Insurance actuaries play a key role in insurance companies as their input could mean major wins or losses to the companies. They analyze the financial risk through advanced analytical statistical skills helping insurance companies assess their returns and also gauge their risks. Actuaries handle huge amounts of new data and information which is integrated into their work and needs digitization. 

Studies have shown there's a digital gap in the insurance industry. However, recent studies by KPMG on global FINTECHs indicate that insurance companies are striving hard to digitize and are even ahead of most neo banks. Insurance firms such as San Angelo Insurance have embraced digitization in most of their areas of operation. Below we explore the various ways insurance actuaries can take the digital leap.

Much of the insurance data is trapped in paper and files. Even with technological advancements, some insurance companies still approach clients with application forms to fill. This data is later presented to actuaries for analysis. Many tools can be used to ensure such information is easily accessible and secured. Insurance companies need to invest in artificial intelligence and machine learning and cloud computing when it comes to computing, storage of information, and automation. Artificial intelligence removes all the manual tasks enabling the actuaries to concentrate on data analysis which should be their main area of work. Insurance companies also receive millions of claims. Artificial intelligence-powered tools would play a very big role in extracting and harnessing all this information. The same can be used to separate data depending on relevance. Insights picked from such tools can help actuaries make smart decisions on behalf of the companies. Such information can also be used to highlight trends.

Actuaries can take advantage of this revolutionary tool to capture or transform both structured and unstructured information into usable data. This is possible through various artificial intelligence technologies such as machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing (NLP). These can categorize, classify, extract, organize relevant information and validate the extracted data. There is so much information stored in the insurance company documents such as emails, PDFs, texts, and scanned documents. Harnessing all this information means consolidating key information that holds key innovations in the insurance industry. IDP has many benefits including cost-saving, accuracy associated with the use of AI process efficiency due to end-to-end encryption, and higher straight-through processing(STP). which minimizes the need for a worker to manually process documents.

A different study by KPMG revealed that big data and emerging technologies may force most actuaries to take new roles that match the emerging trends. Actuaries need to keep tabs on big data and other emerging trends to ensure the professionals do not get phased out.

RPA has been proven to handle complicated client queries. Experts estimate that RPA can seamlessly process around 90 percent of standardized and repetitive work if clear rules are given. This spells both doom and progress to actuaries. RPA and chatbots mean customers can navigate various products and services on their own. With such developments, actuaries have reduced the amount of time used consulting with clients. However, there are still technical aspects that need a human touch. The best approach is to be at par with all these advancements, identify gaps and offer human support while being conversant with the systems.

The insurance sector has also embraced IoT, especially in the auto insurance sector. IoT is a technology that embeds physical objects with software, sensors, and other technologies enabling connection and data exchange with other devices and systems. This has been used in health insurance to curb fraud by introducing the automated fingerprint detecting system. This means only individuals whose fingerprints are already in the system can access treatment  Actuaries should look into other areas where IoT can be incorporated. The main target should be reducing the amount of data they handle. For instance, they can develop a  chip that can hold all client data and help them access services everywhere regardless of the location.

There's adequate digital data that actuaries can exploit by using devices for monitoring  This data can later be related to policies.

Actuaries play a very key role in insurance companies. However, with the development of technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning they risk being phased out. The best approach is to ensure they are conversant with the emerging trends in the industry, especially the technological trends. By keeping abreast and advancing in these different areas, they will bring the necessary changes in the industry.