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Life insurance and annuity carriers continue to recognize
the need to modernize their aging policy administration systems, but may be hesitant
to move forward because of the inherent risk involved. To help carriers better prepare for what lies
ahead LOMA's Resource Magazine asked Karen Furtado, partner of Strategy Meets
Action, to help them chart a course in Navigating Policy
Administration Selection, the
cover story of this month’s issue.
The industry analyst and research firm recently asked
insurance carriers to name the business drivers for replacing legacy policy
administration systems. The top five cited,
according to Furtado, centered on:
Supporting growth in current lines
Improving competitive position
Containing and reducing costs
Supporting growth in new lines
Supporting agent demands and interaction
It’s no surprise that fueling growth,
both now and in the future, continues to be a key driver for modernization. Why? Inflexible,
hard-coded, legacy systems require customization by IT every time a change is
required. This in turn impedes a carrier’s
ability to be agile, constraining their ability to quickly adapt to changing
regulatory requirements and evolving market demands. It also stymies their ability to quickly
bring to market new products or rapidly configure changes to existing ones, and
also can inhibit how carriers service customers and distribution channels.
In the article, Furtado advised carriers
to ensure that the policy administration system they are considering is current
and modern, with an adaptable user interface and flexible service-oriented
architecture. She said carriers to should ask themselves, “How
much do you need flexibility and agility now and in the future? Does it support
the business processes and rules that are needed for you to be able to create
that adaptable environment?”
Furtado went on to advise that carriers “Connect
your strategy to your business and technical capabilities before you make
investment choices…You want to enable your organization to transform for the
future, not just automate the past.”
Unlocking High Performance with Policy Administration Transformation also
was the topic of a recent LOMA webcast moderated by Ron Clark, editor of LOMA's Resource
Magazine. The web cast, which
featured speakers from Oracle Insurance and Capgemini, focused on how insurers
can competitively drive high performance by:
Replacing
a legacy policy administration system with a modern, flexible platform
Optimizing
IT and operations costs, creating consistent processes and eliminating resource
redundancies
Selecting
the right partner with the best blend of technology, operational, and
consulting capabilities to achieve market leadership
Understanding
the value of outsourcing closed block operations
Learn more
by clicking
here
to access this free, one-hour recorded webcast.
Helen Pitts, is senior product marketing manager
for Oracle Insurance's life and annuities solutions.
