The question of digitization no longer arises. Corona and the dynamics associated with it have long since provided the answer. The Mercury insurance has already laid the foundation for the digital transformation within the past ten years. With the establishment of its own start-up, the company is now focusing on creating the internal framework conditions for a sustainable digital future. The focus is on the use of digital infrastructure through to artificial intelligence and data-driven business in order to make business processes more efficient and sales models more innovative. Customer behavior, which is also constantly evolving in the insurance industry, plays a central role here. “At Merkur, the digital transformation train in the form of the Merkur Innovation Lab has left the station and is on track. It is our job to steer it along the lines of customer needs and to drive into the future together, ”says Ingo Hofmann, CEO of Merkur Versicherung. “With external support from the Graz Know-Center, we are bundling our innovative spirit not only to react to market dynamics, but also to be able to help set the pace.”
Strategic partnership
The European research center for data-driven business and artificial intelligence, the Graz Know-Center, supports the establishment of its own data science department, in which application examples are implemented and research results are exploited. In addition to joint research and development, training is an important aspect. As part of a doctoral position financed by Merkur Versicherung, data science specialists are trained in the field of social computing. Through the knowledge symbiosis and the industry know-how brought in, Merkur and the Know-Center actively counteract the existing shortage of skilled workers. “We are pleased that we have been able to win Merkur Versicherung for a long-term cooperation and as a partner in the COMET module ‘DDAI – Privacy Preserving Data Driven Artificial Intelligence’. The aim of the project is to implement new methods to evaluate sensitive data securely and to support companies in understanding and using data and algorithms better, with maximum data protection. Insurers manage a lot of confidential information and must be able to disclose the underlying analysis and calculation models to the financial market regulator. The Know ‐ Center contributes its expertise in the area of privacy preserving analytics and explainable AI “
, explains Stefanie Lindstaedt, CEO of the Know ‐ Center and Director of the Institute for Interactive Systems and Data Science (ISDS) at TU Graz. With the appointment of the management board to MMag. Daniela Pak-Graf, Merkur underlines its own claim of an above-average proportion of women in management positions. Daniela Pak-Graf has been part of the Merkur team for years and was previously active in risk management and corporate mathematics. In future, she and her team will take care of the insurance’s digital agendas.
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