Synechron, Inc, the global financial services consulting and technology services provider, has won the global ACORD Insurance Innovation Challenge Award for Industry Disrupter for 2017. ACORD, the global provider of insurance data standards, recognized Synechron’s Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Accelerator for Visual Risk at an event in Boston, the firm has announced today.

ACORD’s Insurance Innovation Challenge for Industry Disrupter for 2017 recognized innovations in insurance technology (InsurTech) which dramatically improve business processes and performance. ACORD held several semi-final events leading up to the international finals at ACORD2017. Synechron’s Accelerator for Visual Risk was honored at the London semi-final in September. At the international finals, Synechron’s Accelerator received the highest public vote percentage, with attendees polled ahead of the judges’ final decision.

Synechron recognized that due to a highly manual risk-assessment process, insurance sales often bottleneck at the underwriter. Synechron developed the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Accelerator for Visual Risk to address this challenge. The Accelerator minimizes the time underwriters spend on simple applications, providing valuable risk data so that an underwriter can instead spend most of their time working on complex applications where a wealth of data is delivered, without additional research being required.

By leveraging automated machine learning techniques, Synechron was able to present a solution to prevent these bottlenecks from occurring and improve efficiency for the risk-assessment process, automating up to 80% of all applications to leave just the most complex 20% to be manually reviewed. The basis for the Accelerator applies machine learning to analyze 70+ data sources and provide predictive risk analytics with detailed visualizations and simple risk queues to equip the underwriter with easy access to critical information.

The model flags risks across numerous data sources to provide a more comprehensive insight. Because it boasts centralized data storage, historical data can be factored in future models and analytics. This enables underwriters to input prospective applicant data in specific business lines, create automatic quotes prior to engagement, and allow a proactive sales approach, increasing client acquisition.

“Synechron has shown proven expertise in the insurance industry and emerging technologies. We are pleased to see them continue to excel at implementing leading-edge technologies at a high standard to solve complex problems in insurance and reinforce innovation in the industry,” said Bill Pieroni, President & CEO, ACORD.

Bruce Polsky, Managing Director and Insurance Practice Head at Synechron, said: “At Synechron, we are constantly looking at how we can use the latest technologies to drive innovation in insurance, and broader financial services, to the benefit of our clients and to address industry challenges currently being faced. To go on and be recognized as a global award winner is testament to all the hard work, industry expertise and innovation that we are committed to at Synechron. We are honored to be recognized by ACORD as a global leader in this field for our Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Accelerator for Visual Risk.”