Last year I wrote about a concept called the Modeling Lifecycle (Modeling Lifecycle). In that blog, I spent time addressing the many steps that are necessary for a predictive modeling project to be a success. Obviously, one of those critical steps is actual implementation of the model itself. Without that, you only have a fancy formula that doesn’t do much of anything for you. While insurers continue to devote more and more time and resources to predictive analytics, it would also benefit them to make sure they are devoting sufficient attention to model implementation.

While predictive analytics can provide significant benefits to insurance companies and customers, the rapid pace at which analytics is evolving and the relative complexity of some of the models used poses a significant challenge to state regulators who are charged with reviewing and approving such models. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recognized this emerging issue and created the Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force (CASTF), which has been charged with identifying best practices to guide state insurance departments in their review of predictive models for underlying rating plans. Over the course of the last year, the CASTF has released multiple drafts of the white paper “Regulatory Review of Predictive Models” for public comment. And comment the public has! Numerous letters have been submitted from trade associations, actuarial organizations, credit agencies, consumer groups and even insurance departments to provide their input on the lengthy white paper.

The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) recently announced the release of the new Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) 56, entitled “Modeling.” This new standard will be applicable to actuaries governed by the AAA for modeling work performed on or after October 1, 2020.

It is certainly nothing new that data privacy and questions over how different organizations collect, maintain, and utilize an individual’s data is a hot topic among consumers, lawmakers, and companies alike. Past data breaches from several well-known companies have raised the antennae on the topic, and ongoing questions around what data is being stored and how it is being used by other high-profile corporations continue to draw attention.

When it comes to advanced analytics such as building predictive models, many people immediately think about the vast amounts of data, computing horsepower needed, and very sophisticated (often mysterious) techniques applied to the data to produce the results. Without question, all of these aspects are important steps in the process. However, there are several other critical steps both before and after these that can truly make or break an advanced analytics project. We can think of this as the Modeling Lifecycle.