Neural networks for insurance pricing with frequency and severity data: a benchmark study from data preprocessing to technical tariff

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Holvoet, Freek, Antonio, Katrien, Henckaerts, Roel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917098916151296
author Holvoet, Freek
Antonio, Katrien
Henckaerts, Roel
author_facet Holvoet, Freek
Antonio, Katrien
Henckaerts, Roel
contents Insurers usually turn to generalized linear models for modeling claim frequency and severity data. Due to their success in other fields, machine learning techniques are gaining popularity within the actuarial toolbox. Our paper contributes to the literature on frequency-severity insurance pricing with machine learning via deep learning structures. We present a benchmark study on four insurance data sets with frequency and severity targets in the presence of multiple types of input features. We compare in detail the performance of: a generalized linear model on binned input data, a gradient-boosted tree model, a feed-forward neural network (FFNN), and the combined actuarial neural network (CANN). The CANNs combine a baseline prediction established with a GLM and GBM, respectively, with a neural network correction. We explain the data preprocessing steps with specific focus on the multiple types of input features typically present in tabular insurance data sets, such as postal codes, numeric and categorical covariates. Autoencoders are used to embed the categorical variables into the neural network, and we explore their potential advantages in a frequency-severity setting. Model performance is evaluated not only on out-of-sample deviance but also using statistical and calibration performance criteria and managerial tools to get more nuanced insights. Finally, we construct global surrogate models for the neural nets' frequency and severity models. These surrogates enable the translation of the essential insights captured by the FFNNs or CANNs to GLMs. As such, a technical tariff table results that can easily be deployed in practice.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_12671
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Neural networks for insurance pricing with frequency and severity data: a benchmark study from data preprocessing to technical tariff
Holvoet, Freek
Antonio, Katrien
Henckaerts, Roel
Machine Learning
Risk Management
Insurers usually turn to generalized linear models for modeling claim frequency and severity data. Due to their success in other fields, machine learning techniques are gaining popularity within the actuarial toolbox. Our paper contributes to the literature on frequency-severity insurance pricing with machine learning via deep learning structures. We present a benchmark study on four insurance data sets with frequency and severity targets in the presence of multiple types of input features. We compare in detail the performance of: a generalized linear model on binned input data, a gradient-boosted tree model, a feed-forward neural network (FFNN), and the combined actuarial neural network (CANN). The CANNs combine a baseline prediction established with a GLM and GBM, respectively, with a neural network correction. We explain the data preprocessing steps with specific focus on the multiple types of input features typically present in tabular insurance data sets, such as postal codes, numeric and categorical covariates. Autoencoders are used to embed the categorical variables into the neural network, and we explore their potential advantages in a frequency-severity setting. Model performance is evaluated not only on out-of-sample deviance but also using statistical and calibration performance criteria and managerial tools to get more nuanced insights. Finally, we construct global surrogate models for the neural nets' frequency and severity models. These surrogates enable the translation of the essential insights captured by the FFNNs or CANNs to GLMs. As such, a technical tariff table results that can easily be deployed in practice.
title Neural networks for insurance pricing with frequency and severity data: a benchmark study from data preprocessing to technical tariff
topic Machine Learning
Risk Management
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.12671