LeO Founder and CEO Liri Halperin Segal was honored to take the ITC stage in Las Vegas last September to moderate a panel discussion about data bias in the insurance industry. Coordinated by our team and produced in conjunction with the DiveIn Festival for Diversity and Inclusion, where a recording of the conversation was replayed the following week, Breaking the Bias Barrier: Preventative Measures Against Data Biases provided an important opportunity to delve into an often thorny topic.
LeO feels strongly about creating an equitable space in the insurance industry, where everyone is protected by insurance and never unfairly targeted. Our panelists, including Grace Ata of Equisoft, Tom King of Salesforce, Kate Terry of Surround Insurance, and Sabine VanderLinden of Alchemy Crew provided thoughtful insight on this topic, including the following key takeaways:
The insurance industry is shifting from more standardized to personalized data.
Fair access to insurance protection means graduating out of standard presets that favor already-privileged classes into a more personalized data profile that accurately depicts individuals and businesses.
Insurance bias is insidious, and it must be named.
The panelists agreed that terms like “non-standard” and “sub-standard” used across sectors of the insurance industry disguise discrimination. Highlighting this distinction and calling out the use of such terms is an important first step in eradicating the practice.
Preventative measures need to be taken.
Rather than waiting for biases to be discovered by users, task forces need to be implemented throughout insurance and insurtech companies. Biases will not be found nor addressed until there are people who actively identify them.
Encourage employees to speak about data bias in the industry.
The shifts in the insurance world have largely been due to groundswell movements that call for better policies. It’s time to make change from within and promote work cultures that endeavor to combat inequality.
We have a long way to go before the playing field is level. Introducing these conversations into the industry is the important first step to mobilization that will effectuate change.