You can't manage what you can't measure, and business intelligence is only going to become more important in today's increasingly online, mobile and cloud-based economy. B2C and B2B customers alike produce reams of information about their habits and preferences, and it's up to producers to collect and act on that data. Nowhere is this truer than the insurance industry, where hundreds and even thousands of variables factor into every sale and transaction.

Unfortunately, many insurance professionals are having a tough time implementing sound BI practices into their firms – especially when they try to do so in-house. Just as you wouldn't hire a plumber to write your insurance, you shouldn't ask your agents, customer service reps or IT generalists to write your company's BI. For that, you need professionals who are well-versed in cutting-edge business IT solutions – and the insurance industry as a whole.

Yodil Senior Vice President Aviva Philips and Mountain States Insurance Chief Risk Officer Beau Irwin presented a session at ACORD LOMA called “Plumbers Don't Write Insurance,” a comprehensive guide for implementing BI at your firm. They'll answer a variety of questions on insurance industry BI, including:

• What problems are insurance professionals encountering in implementing BI solutions?
• How can you give the right BI tools to the right people?
• What approaches have successful and unsuccessful firms already tried?
• How can you delegate analytical tasks to stay focused on your insurance business?
• What are the current best practices for implementing a new BI solution?
• How can experienced BI professionals help you streamline your organization?

To relate material to carriers, agents and other Forum attendees, Irwin will also discuss the specific BI challenges he and Philips solved at Mountain States. Their advice will be useful for anyone interested in improving their BI, from companies just getting started with data mining, to firms that have already developed their own solutions. “No matter where you are with BI, we can help you,” Philips says. Here's a peak at the content they'll be offering.