Behavioural analytics to assess purchase intent and help reduce fraud risk
This case study highlights how behavioural intelligence can strengthen automated underwriting, as seen through Hannover Re’s partnership with ForMotiv to gain real time visibility into customer journeys to assess purchase intent, friction points, and potential fraud.
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Background
As insurance journeys shift to digital environments, insurers face growing challenges in assessing risk and detecting fraud. Traditional data sources often miss subtle behavioural cues that signal intent or risk. Hannover Re collaborated with ForMotiv to embed its behavioural intelligence platform into the application and underwriting journey. The aim was to uncover friction points and identify behavioural signals that may indicate fraud or non-disclosure. These real-time insights can empower insurers to enhance the customer experience and take targeted action where risk is detected.
Description of solution
Hannover Re has embedded ForMotiv’s behavioural intelligence platform into our partner EeIi.io’s policy administration system. This enables insurers to access behavioural insights during the application process, including the risk assessment process via our underwriting engine.
The platform captures hundreds of digital behavioural datapoints, such as keystrokes, mouse movements, typing speed, and time spent completing digital forms. These behaviours are analysed in real-time models to assess user intent, flag suspicious behaviour, and provide actionable insights for the insurer’s sales, marketing, quality assurance, and underwriting teams.
In the US, life insurers have already shared positive feedback in direct online journeys to uncover and reduce nondisclosure and material misrepresentation, as well as using these signals to prioritise high-intent-to-buy customers and personalise marketing to address lower-intent-to-buy customers towards purchase. This creates a more dynamic and tailored purchase experience, improving sales opportunities for the insurer.
In many markets, agent-led sales channels remain dominant. Hannover Re partnered with ForMotiv to explore the benefits of behavioural analytics in call-centre led insurance journeys. Working with an insurance carrier, we assessed how analytics could uncover friction and improve the medical underwriting and quality assurance process.
Results
Key figures:
- ~30 net new applications flagged for non-disclosure that resulted in a class downgrade per 1,000 applicants.
- ~5 material misrepresentation or declinable risks identified per 1,000 applicants.
- 70% conversion uplift from targeted interventions on ForMotiv identified population.
- 2.3% →29.5% bind-rate spread between lowest- & highest-intent populations.
Our joint project with an insurance carrier to embed the behavioural intelligence platform revealed valuable insights during the application and health declaration process:
- Certain fields on the application form caused delays. This enabled action to be taken to improve flow, such as adding dynamic validation and helper text.
- Patterns consistent with clean-sheet behaviour were observed and addressed when agents completed health declarations. For example, agents completing the health declarations unusually quickly with no disclosures. This allowed the insurer to follow up with those agents carrying out this suspicious behaviour and take action to improve disclosures and validate the health declarations.
- Medical underwriting fields requiring more time than expected where risk signals were observed were flagged for further review. Based on this, insurers can determine if additional underwriting scrutiny is warranted, in addition to training agents and underwriters, or further optimising wordings for these questions.
An additional benefit was the sentinel effect, whereby the presence of the behavioural analytics system leads to improved disclosures from agents and customers, thereby supporting fraud risk mitigation.
“Behavioural analytics is the missing piece in digital underwriting. ForMotiv’s solution helps us see beyond the data customers provide.”
Implementation & process considerations
- The integration is a lightweight JavaScript implementation.
- To implement the solution effectively, insurers will be required to collaborate closely with ForMotiv implementation specialist. This could mean weekly or bi-weekly meetings until a solution is launched.
- ForMotiv’s account management team works directly with the insurers' key stakeholders and handle the responsibility of surfacing risky sessions, agents, and behaviour.
- Although ForMotiv captures behavioural data only and not sensitive medical information, data privacy regulations must still be considered based on the insurer’s local jurisdiction and appropriate consent processes should be put in place.
How Hannover Re can support you
Having successfully integrated this behavioural analytics platform into EeIi.io and our underwriting rules engine, Hannover Re has proven experience in helping insurers unlock the value of behavioural analytics. Whether your goal is to increase sales, launch new products, or strengthen risk controls, we are ready to support your journey.
To explore how behavioural analytics can enhance your customer journey and underwriting processes, contact your local Hannover Re representative.
Disclaimer:
The information presented in this case study, as well as in any other descriptions of projects or cooperations, is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, regulatory guidance, medical advice, or any form of professional advisory service. To avoid any wording that could be interpreted as implying medical effectiveness, this document must not be understood as containing, asserting, or suggesting any medical efficacy claims. Nothing in this document shall be construed as a legally binding offer to enter into any contract or agreement of any kind. All results, performance indicators, and outcome descriptions reflect the specific conditions and parameters of the referenced project(s) or product launch(es). They are not guarantees, promises, or assurances of comparable or future performance in any other context. No warranty is given – whether express or implied – particularly that comparable or similar results can or will be achieved elsewhere. Any potential success of comparable initiatives critically depends on the lawful and compliant ability to contact policyholders, including the validity of any required consent under the applicable legal framework. All third‑party entities mentioned in this document, including insurtech companies, are independent businesses and operate separately and autonomously from Hannover Re. Their services, solutions, or technologies are neither endorsed nor guaranteed by Hannover Re and are subject to their own terms and conditions, unless explicitly stated otherwise. References to third‑party trademarks or brands are made solely for descriptive purposes and remain the property of their respective owners. No affiliation, sponsorship, approval, or endorsement by those owners is implied. Statements in this document regarding benefits, compliance requirements, risks, risk assessments, or business cases are based on our subjective experience, judgment, or interpretation. They do not replace - and must not be relied upon as a substitute for - independent assessment, verification, or due‑diligence activities by customers or other stakeholders. In particular, all aspects relating to data protection requirements (including but not limited to GDPR considerations) and AI‑related regulatory obligations must be independently assessed, verified, and evaluated by interested parties in light of their own legal and operational frameworks. The use of the terms such as “partner” or “partnered” without further qualification solely indicates that we cooperated on specific activities or exchanges with third parties; it does not imply a legal partnership, joint venture, affiliation, or any form of shared corporate structure. Each party acts independently and on its own behalf. Hannover Re and/or affiliated companies of the Hannover Re Group assume no liability for the accuracy, completeness, or future applicability of the information provided in this document.
