IMPA and Susep launch Insurance Innovation Laboratory

On Tuesday (5), IMPA and Susep (the Ministry of Finance’s Private Insurance Superintendence) launched the Insurance Innovation Laboratory (Lab Seguros), an initiative aimed at developing solutions to technological challenges facing the private insurance sector. Bringing together data science, artificial intelligence and applied mathematics, the proposal seeks to bring academic production closer to the demands of the insurance market.

The partnership envisages the creation of tools capable of automated claims analysis, risk modeling and fraud detection, among other applications. The initial projects will be conducted by the team at the Pi Center (IMPA Projects and Innovation Center). In the medium term, the idea is to transfer the activities to its own laboratory at IMPA Tech, with a focus on training qualified professionals for the sector.

During the launch event, held at IMPA, director-general Marcelo Viana stressed the importance of strengthening ties between academia and the productive sector. He cited a study by Itaú Social, published last year, which shows that professions linked to mathematics account for 4.7% of Brazil’s GDP – a percentage that reaches 16% in countries with more advanced economies.

“When the study came out, many thought I would be disappointed, but I was thrilled. I saw the difference between 16% and 4.7% as an opportunity to create the conditions that will allow us to make this transformation happen. In other words, to bring knowledge to the productive sectors and reduce this gap. We believe strongly in the potential for interaction between academia and business and in the role of mathematics in generating wealth and business,” he said.

Susep’s superintendent, Alessandro Octavian, highlighted the strategic scope of the initiative. “What we are thinking about here, between Susep and IMPA, is more than an agreement. It’s a country project. A project that believes in your talent, in IMPA, and in the possibility of transforming knowledge into concrete usefulness for the whole of Brazilian society.”

The Pi Center’s project manager, Lucas Nissenbaum, emphasized the exchange of knowledge provided by the partnership. “We’re very excited to have this opportunity to learn more about the insurance sector. One of the best parts of working on technological projects is being able to learn from experts and, based on this dialog, develop research together.”

During the event, Nissenbaum gave a talk on how artificial intelligence tools have advanced over the decades. Project scientist Francisco Ganacim then presented some of the solutions developed by the Pi Center, such as an algorithm that estimates the amount of amniotic fluid in pregnant women – created in partnership with the Dasa group – and a tool that identifies deforested areas in the Amazon using satellite images, developed with Imazon.

The launch of Lab Seguros marks yet another partnership between IMPA and the productive sector, reinforcing the role of mathematics as a strategic ally in the search for innovative solutions to real problems and in strengthening the knowledge-based economy.

Read also: Viana: ‘We have to solve challenges that society finds interesting’