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2025 - The year data became a competitive advantage

Angus Black of BarnOwl Data Solutions outlines how cleaner, governed datasets, stronger partnerships, and practical AI groundwork helped the industry improve pricing accuracy, operational efficiency, and collaboration across the insurance value chain.
Written by
Angus Black
Published on
November 14, 2025
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A COVER conversation featuring insights from Angus Black, Director at BarnOwl Data Solutions

In 2025, data finally moved beyond compliance checkboxes and emerged as a defining competitive advantage for insurers, brokers, and risk managers alike. “This year,” says Angus Black, Director at BarnOwl Data Solutions, “was the year data became a competitive advantage, not just a compliance obligation.”

That sentiment captures a broader industry shift. Leading insurers and intermediaries are no longer viewing data merely as a regulatory necessity. Instead, they’re using it to price products more accurately, improve operational efficiency, and deepen collaboration across the insurance value chain.

From compliance to competitiveness - Over the past year, BarnOwl has worked with more than 500 brokers, automating and refining data acquisition processes that feed directly into underwriting, pricing, and reporting systems. The results? Smoother operations, fewer errors, and more reliable datasets for decision-making.

Black explains that this didn’t happen overnight. “It took a lot of collaborative work between system providers and brokers,” he says. “But the payoff was worth it, data accuracy and consistency improved significantly, and everyone in the ecosystem benefited.”

This reflects a critical industry learning curve. Data integrity is the foundation of digital transformation. Without consistent, accurate inputs, even the most advanced analytics or AI tools will fail to deliver value.

AI and the long game - Despite the progress, Black admits that the industry’s AI ambitions haven’t yet fully materialised. “We all hoped to leverage AI a bit more than we have,” he notes. “The technology is evolving fast, but integrating it effectively still takes time.”

He references the old saying: “We overestimate the impact of new technology in the short term and underestimate it in the long term.”

For insurers, that means laying the groundwork now, getting the data hygiene right, so that AI and machine learning can deliver real, scalable value when the technology matures.

The human link - Technology alone doesn’t solve data challenges; people do. Black highlights the importance of deep engagement between insurers, brokers, and system providers.

BarnOwl’s teams have developed close working relationships with brokers, knowing who to contact, understanding how their businesses operate, and building trust that facilitates faster problem resolution. “We often joke that when certain people at a broker go on leave, we feel it,” he says with a laugh. “That’s how close those relationships have become.”

This human element has been vital in establishing a clear feedback and prioritization model, ensuring that everyone knows who handles what, when problems arise, and which issues take precedence.

“In this industry,” says Black, “there’s always more to do than there are hands to do it. You’ve got to agree on priorities, or chaos takes over.”

“Data became a competitive advantage, not just a compliance obligation.”

Angus Black
Director at BarnOwl Data Solutions

Standards, definitions, and the devil in the data - Consistency remains a stumbling block. Misaligned definitions or inconsistent data structures still trip up many teams. Two metrics in particular cause recurring confusion:

  1. Exposure definitions in commercial insurance, including extensions such as elevators, glass, cables, or loss of rent.
  1. Raised versus receipted premiums, the classic disconnect between invoiced and received payments.

“Those are areas we’ve put a lot of effort into clarifying,” Black says. “We want every number to mean exactly what it should, and to be broken down to the most granular level possible.”

Consistency without fatigue - Maintaining validation rules and ensuring consistency over time can lead to “fatigue” among brokers and data providers. One day’s accepted file can become the next day’s rejection, leading to frustration.

To prevent this, BarnOwl emphasises transparent communication before implementing new validation rules. “We don’t just switch on new checks overnight,” explains Black. “We run them in the background, see how widespread the issues are, and give brokers a heads-up to fix them before we enforce anything.”

It’s a process rooted in partnership rather than policing, and it’s what keeps the system stable and trusted.

A 90-Day path to governed, usable data - For insurers still struggling with fragmented systems, Black believes a centralised, governed data environment is achievable within 90 days.

“You can get usable data quite quickly,” he says. “It might not be perfect, but you’ll know what’s wrong, and that’s just as valuable. Within a few weeks, we can help clients identify gaps, clean their data, and start reporting confidently.”

Typical implementations, he adds, take three to six months, allowing enough time to balance data to financials, ensure consistent quality, and verify that each dataset tells a true story.

Looking Ahead - As the insurance sector prepares for another year of digital acceleration, one lesson from 2025 stands out; data is no longer an IT function, it’s a strategic enabler.

Those who treat it as such are already outperforming competitors in agility, pricing accuracy, and customer experience.

And while the AI revolution may still be unfolding, Black believes the groundwork being laid now will define who leads the industry five years from today.

“AI will come,” he says, “but only those with clean, consistent data will be ready to use it effectively.”

Barn Owl Data Solutions

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