Industry body wants regulatory definition of "big data"

The insurance trade organization reasoned that a definition is needed so that regulators and interested parties can meet on the same page

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

The American Insurance Association (AIA) announced Monday that it would “continue to advocate for the need to establish a clear regulatory definition” of the industry term “Big Data” at the upcoming National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Summer 2016 meeting in San Diego this week.

“Without a common understanding of what the NAIC views as Big Data, regulators and interested parties run the risk of not approaching the subject from the same starting point,” the AIA reasoned in a release.
The insurance trade organization also provided feedback to the NAIC on their draft recommendations for reforming the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

On Friday, the Big Data (D) Working Group will assemble to discuss its “proposed definition” of Big Data. Prior to the meeting, AIA submitted its feedback to the NAIC on their proposal. AIA intends to push for the Working Group to settle on a clear definition prior to examining the term’s use by insurers.

“The purpose for establishing a definition is to differentiate Big Data from that which has already been considered and decided by state regulators,” said AIA Sr. Counsel & Director, Compliance Resources Lisa Brown. “AIA would suggest that the Working Group consider the nature of the data and that a final definition should be limited in scope to unstructured data that is large in volume.”


Related stories:
Data drives more and more workers’ comp decisions
Are carriers ready to ditch the independent agent channel?
 

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!