Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

“This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

Portfolio Insights of the Property and Casualty Department

Portfolio Insights of the Property and Casualty Department

by | Apr 7, 2024 | Uncategorized

Navigating Insurance Challenges in Lebanon: A Strategic Roadmap

The insurance sector in Lebanon, like many of its economic facets, is navigating through a period of significant challenge and change. This crisis is rooted in political instability, economic downturns, and the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion in 2020, among other factors. These elements have collectively put unprecedented pressure on all sectors, including insurance, driving the need for strategic resilience and adaptation.

Lebanon’s insurance industry, historically robust and competitive within the region, has faced increasing pressures from several fronts. The devaluation of the Lebanese pound, hyperinflation, and the banking sector’s liquidity crisis have severely impacted the operational capabilities of insurance companies. Policyholders are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with premium payments, while claims costs are rising due to the economic situation and inflation. Additionally, the regulatory framework and oversight of the insurance sector have been areas of concern, requiring enhancements to ensure stability and trust among policyholders.

Despite these challenges, the Lebanese insurance sector also showcases a remarkable capacity for resilience. Companies are exploring innovative strategies to navigate through the crisis, including digital transformation, product diversification, and revising pricing models to adapt to the economic context. Moreover, there’s an increasing focus on risk management and solvency to ensure long-term sustainability. This article showcases the portfolio insights of the company in the Property and Casualty department.

Balancing Premiums with Risk Exposure


Insurance is not a static field; risks evolve, and new risks emerge. Therefore, insurers must adapt by regularly reviewing their underwriting criteria, leveraging new data analytics technologies, and staying informed about changes in the environment that could affect the risk landscape. Furthermore, it’s vital for insurers to develop comprehensive risk mitigation strategies.

The emphasis on the importance of thorough underwriting before pricing an insurance policy cannot be overstated. Underwriting is the process where insurers assess and evaluate the risk associated with an insurance policy. The goal is to price the risk accurately, ensuring that premiums collected will cover the claims and the operational costs, while also allowing the insurer to make a profit.

It is observed from regional data that the volume of insurance policies and the corresponding financial outcomes vary considerably. Some areas demonstrate a higher concentration of policies, indicating a robust customer base, while financial metrics suggest that premium levels do not consistently match up with the risks incurred. This variability highlights the importance of leveraging top-notch risk mitigation methods to enhance the sustainability and financial health of insurance operations.

 

The data provides a clear view on the policies distribution within the company. The left graph, demonstrates the diversity in policy types offered, with ‘MUC’ related to all commercials type and emerging as the predominant category, accounting for nearly 6,000 policies in our portfolio. This indicates a robust demand for this particular insurance product line, suggesting that our underwriting efforts in this segment have been well-received by the market. In other hand the count of policeies issued from the head office is still significntly higehr than thos ein otehr branch suggesting taht and effort should be put to increase the roductivity there vene that during the past 5 years the policy has been increasing however the effort should be kept in order to maintain the portfolio of the company.

On the right, the second graph represent the Distribution of policies based on currency which presents a financial landscape shaped by currency dynamics, a crucial factor given Lebanon’s economic flux. The stark predominance of policies denominated nowadays is definitely the USD fresh keeping the LBP out of reach.This also reflects our strategic positioning to offer policies by providing a safeguard against hyperinflation and reinforcing the financial robustness of our portfolio.

Strategic Insurance Operations

The company expanded its presence in Lebanon over the past years, establishing multiple branches to increase its portfolio. Despite the expansion, the headquarters significantly outperformed all other branches combined over the last five years, holding approximately 78% of the total policies.

The fluctuating trends of annual endorsements from 2018 to 2023 for the ten most insured risk locations, highlights the insurance behavior post the Beirut blast with a notable peak in Achrafieh and the strategic success reflected by the rising trend in Zahle. Complementing this, This comprehensive analysis underscores the importance of accurate data management and strategic branch placement in the dynamic landscape of insurance endorsements.

The analysis of short-term insurance policies has uncovered irregularities, especially policies with a recorded duration of zero days, pointing to possible data entry errors. This issue emphasizes the critical need for system improvements to ensure data accuracy and to implement a detailed tracking feature for the reasons behind policy cancellations. Such enhancements are particularly crucial in light of a recent incident involving a disputed policy issued in September 2023, which could have led to complications in claim processing.

