HBOS updates business intelligence

Insurance division upgrades SAS systems

HBOS General Insurance is upgrading business intelligence systems to improve claims decisions and policy pricing.

The financial services organisation is switching to SAS 9 business and analytics software to help 300 business managers improve insurance decisions in the UK and Australia.

HBOS General Insurance has been using older SAS software since 2003 for other types of management information decisions, but will now be able to integrate data from different departments more easily.

‘We are trying to instil a cultural shift to get us more into business intelligence. It will be used from executives down,’ said Rob Thomas, senior manager, data and analysis at HBOS.

By having a single view of data and how insurance schemes are performing, managers, actuaries and marketing departments will be able to improve pricing and the way they sell financial products, he says.

‘The actuaries are looking at pricing risks. The more accurately you can do this the better you can underwrite it,’ Thomas told Computing at last week’s SAS Forum International in Geneva.

HBOS is also planning to introduce SAS mapping displays so that analysts can view how financial products are performing in different areas or depending on socio-demographic group.

‘We definitely think it draws people into the information because they have the ability to visualise it,’ said Thomas.

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