UK Insurance Law Firm, BLM, Launches Legal Data Analytics Team

BLM, one of the UK and Ireland’s major insurance and risk specialist law firms, has launched a new data analytics offering to more accurately forecast and manage future insurance claims.

The firm has established a team of data analysts and legal professionals that will work with machine learning to identify market trends, as well as forecast likely case outcomes. It is expected that, by mining large amounts of existing case data, the firm will be able to more reliably predict the likely length, cost and result of litigation.

The Analytics team works with BLM’s existing management information offering to add value that goes beyond providing data about claims. The team analyses case data to identify trends and monitor performance against industry benchmarks. It also designs and conducts studies to test different approaches to resolving claims.

BLM senior partner, Mike Brown, said he believes a combination of human and data analysis will be vital as firms begin to explore its capabilities.

‘The huge amount of case data generated by the insurance industry comes hand in hand with the need to make decisions easier, quicker and with greater certainty,’ he commented.

‘The growing demand for price and resourcing efficiency has highlighted a key gap that will only be bridged by those with a sharp understanding of legal processes, supported by the added speed and accuracy of data analytics and AI. Not only will we be able to improve results for customers but we’ll also be better placed to add value in litigation.’ he added.

The new team is headed up by qualified solicitor Andrew Dunkley whose legal career spans almost 10 years having studied Law at Oxford University. Dunkley is supported by data scientist, David Elliott.

Dunkley added: ‘Analytics is fast becoming essential for anyone who takes decisions in relation to litigation, whether it’s how to run a case or what level of reserves to assign. By combining real legal insight with the power of machine learning, we intend to better equip our teams, and our customers, with the knowledge to make the right decisions, earlier in the process.’