Sandeep Karkhanis
Data Scientist (General Insurance)
Excited by the changes his work is making to our business, Data Scientist, Sandeep, explains how he uses machine learning to help us improve our customers’ lives.
“There’s tonnes of change taking place across the business”
I’ve worked at LV= General Insurance (LV= GI) for almost two years and have had a great time so far. There’s been a lot of exciting things happening with tonnes of change taking place across the business – and our team has grown a lot, too. As a Data Scientist, my role is to leverage the data which exists in the business and combine it with machine learning to generate intelligence, helping us make decisions with more confidence and accuracy.
Machine Learning explained
Machine learning is the application of a mathematical algorithm that we use to get insights from data. It’s all about adding value to the business by embedding machine learning to improve our decision-making capability. That's how I look at it.
“It feels like we’re definitely moving towards the culture of a tech startup”
I'm based in the Waterloo office which is a really vibrant and dynamic place to be. It’s an environment where you constantly see fresh ideas as we work together to solve problems. Whilst we’re a financial services organisation, it feels like we’re definitely moving towards the culture of a tech startup. You can see the organisation is shifting towards this new way of thinking and fully embracing the change it brings, which is really exciting.
How we’re improving our customer journeys with machine learning
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Live chat – We’ve applied machine learning to the live chat function on our website to help us understand the common issues our customers contact us about. We then use this data to optimise our responses and help the customer faster. The data also informs the information on our website and FAQs, alleviating pain points for our customers where possible.
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Liability – Using an algorithm, we help the GI business assign liability confidently, which helps solve claims faster. Now, if you can assign the claim to a third party quickly, you can get an almost real-time resolution on your claim.
“My work is making real change within the business”
I love what I do. So much so, that every Monday I’m in the office at 7:45 because I look forward to getting back to work after the weekend. I like the challenges my work brings and being able to witness the impact of it. It’s not just about fancy computer algorithms, my work is making real change within the business. I like the balance between doing technical stuff, which is fun in its own right, and interacting with people across the business. Getting a lot of exposure to different people is important because the more you get to know about what other teams do, the more you can understand the problem you’re trying to solve for them.
“Be open and proactive and never be afraid to reach out to people for help”
LV= GI is a great place to be. I think there are a lot of opportunities here for you to get out there and showcase what you do. And in terms of social stuff, every other day there is some sort of event happening if you want to get involved. It’s important to get to know people socially because you can work better together once you’ve formed those connections. To succeed here, you need to be open, proactive and confident enough to reach out to others if you need help.
