Students present projects on innovation in the insurance industry
The IRB Institute’s 1st Technical-Scientific Symposium was held at Maravalley
IMPA Tech students participated this Thursday (the 10th) in the 1st Technical-Scientific Symposium of the IRB Institute, held at Maravalley in Rio de Janeiro. The event brought together representatives from academia, the insurance industry, and regulatory agencies to discuss the role of science, technology, and innovation in transforming the insurance market.
Throughout the program, the students presented projects developed as part of the LabSeguros, a partnership between Centro Pi (IMPA’s Center for Projects and Innovation) and the Superintendence of Private Insurance (Susep) of the Ministry of Finance.
Undergraduate students Gustavo Cardoso, Pablo Cerqueira, Richard Elias, and Gabriel Vieira presented their project, “Operational Losses Database.” Lucas Nissenbaum, Technology Projects Manager at Centro Pi, attended the students’ presentation.
“We received a database containing more than 20 million records of operating losses from more than 90 insurance and reinsurance companies in Brazil. The goal was to process this database, analyze all of this information, and present it to SUSEP,” explained Vieira.
Elias detailed the work carried out by the group. “We refactored the data and delivered a dashboard for exploring the information and a report generator for inconsistencies, which flags records that fall outside the reporting standards. It was a truly collaborative effort: everyone participated on all fronts. It was a great experience because it was a real-world problem, not just a classroom exercise. The biggest challenge was gaining a deep understanding of the reporting rules and translating that into a clear interface for the analysts,” he said.
The experience allowed students to apply their mathematical and computational knowledge to a real-world problem and gain insight into the challenges faced by an industry that increasingly relies on data and technology.
According to Nissenbaum, one of the main challenges lies in transforming large volumes of data into information that can be understood and used by different audiences. “We have a massive amount of data, and there’s information in there. We need to extract insights from the data and figure out how to work with this vast amount. How can we present the data in a way that helps people understand it better? That’s the big question.”
For him, a mathematical education provides tools that can be applied to different fields. “The mathematics behind the problems is the same regardless of the field. The tools we’re building come from the same background. It’s a matter of translation, of a dictionary—the terms are different—and once we break down that barrier, the mathematical foundations flow.”
Cynthia Bortolotto, a postdoc at IMPA, also participated in the symposium with her project “Sentiment Analysis.” Both projects are currently in development and continue to be refined within the LabSeguros framework.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry
At the symposium’s opening, IMPA Tech’s academic manager, Nara Bobko, emphasized the importance of aligning academic training with the needs of the private sector.
“I am proud to be working with you all on this partnership. We are optimistic about the results to come, stemming from the collaboration between academia and industry—two sectors that are usually so disconnected,” he said.
The IRB Institute is a division of IRB(Re) dedicated to training multidisciplinary professionals for the Brazilian insurance market. The institution’s president of Technology Projects, Eduarda La Rocque, highlighted the integration among different generations of professionals.
“Older generations have experience. You, the younger generation, have new technologies. We want to develop new talent who know how to apply these tools, thereby eliminating generational conflicts. Language is a challenge even for the insurance industry,” he said.
Cesar Neves, director of Prudential Supervision and Reinsurance at SUSEP, highlighted the opportunities offered by IMPA Tech and the importance of training new professionals in the country.
“The program is off to an excellent start, creating opportunities for students from all over Brazil, with the infrastructure and resources to allow them to stay in Rio for four years. I hope that after they graduate, they’ll stay in our country. They can count on SUSEP,” he said.
