Insurance is a tough business today and carriers face myriadcompetitive pressures. Customers are better informed and have morechannels to shop for insurance than ever before. And thesecustomers expect instant and special service—online access to theirinformation, instant ability to file claims on mobile devices,quick settlement of claims—all at the lowest possible cost tothem.

Meanwhile, investment returns have been at historically lowlevels for the past several years, which spotlights the importanceof underwriting results, adds pressure on expenses, and increasesthe prioritity of new initiatives. And as consolidation within theindustry continues, insurers look to decrease expenses, invest innew technologies and grow their market share in the broad market.For those insurers that are not one of the industry behemoths,survival means establishing strategies that focus on portions ofthe market that require unique products, specialized insights, orcustomized service. The bar of competition in personal linesinsurance has been raised, and there's little prospect for it toget easier in the future.

What is the secret to competing in the increasingly challengingpersonal lines markets? Is it enough just to work harder than theother guy? No. Don't work harder, work smarter. It's more importantthan ever in today's environment to make decisions—or those greatinnovative leaps—only after quantifying, understanding andevaluating the inherent risks. Working smarter means makingdecisions based on solid data and information derived from a robustdata and analytics capability.