underwriter vary across carriers? As such, commercially available solutions that have the benefit of input from underwriters across the industry may be the better solution. Based on the panel conversation where this issue came up, underwriters appear to agree.

Cross Industry Collaboration

While our industry is highly competitive, we also maintain a collaborative spirit as we come together at events such as AHOU to share stories about what is working well and have candid conversations about our challenges. Our team participated in many conversations at the conference that centered around collaboration & facing/overcoming challenges together. As we like to say, when the industry comes together, everyone wins – and AHOU is demonstrative of that philosophy. That collaborative spirit is what formed MIB in the first place – when over 120 years ago the industry came together to share application information to help detect and prevent fraud. And it’s what keeps MIB’s services and tools evolving and meeting the industry’s new and emerging needs.

An important example, by working directly with members and subject matter experts in the industry, we have been able to enhance the codes in the MIB Checking Service to streamline the underwriting process, better support automation, and provide for a higher level of accuracy in risk assessment. The first iteration of our enhancements will be delivered with the July 2024 code release. If you are an MIB member and are not yet familiar with the details of our planned code updates, please reach out to your Account Representative.

Digitization

Probably the biggest change driving the Underwriting Revolution is a continuing shift towards more digitization. Whether in the form of automated underwriting, interactive workbenches, or the digitization of data, this was a hot topic in AHOU sessions. Some important takeaways across several panel discussions on digitization include:

• One size does NOT fit all. A tool built for another shop doesn’t necessarily fit yours.
• Flexibility and modularity are important when considering new technological innovations. This facilitates your ability to make changes as underwriting requirements and workflows evolve.
• More data is not necessarily better. On every case, consider what is the best requirement to order to support decision making. EHR can provide a good indication of what to do next.
• Training and change management are key to support critical thinking for underwriters and help them learn how to draw conclusions from data and avoid analysis paralysis.
• Integrating front end processes with distribution adds to efficiencies.
• IT workloads are often the biggest obstacle to adoption of new technology. As such, it’s important to identify solutions that minimize the need for IT resources.
• With automated underwriting in place, it becomes more important than ever to monitor for potential fraud. This includes monitoring distribution behaviors.

Looking Forward

The MIB team always looks forward to the opportunity to meet with our members during the AHOU conference. Especially in this digital age where virtual meetings prevail, we are excited to have the opportunity to connect face-to-face. We are also thrilled for the many times our tools and services were mentioned in panel discussions and conversations. There is no bigger compliment than when our members and partners advocate for MIB to their peers!

We look forward to continuing to be the life insurance industry’s trusted partner and seeing you all again in sunny California at AHOU in 2025!

Contributing to this article:

Patti DeWitt, Vice President, Member Services
Lauren Knott, Account Management and Sales Specialist
Carolyn McAvinn, Director Underwriting Innovations
Jeff McCauley, President, Paperless Solutions Group