Insurers have no shortage of data, but many still struggle to realise its full business value and the pressure is on to show tangible returns.
In a recent webinar, Dufrain sat down with Covéa Insurance to talk about bridging the gap between data investment and business impact.
7 key insights from the webinar
1. Why Data Strategy Alone Isn’t Enough
“You can spend millions on infrastructure and still not get value if you don’t link it back to the business problem.” Dufrain
Far too many insurers see data as a tech project, not a business one. While a solid data architecture is essential, it’s only valuable when tied to specific business outcomes, whether that’s improving underwriting accuracy or reducing claims leakage.
2. Real Business Impact Requires Business Buy-In
“We had to work closely with the actuarial team to show what they could get out of it. That’s when momentum really built.” Covéa
Covéa’s experience shows that early engagement with business teams, especially power users like actuaries, is critical. Value is unlocked when teams see what’s in it for them, not just what’s in the roadmap.
3. Measure What Matters (Hint: Not Just Data Quality Scores)
Forget vanity metrics. Instead, look at speed to insight, reduction in manual processes, business results like claim optimisations or better decision-making timelines. These are the KPIs that tell you whether your data programme is working.
4. Agile Delivery and MVPs – The Insurance Industry Catching Up
“We focused on quick wins – small MVPs that could prove the value fast and build momentum.” Covéa
Insurers don’t need to wait years to see results. The Covéa team adopted a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) mindset, delivering bite-sized value and building trust over time.
5. Building a Culture That Values Data
Culture change is hard, but necessary. One tactic that worked? Treating data as a product, with internal marketing, champions and clear outcomes. Adoption followed awareness.
Don’t build it and hope they will come. Success came when Covéa actively involved business users from the start. Workshops, feedback loops, and tailored dashboards meant data wasn’t just available, it was usable.
6. Value Comes in Layers (Not Just at the End)
“We use the Data value framework to identify and deliver small, high-impact changes quickly while staying aligned to the long-term goal.” Dufrain
This layered approach means insurers don’t have to wait 18 months for ROI. It’s about buildng confidence, then scaling success across teams at pace.
Dufrain’s approach centres around four key pillars that help insurers structure their programmes for value:
- Strategy Alignment: What business outcome are we targeting?
- Data Enablement: Do we have the right foundations to support it?
- User Adoption: Are the right people using it in the right way?
- Impact Measurement: Can we clearly track business value?
7. Data governance that doesn’t get in the way
Data governance can be associated with bureaucracy, but the right governance model enables delivery rather than hinders it.
Covéa and Dufrain struck a balance by embedding governance into delivery squads and using automation where possible, ensuring data remained compliant, but accessible and usable by those who needed it.
Conclusion:
There’s no shortcut to realising value from data, but there is a smarter way to get there.
Enterprise insurers can no longer afford data programmes that fail to deliver business outcomes.
It’s not about more tools, it’s about better alignment between data and business and aligning the KPIs that matter eg pricing accuracy, win loss ratios and claims optimisation.
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