Insurance Data Scientist

Placements24; Paarl; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical aid

Pension fund

Training & conferences

Performance bonus

Modern analytical tools

Job summary

Placements24 in Paarl, Western Cape, seeks an experienced Insurance Data Scientist to unlock business value from large data, improve underwriting accuracy, and optimize pricing.

You will design and deploy ML models, collaborate across underwriting, product, marketing, and claims, and mentor junior analysts while staying current with industry advances.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in a quantitative field.
• 5+ years as a Data Scientist in insurance/financial services.
• Proven experience building and deploying ML models.
• Proficiency in Python or R and ML libraries.
• Strong SQL and big data technologies like Spark/Hadoop.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong data visualization and stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy predictive models for fraud, risk, segmentation, and pricing optimization.
• Extract, clean, and transform large, complex datasets from multiple sources.
• Analyze insurance data to identify trends and insights for business value.
• Collaborate with underwriting, product, marketing, and claims to define data needs.
• Design and conduct A/B tests to evaluate models and strategies.
• Communicate complex findings through visualizations and reports.
• Stay updated on data science, ML, and AI advances in insurance.
• Contribute to data infrastructure and analytical tools maintenance.
• Ensure data quality and governance throughout analyses.
• Mentor junior data analysts and share knowledge.

Skills

Python

R

SQL

Data visualization

Education

Master's or PhD in Data Science

Tools

scikit-learn

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Spark

Hadoop

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a leading innovator in the insurance industry, is seeking a talented and experienced Insurance Data Scientist to join their analytical team based in Paarl, Western Cape . This role is central to leveraging vast amounts of data to drive business insights, improve underwriting accuracy, optimize pricing strategies, and enhance customer experience. You will be responsible for designing and implementing advanced analytical models, utilizing machine learning techniques, and translating complex data findings into actionable recommendations for various business units. The ideal candidate possesses a strong quantitative background, proficiency in data manipulation and modeling tools, and a deep understanding of insurance operations. This position requires a hands-on approach and a passion for uncovering patterns and predicting future outcomes within the insurance domain. Your expertise will be crucial in shaping data-driven strategies for our client.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and deploy predictive models using machine learning and statistical techniques for areas such as fraud detection, risk assessment, customer segmentation, and pricing optimization.
• Extract, clean, and transform large, complex datasets from various sources.
• Analyze insurance data to identify trends, patterns, and insights that drive business value.
• Collaborate with stakeholders across underwriting, product development, marketing, and claims to understand their data needs and deliver solutions.
• Design and conduct A/B tests and other experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of new models and strategies.
• Communicate complex analytical findings and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences through visualizations and reports.
• Stay abreast of the latest advancements in data science, machine learning, and AI relevant to the insurance industry.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the company's data infrastructure and analytical tools.
• Ensure data quality and integrity throughout the analytical process.
• Mentor junior data analysts and contribute to the team's knowledge sharing.

Requirements

• A Master's degree or Ph.D. in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Actuarial Science, or a related quantitative field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience as a Data Scientist, with a significant focus on the insurance or financial services industry.
• Proven experience in building and deploying machine learning models (e.g., regression, classification, clustering, time series).
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, and relevant libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Strong SQL skills and experience with big data technologies (e.g., Spark, Hadoop) are highly desirable.
• Excellent analytical, statistical, and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong data visualization skills (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Matplotlib).
• Effective communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Familiarity with insurance data and industry-specific challenges.

Benefits

• Our client offers a highly competitive salary package, with remuneration ranging from R per annum, depending on experience and qualifications.
• comprehensive medical aid
• valuable pension fund
• opportunities for professional growth through training and conference attendance
• performance bonuses
• access to modern analytical tools and technologies.

While this role is office-based in Paarl , our client fosters a dynamic and collaborative work environment.