3 Features You Need in Your Next Policy Administration Solution
- Written by NewsServices.com
A policy administration system (PAS) performs the fundamental function of putting together and managing the full end-to-end life cycle of a variety of insurance products. This system contains the record of all the policies issued by the insurance provider and is central to the implementation of an insurance provider’s core policy processes, from rating and quoting down to taking care of claims and renewals. The PAS serves as the backbone of an insurance company, and the functionalities and features afforded by an insurance company’s choice of PAS can dictate the immediate and long-term growth rate of the business.
Now that many institutions in the financial industry are implementing digitalization programs within their establishments, even traditional insurance companies should seriously consider how they can adopt a modern life insurance solution and be a part of the so-called third industrial revolution. Insurance providers that are shopping for their next policy administration system, one that will usher digital innovation in their organization, should look for solutions with the following features:
Rules-Based System That’s Designed to Improve Business Agility
One of the main challenges of managing insurance policies is reducing the time and effort needed to implement business decisions. Using an older analog system, insurance providers would have to jump through plenty of hoops and prolonged processes to design insurance policies so that these are more aligned with both the client’s needs and the insurance provider’s business goals. The same goes for implementing contract changes and processing claims, among other basic tasks. This is because many traditional PAS use code-generators and parameter-based solutions that can only be immediately implemented in limited settings. These elements slow down the implementation of new rules and product updates.
Using a rules-based policy administration system presents insurance companies with the option to act on their business decisions in a snap. Ideally, the company’s next PAS is a digital platform that should allow insurance providers to easily define their rules and implement these new rules across a wide range of insurance products, without altering the base programing of the said products and insurance policies. This reduces the need to get the services of an experienced programmer whenever the business deems it necessary to update their policies or enact changes within a particular set of products.
A Single Platform That Allows the Fast-Tracking of Product Innovation
The market for insurance products is changing rapidly. In the past, insurance companies catered to markets that expected lengthy processes and plenty of back and forth with their insurance providers. These days, however, millennials make up a significant chunk of the insurance market. Unlike the generation before them, millennials appreciate the level of speed and convenience that digital solutions bring to the table, and they expect their insurance providers to efficiently cater to their needs and to quickly adapt to the changes in their environment. It’s a must for insurance companies to live up to the expectations of the market.
Responding to the need for quick and efficient product rollouts can be done by using a PAS with a single platform that fuels product innovation. This platform should provide a digital space for collaborators to work together and come up with products and services that fit the lifestyle of their millennial clients, while also bridging the gap for seniors and other digital immigrants. The PAS should serve as a single platform where actuaries, complaint officers, and business analysts can work together to quickly come up with updates and new products that satisfy the requirements and standards of each department.
Prebuilt Templates to Speed Up Product Roll Out and Implementation
Reducing the amount of time that’s needed to design, roll out, and implement products is essential to capturing an insurance company’s target market. If a provider is able to roll out their new insurance products weeks or months in advance of their competitors, then they have a better chance of attracting more clients. Also, reducing the time needed to design quality insurance products allows the company to save on labor and administrative costs.
This is what prebuilt templates and components bring to the table. Using a PAS with these features means that the team behind product development won’t have to start from scratch every time they have to come up with new products or they want to improve their existing insurance policies. Should the development team need to implement updates to a particular element of an insurance product, they can simply manipulate a prebuilt component template and implement this change across all the affected policies. They also have the option to update multiple components and products at once and use blanket implementation to ensure that all their products are in their latest versions.
The Right PAS is Key to Meeting the Needs of the Digital Age
Joining the digital revolution too late prevents an insurance company from meeting the changing needs of their clients in a timely manner, thus allowing their business to fall behind its competitors. Digitalizing their PAS can help more traditional insurance providers speed up the adoption of digital technologies within their respective organizations.
