MAP To Implement Spreadsheet Data Management Solutions
Managing Agency Partners Ltd (MAP), the independent Lloyd's of London underwriter, has become the latest insurer to sign up to ClusterSeven’s solution for governance and insight into unstructured financial data.
MAP has implemented ClusterSeven’s Enterprise Spreadsheet Management® (ESM) software to provide control for its key business spreadsheets and the data they manipulate. ClusterSeven’s end-user computing management solutions enable insurers and financial institutions to maintain the transparency and integrity of their spreadsheets and data files in order to increase productivity and business insight and to reduce operational risk.
MAP is the fourth Lloyd’s insurance firm to implement ClusterSeven’s spreadsheet management solution. Earlier in March, ClusterSeven announced that Canopius Managing Agents, one of the largest privately-owned managing agents at Lloyd's of London, had also signed up to its ESM software.
MAP is active in property insurance, casualty, auto, marine, war & political risk and specialty lines, and is one of the largest and broadest property reinsurers at Lloyd's.
Adrian Duggleby, Head of IT at MAP, said: “Data quality and control have become critical to risk management in the current business environment. Spreadsheets lie at the heart of an insurance firm’s business and as such insurers need solutions to manage, control and authenticate their key spreadsheet files. ClusterSeven’s product and service capability are exactly what we needed to keep MAP at the forefront of best-practice operational risk management.”
Ralph Baxter, CEO of ClusterSeven, said: “I am delighted that MAP has selected ClusterSeven to enhance its data quality assurance programme. It is only when insurers understand and control their spreadsheets that they can have full clarity on their risks and opportunities. The good news is that more insurance firms now understand this – we are seeing increasing enquiries from the sector looking for solutions to help with the challenges of spreadsheet data management – a critical slice of what is becoming known as ‘Big Data’.”
Research published by ClusterSeven in January this year found that only one in five (20%) actuaries and insurance finance professionals are completely confident of their firm’s data control processes and the supervision of their large estates of business-critical spreadsheets. Two in five respondents (40%) stated that corporate controls around spreadsheet access could be improved and over one in ten (13%) warned they are simply not confident at all about the oversight process behind spreadsheets.
Overall one in five respondents rated spreadsheet risk very serious while a further 31% put it as fairly serious.
