With an enormous amount of digital transformation happening in the insurance sector at present, one of the most common projects in play is replacing the current PAS (Policy Administration Systems).
The PAS is software used by many insurance businesses to manage and administer their policies from start to finish:
Creating a policy
Underwriting a customer against a product
Issuing policy documents/contract
Creating and subsequently billing a premium
Maintaining the policy once in force (facilitating claims process / creating changes or endorsements)
Connecting with other company systems, such as regulatory reporting tools, or fraud detection tools
With insurance being as old as time and some insurance businesses being acquired by their competitors, alongside various other factors, policies are often being managed on outdated, clunky software that is worlds away from the efficiencies of current market offerings.
Whether we like it or not the future is technology, so survival can depend on evolution. Leveraging the advanced tech that a modern PAS provides will ultimately drive down costs, provide opportunities for automation, and help businesses remain competitive against existing competitors, as well as the newer modern tech-focused players popping up left, right, and centre who can do everything quicker.
So what are the benefits of upgrading to the modern PAS?
Exceeding Customer Expectations – First and foremost there is the customer, no matter how the sector, technology, and products change the customer must always remain the focal point of everything. Providing them with more efficient products and services, ease and speed of getting the information and cover they need, as well as a personalised and flexible service from quote to claim can be achieved more efficiently with a modern PAS.
Data Security / Privacy – A huge modern topic scrutinised by the board and exec team. New PAS providers incorporate cutting-edge cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive customer information and show a big green tick when it comes to trust.
Operational Efficiency – Slick and fast processes making newer PAS offerings more user-friendly for faster processing, fewer errors, and improved workflows save the company money, as well as provide the customer with a better service.
Scalability – Businesses looking to grow and vastly increase the volume of policies handled on their PAS will want to use one that is assured to efficiently handle more data, and more activity, as well as potentially migrate large volumes of data from legacy platforms if they are looking to acquire other businesses.
Regulatory Compliance – Staying up to date with the regulators and being compliant is key, so the latest legal and regulatory changes need to be incorporated into a PAS to avoid losing trust with policyholders and receiving hefty penalty fines. Newer systems allow this to be done a lot more fluidly than those of old.
Remaining Competitive – With the landscape ever-evolving and competitors investing and making moves to remain up to date with technology, companies have to invest to keep pace, and provide innovative products and services.
Move on from the Legacy – With legacy systems becoming outdated, and tough to maintain, which ultimately leads to more man-hours and less efficiency, upgrading or moving away from these to a modern PAS is going to ensure a more reliable system, lower costs, and be overall more efficient.
Advanced Analytics – Data is key and being able to leverage advanced analytics to see the bigger picture of the business, and how it is performing operationally provides a competitive edge and a measure of continuous improvement.
Improved Claims Processing – Ensuring a faster, more efficient claims process and helping the customer when they really need it, as well as incorporating modern measures to prevent leakage from claims fraud.
Naturally, the needs of every insurance business vary, and there is not a ‘one size fits all’ answer, but with a range of offerings out there that can tailor their product to the unique requirements of their customers, it’s an exciting time to be embracing new technology.
Some really exciting providers at the moment include : ICE / Instanda / Novidea / Guidewire / Acturis / Open GI / CoverGo / EIS to name a few.
As a leading technology and change specialist, Gerrard White recruit professionals who work both in-house and software provider side of the fence for some of the largest insurance providers, brokers and tech platforms in the world, as well as the consultancies who guide implementations.
If you are looking for support in hiring the best talent in the market to help with your PAS implementation please get in touch at : steve@gerrardwhite.com | 07867 360296
