5 The Importance of Data Quality an

5 The Importance of Data Quality and Data Management
5.1 Data Quality Management
Data is the essential element in all the phases of the insurance business process discussed
in Section 2. From R&D through production until after-sales services and controlling, what an
insurance company does is data processing, as its products are immaterial in nature. This fact
is even more accentuated today, where insurances can be purchased online, claims settlements,
billing and payments can be treated completely electronically. Furthermore the requirements of
control authorities are continuously increasing, leading to always more complex analyses. For
all these reasons the implementation of a company-wide data quality management system has
become an unavoidable necessity.