Strategic Data-Driven Enhancements

To navigate the complexities of the Lebanese insurance market, it’s recommended to enhance system capabilities, focus on strategic locations with high engagement potential, and continuously analyze policy data to inform decision-making. With these strategies in place, the company is poised to better manage risks, optimize its portfolio, and maintain its leadership position in Lebanon’s insurance sector. The extensive data repositories maintained by insurance companies are invaluable for Data Analysts and Data Scientists. They provide a rich foundation for constructing sophisticated predictive models and developing automated tools that enhance efficiency and streamline daily operations effectively.

Violence Faced by Women in Specific Nations

Violence Faced by Women in Specific Nations

by | Nov 18, 2023 | Visualization

Women in certain nations across Africa and Oceania face significant challenges due to conflicts that disproportionately affect them, hindering their rights and opportunities.

Gender equality is at the very heart of human rights and United Nations values. This discrimination and violence against women and girls, deeply rooted in the fabric of societies, is persistent and systematic. And in recent years, there has been a recurrence of skepticism against and denial of international standards concerning women’s human rights, gender equality and gender-based violence, while women and girls are increasingly raising voices to demand equality.

 

Oceania and African countries are the highest when talking about sexual abuse!

African and Oceania countries witness increased cases of gender-based violence, including physical and sexual abuse against women as shown in the United Nations data with Afghanistan, Vanuatu and Equatorial Guinea leading in 2015 (shown in the heatmap).

When Women are exposed to conflict with their husband, women are often vulnerable of what will happen with them whether exploitation, violence, sexual abuse. The cause of their conflicts is vast, and those conflicts can lead the women to be beaten by her husband, and some of them are justifying this act of being beaten. It can start from the last valuable thing which is burning the food when preparing for her husband and with the lowest occurrence (14.33%) and reaching the most valuable point which is neglecting the children which has the highest occurrence (31%), (shown in the bar chart).

The strength of legal rights for all those women differs accordingly to their countries, in the data provided  by the united nations it is shown that the African countries and the island in Oceania are the least when demanding for their rights, however Unites States , Australia, Canada have the highest ratio of women demanding for their rights averaging at 11 out of 12 which can show a correlation between the percentage of female abused sexually and the ratio related to the strength of women legal rights. (shown in the map).

Empowering Women Amid Conflict: Strategies for Equality and Protection in Africa and Oceania

Strengthening legal frameworks to enforce existing laws protecting women’s rights is crucial, alongside providing legal aid and raising awareness. It is also essential for women to be engaging in community dialogues that empower them through economic opportunities, education initiatives, and access to healthcare and support services that can significantly reduce vulnerabilities by raising awareness for women and male on gender roles, in this way reducing the stereotypes that each society can create.

Implementing and constantly monitoring safety measures is pivotal to mitigating instances of violence against women. Regular assessments of the effectiveness of these measures provide insights into what works and what needs improvement, most of the NGO’s target these insights in collaboration with the United Nations. Finally, by facilitating the ease of access to necessities like healthcare, education, shelter, and support services the level of women’s involvement in decision-making roles and well-being increases significantly.

Empowering Women for Peace

The findings highlight the pivotal role of empowering women in African and Oceania regions, demonstrating their profound positive impact on entire communities, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) of gender equality. Empowered women act as catalysts for sustainable peace, fostering social and economic development while ensuring stability within some African and Oceania regions. However, the effectiveness of programs aimed at protecting and empowering women hinges on continuous support and robust enforcement mechanisms.

To address these needs, it’s crucial to strengthen legal frameworks, ensuring comprehensive policies are in place to protect and uphold the rights of women. This includes not only enacting laws but also implementing robust enforcement mechanisms to guarantee their efficacy.


Moreover, the recommendations emphasize the necessity of ongoing investment in programs tailored to empower women and elevate their voices in peacebuilding efforts. By amplifying their roles in decision-making processes and community leadership, these initiatives create a more inclusive and resilient society, where women play active roles in shaping peaceful solutions and driving positive change. More NGO’s like KAFA, Fe-male, Abaad etc… should be acting in these countries to secure the good operations of these programs.