2021 Moving Forwards

Justin Hwang – Managing Director, EMEA Operations, RNA Analytics

This new year begins with an understandable trepidation as many countries around the world remain in the grip of national lockdowns, and people try to go about their personal and working lives under conditions that many of us have never before experienced. The resilience of businesses and individuals has been tested to the maximum; but we are not out of the woods yet and must now steel ourselves again as we consider the challenges that inevitably lie ahead.

At RNA Analytics, we have spent the past few months enhancing our distribution capability, improving our end-to-end process and governance features, and investing in the technology needed to reduce model memory requirements – all of which puts us in the best position to help our clients face the challenges of the sector, of business and of their own throughout 2021.

An uncertain economic environment, risky investment markets, high levels of competition between carriers, growing regulatory compliance pressures surrounding IFRS 17 implementation, and of course the continued COVID-19-related disruption feature among these; presenting operational and modelling challenges, putting pressure on capital and revenues, and increasing the burden on actuarial teams as they grapple with the pressures of reporting, preparing for new regulation, and working with ever more complex models. To meet these challenges, we know that collaboration and embracing the opportunities that technology can bring about is key, as the pressure to transform to more agile operations has never been greater.

One of RNA Analytics’ most versatile traits is that our teams do not just provide technology to ‘fix’ a job. We offer a hybrid combination of technological solutions and a human, consultative approach, working alongside clients not just through implementation, but beyond, as partners. As we all prepare now for a new year ahead, there are clear objectives to work towards in order to not only compete with other players, but also to forge innovative new paths. This must start with unlocking new opportunities through digital transformation. The industry must work collaboratively to utilise the phenomenal new technology available to us, if we are to support and match the demand of our customers. Optimising efficiencies and delivering critical, structured analysis to protect margins and reduce loss is as crucial as ever.

Actuaries are beginning to recognise how a proportionate use of the cloud has the power to reshape the function by improving processes, providing access to more granular analysis to help them produce more closely refined assumptions, and upgrade reporting and governance processes. With this the model, now even smaller insurers can compete with their larger competitors, while larger insurers can simultaneously realise annual savings in the millions of dollars.

As insurers equip themselves for the challenges ahead, they must also consider the skillset needed to compete with other carriers who are moving with the times. The OU’s recent ‘Leading in a Digital Age’ report identified a compelling link between business performance and leaders who are equipped to manage digital change: some 88% of 1,000 CTOs and senior leaders who had received digital training in the past year went on to demonstrate organisational growth, compared with just 49% who had not received any training. Other benefits included improved productivity, greater employee engagement, enhanced agility, increased profit and improved staff retention.

At RNA, we are in no doubt about the challenges we all face as we look ahead to 2021, but at the same time, we are confident that we are ready to be the best we can be, and to work with our clients to help them do the same. We will provide customers and insurers with the resiliency they require; through tools and solutions which help them to gain a truly deep, transparent understanding of their clients and markets, helping them to respond faster, more efficiently and more targeted ways than they have previously been able – and ultimately combining the all-important human factor with now indispensable technological capabilities. The road ahead may not be particularly steady, but the team at RNA Analytics are here to help make it as smooth as we can for our customers and partners alike.

To learn more about RNA Analytics’ solutions, contact us here, or download our latest white paper here.