Approaching technology within a multi-year framework can also help you to manage enterprise-wide changes to your business processes more cost effectively. The instant benefits of even a partial implementation can be quite significant. You could see a substantial increase in speed to market, a decrease in administrative or maintenance costs, and efficiencies that translate into a visible improvement in your workflow within three months of a partial implementation.

Yet multi-year approaches, if not implemented properly or with the right solutions, can come with some serious issues. Will the plan you’ve committed to today be viable in  say three to five years when the project is complete? How will that technology grow and change with your business, and will it keep pace with emerging trends? Will those industry trends in thwart your plans because your solutions struggle to adapt to change?

These issues can be addressed with the right vendor. Examine the provider’s ability to deploy updates and enhancement, despite your specific customizations. Try to determine how “supportable” your specific environment will be over the long term. If the solution you choose is externally facing, understand the level of data security that’s included, as well as how scalable that solution is within your current framework. A good solution provider can integrate new technology within your current framework.

Also, a good solution provider will use the latest technology to maximize the effectiveness and productivity of what you current use. Their technology should be “future proof” – able to adapt to emerging technology and grow with your business. Finally, you should be able to implement in stages in order to spread out the costs and better afford the best technology for your business.

For example, if your current business writes in three states, but a recent acquisition expands your market to additional two states, a horizontally scalable solution would allow you to simply add those additional states to your existing core solution in a matter of weeks. Or, if your claims handling is moved from a legacy internal solution to a third party administrator, your horizontally scalable technology solution can be easily integrated to address those changes.

But why horizontal? Horizontally scalable architecture in your solution is typically more flexible than a vertical architecture, allowing for the addition of capacity or functionality on the fly. Further, such architecture provides the ability to integrate multiple solutions attaching to a single foundation, thus facilitating expansion that feeds from a single source of information. Conversely, vertical architecture most often requires costly and time intensive changes to the core.

So what does that mean for your business? It means the technology solution you choose for your business should work well today and just as well two years from now, even if your business then looks much different than it does today.  It also means that costs can be kept within reason. Because you can expand whenever you’re ready and able, you pay only for those components or modules you need now. Therefore, your budgets remain intact and you realize immediate business benefits from the pieces you purchase today.

Is your current system vertical? What limitations have you noticed? Do changes cost too much and take too long? Does your IT group tell you it just can’t be done? How would a horizontal structure benefit your business?

Your underwriting process is only as good as the data in front of you. That data has a shelf life, much like most data gathered in the research and benchmarking processes. The truth is businesses evolve and markets change constantly, sometimes quite rapidly. Today’s reports are current – well, today. Tomorrow could be another story as market factors, economic influences, and claims figures change.

But if your underwriting process had access to real-time ad hoc reporting capabilities, if the information you were working with was the most current, how would that improve your underwriting quality? If information is available to you instantly, your underwriting department will be able to better quantify the risks and price your products. As a result, your products are going to perform much more effectively.

Take a look at your insurance technology solution. Are you being given access to real-time data and information, or is your information static and dated? Where is your information being gathered from? How many groups do you interface with to get information: data warehousing, claims, re-insurance, billing? If those interfaces are not part of your technology architecture and your policy administration or underwriting platform is not talking to other enterprise systems, you may be working in a silo and relying on outdated information.

When evaluating a policy solution, ask yourself if that platform could serve as the hub of your business. Does it keep all the information about your business “in the center?” Are you able to harness that information in real time to help you make critical, time-sensitive decisions about a risk?

Does your insurance technology solution provider support your ongoing compliance needs? 

Considering that ISO has developed over 17,500 global standards on any number of subjects, it’s easy to see how compliance can be elusive. Companies could spend millions just to maintain up-to-date knowledge of ISO alone, not to mention the changes to NCCI’s workers’ compensation rating recommendations. State and local compliance only adds to the strain on insurers.

A good insurance technology solutions provider offers compliance support for multiple programs in all fifty states. Look for a provider with real-time management and support capabilities. Also, does your solution provider support individually filed rates, loss cost modifiers, or company deviations? Ensure your provider specifically provides ongoing updates and support for ISO and NCCI. Ask your provider when regulatory updates are applied to your solution and how company mandated deviations are handled. Unless there is a sound and frequent process for applying updates regularly, your compliance could suffer.

Consider what a comprehensive, compliant solution can do to help you achieve your business objectives. The right platform with continuous support and updates can increase your competitive edge and help your company grow its business. For example, one of our customers, a start-up carrier, grew its book of business from zero to $200 million in premiums using our multi-state ISO platform.  One enabling factor was our customer’s ability to focus on their business while we managed the technical implications of the many statutory and regulatory changes, which at that time, could have otherwise inundated the fledgling carrier. 

In order for your technology solution to protect and propel your business model, you don’t just need a provider, but a support system and a partner in your compliance efforts. 

When was the last time you and your provider sat down and discussed your compliance objectives? If you’re unsure, have a talk with your provider and risk management team to understand the repercussions of missed compliance and opportunities.

It’s a common mistake – companies, in an attempt to save money, take the development and maintenance of their technology in-house. And for a while, it may work. But the cost savings that companies chase rarely, if ever, come to fruition thanks to the increasing complexities of technology and the demands on staff to keep ahead of the technology curve.

 It’s the same for insurers in the property and casualty space. Insurers want affordable automated system options and unparalleled technical support. Yet creating, and then maintaining, customized automation that responds to all aspects of the P&C business is detailed, time-consuming, and oftentimes impossible for the in-house staff to pull off effectively. In some cases, IT teams build and test business systems that become obsolete shortly after launch.

 That’s why outsourcing your technology solutions makes sense. When choosing a company, look for the following:

• Specialty in your business area
• Products and customization options that respond to your business requirements
• Knowledge of your industry and all regulatory requirements
• Scalable solutions and web-based platforms
• Full-scale automation that integrates all your business processes into one solution
• Rate filing support
• Technical support

 Choosing a company such as Cover-All Technologies to customize and maintain your technology frees you to do what you do best – conduct business. Remember: in-house solutions are not an automatic cost savings. In many cases, they can be a burden that negatively impacts your profit margin.