Dr. Henna Karna
Within the Financial Services industries, the area of Insurance is a vital shield when it comes to protecting financial structures from unexpected economic shocks. That said, the insurance industry today carries several limitations due to outdated risk management methodologies.
Traditionally, the insurance industry relied on policy wording as the cornerstone of its operations. Underwriting processes were built on historical data and risk modeling. With the onset of capabilities like ChatGPT, Large Language Models, and Reinforced Learning models, there is an urgency to become more digitally savvy. The traditional analysis approaches are generally inefficient and often inconsistent, particularly in large complex risks such as earthquake insurance. The old ways fail to provide insurers with comprehensive insights into risks, resulting in diminished customer engagement and satisfaction.
To address these opportunities, Dr. Henna Karna advocates for a paradigm shift in the insurance industry standards. Dr. Karna is an entrepreneur who aims to revolutionize risk management through digital data technologies. She has advised several Fortune 100 companies on digital innovation and disruption.
Noticing the need for innovation in the insurance and risk management space, she proposes a shift “from the approach of policy wordings to more holistic, data-driven risk management.”
Dr. Karna’s approach sounds promising. But, what exactly does a holistic data-driven risk management entail?
Embracing a data-driven approach involves harnessing information from vast and diverse datasets to gain a deeper understanding of policyholders and the risks involved. This approach not only ensures underwriting is customer-centric but also mitigates the risk of fraud, promotes risk prevention, and builds optimized business strategies.
Nevertheless, transitioning from age-old policy wordings and endorsement practices to a data-driven model requires significant changes. It necessitates companies to transform their entire business models, which is no small feat. As a solution, Dr. Karna offers two key focus areas that can make this transformation more feasible.
Firstly, Dr. Karna emphasizes the need for companies to invest in an ecosystem strategy that goes beyond mere dashboards and portals. An effective ecosystem platform facilitates interactive and bi-directional data acquisition, enabling product co-creation. This self-organizing and self-learning system generates valuable, reusable data assets, ultimately driving tangible financial benefits.
Secondly, to accelerate progress, Dr. Karna proposes developing an “evolving agile” and output-oriented operating model through rapid collaboration among different teams. “People are the heart of change, and can have the hardest time to change ”, Dr. Karna stated.
To accomplish this ambitious goal, she designed an operating model with deployment of teams with key skills called the ‘X-treme Teams’, based out of the military, for high-efficiency groups collaborating to develop the ecosystem platform. This approach aligns with the already famous Rapid Results Initiative (RRI), which emphasizes building deliverables in three-month increments with a clear focus on impact and effectiveness.
By implementing these solutions, insurance companies can transition from outdated and inefficient methods to a more productive and profitable data-driven approach. Driven by a passion to innovate, Dr. Karna aims to transform the insurance and risk management space to meet evolving risks, embrace digital growth, and exceed complex customer expectations.
Discover Dr. Karna’s vision for the transformative power of data-driven risk management and being part of shaping the industry’s future here.
