The insurance industry has been using statistical models to provide guidance towardsdata-driven decision-making for many years.
Life insurance companies have mortality tables going back acentury or more, allowing actuaries to determine rates for today'slife insurance customers that will maintain future profitabilitywhile fulfilling the promises made in the policies.
The explosion of computer technology in the last 50 years hascreated opportunities for data gathering and analysis that could only bedreamed of even a generation ago. Insurers now have the ability tosift through mountains of data to help derive useful insights andestimate the potential impact of a variety of possible futureevents.
Earthquake activity
The invention of the seismograph in the early 20th centuryprovided scientists and later insurers with hard data aboutearthquakes as they happened. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was establishedin 1879, the bill authorizing its creation signed by PresidentRutherford B. Hayes. Their initial mandate was to improvetopological mapping of the United States. In the 138 years sincetheir creation, the USGS has developed high-resolution maps ofnearly the entire country, and provided detailed information aboutlandslide potential, liquefaction susceptibility and soilconditions (along with numerous other types of data).
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Michael Brown
Michael Brown is a litigator with Miles & Stockbridge’s Products Liability & Mass Torts Practice Group Practice Group and leads its national trial team. He handles complex cases around the country for large corporations in the areas of products liability defense, mass tort litigation, employment law, medical malpractice, and insurance defense.
