The insurance industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by digitalization, personalization, and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity in insurance documentation and data analytics, predictive risk assessment, fraud detection, and smart policy management. In the last three years alone, there have been over 9,000 patents filed and granted in the insurance industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in insurance: insurance data analytics. Buy the report here.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 75,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the insurance industry, there are 25+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Insurance data analytics is a key innovation area in insurance

Insurance data analytics refers to the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data related to risk and insurance in order to gain insights and make informed decisions. It involves the use of advanced technologies and techniques to extract valuable information from large and complex datasets, enabling insurance companies to assess risks, improve underwriting processes, detect fraud, and optimize claims management.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 910+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established insurance companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of insurance data analytics.

Key players in insurance data analytics – a disruptive innovation in the insurance industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to insurance data analytics

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Ping An Insurance (Group) 909 Unlock Company Profile
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance 675 Unlock Company Profile
Alibaba Group 401 Unlock Company Profile
The Allstate 291 Unlock Company Profile
Advanced New Technologies 170 Unlock Company Profile
Taikang Insurance Group 160 Unlock Company Profile
The Hartford Financial Services Group 148 Unlock Company Profile
Accenture 105 Unlock Company Profile
Swiss Re Asia Pacific 105 Unlock Company Profile
The Toronto-Dominion Bank 100 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 98 Unlock Company Profile
Memjet Technology 89 Unlock Company Profile
Tractable 82 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 80 Unlock Company Profile
Ant Group 76 Unlock Company Profile
USAA 68 Unlock Company Profile
The Cigna Group 64 Unlock Company Profile
UnitedHealth Group 60 Unlock Company Profile
Assurant 52 Unlock Company Profile
LyondellBasell Industries 46 Unlock Company Profile
Partners Pharmacy 46 Unlock Company Profile
Baidu 42 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 41 Unlock Company Profile
China Investment 41 Unlock Company Profile
Leidos 41 Unlock Company Profile
Aon 40 Unlock Company Profile
NEC 40 Unlock Company Profile
Swiss Re 39 Unlock Company Profile
Moody's 38 Unlock Company Profile
The Travelers 36 Unlock Company Profile
American Well 35 Unlock Company Profile
Rpx 35 Unlock Company Profile
CME Group 35 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 35 Unlock Company Profile
SAP 34 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 33 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 32 Unlock Company Profile
LG 32 Unlock Company Profile
Mitchell International 32 Unlock Company Profile
Vista Equity Partners 31 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Life Insurance 30 Unlock Company Profile
Didi Global 30 Unlock Company Profile
HealthTrio 30 Unlock Company Profile
Equifax 29 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 29 Unlock Company Profile
Leonard Green & Partners 29 Unlock Company Profile
Yembo 29 Unlock Company Profile
Microsoft 29 Unlock Company Profile
Taikang Pension Insurance 28 Unlock Company Profile
Oracle 27 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China is one of the leading patent filers in insurance data analytics. The company has been at the forefront in utilizing advanced technologies such as AI, cloud, and big data to automate and improve the efficiency of the entire policy management system, from risk assessment and insurance documentation to evidence verification and claims processing.

In 2022, Ping An’s four insurance companies, including Ping An Life, Ping An P&C, Ping An Annuity, and Ping An Health, processed more than 200 million insurance claims, averaging more than 600,000 cases a day, according to the company’s 2022 Annual Insurance Claims Report, which was released in May 2023.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, Alibaba Group, and The Allstate are some of the other leading patent filers in the insurance data analytics space.

In terms of application diversity, Theator held the top position, while Tractable and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Memjet Technology leads the pack, followed by Partners Pharmacy and Tractable.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the insurance industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Insurance

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.