Each year, Accenture's insurance team looks at major technology trends and their impact on P&C and Life insurers. In 2011, we see eight trends shaping insurance industry thinking, and pointing the direction for industry IT spending in 2012 and beyond.

As with insurance, in baseball small changes can mean big differences. Getting a hit 3.5 times in each 10 at-bats over the course of a season makes a hitter in Major League Baseball almost unbelievably good. Getting a hit four times in each 10 at-bats makes a hitter immortal, a feat last accomplished by the "Splendid Splinter," Ted Williams, in 1941.

To fully exploit business analytics, carriers must supplement their internal policy-level data with a variety of data points derived from external sources.

This whitepaper examines how insurance executives understand the importance of reviewing their underwriting data and rule sets regularly to improve the profitability, speed and efficiency of their underwriting decisions. Making good decisions is critical in underwriting, but making those decisions quickly is taking on added importance given the complexity and competitiveness of today’s insurance marketplace.