DWF and Alliance Manchester Business School (MBS) have recently completed a 30-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). They combined their expertise to create Ivy, a data-driven adviser for lawyers.
Ivy is the latest intelligence tool developed by DWF aiming to transform how it uses data. Ivy draws on DWF's historic data, based on previous settlements and strategies, to assess the recommended value of an insurance claim and tailor a case plan for how best to achieve an optimal outcome. This is shown through Ivy reducing the length of the claims lifecycles and the time it takes to reach a settlement, which generates savings for clients.
DWF partnered with Alliance Manchester Business School in the development of Ivy to help identify data features that could potentially support Ivy and define data logic, making it easier to eliminate incorrect data.
David Robinson, Operations Director for Insurance at DWF, commented, "We all hear references to big data and the insights it can give us and this is a real example of a partnership between our people and data science expertise. Our partnership allowed us to shape a tool that will drive the best settlements for our clients and also return even further value so our clients can then go on to further shape their own strategies. This has been a hugely exciting project for DWF which will allow our people to do what they do best, deliver great outcomes for our clients."
Dr Nadia Papamichail, Senior Lecturer in Information and Decision Systems at Alliance MBS, and Knowledge Transfer Partnership Supervisor, added: “The project contributed to DWF’s operational performance internally by improving claims handling efficiency and effectiveness while enhancing the company’s value proposition to clients externally.
"Project Ivy augmented lawyers' abilities to make quicker and more accurate decisions by integrating current and historical data to optimise settlement cases both in terms of value and time. Most importantly, the benefits of utilising good quality data and shifting DWF towards a data-empowered culture are expected to be long-lasting".
DWF's partnership in the KTP scheme was part-funded by Innovate UK, a public body which aims to increase the UK's economic strength and competitive edge by helping organisations gain access to skills and funding.
