Incumbent insurers are on a fast-track to digitalization.
Before 2020, the insurance industry was already spurred by advancements, such as 5G Internet, allowing a leap in mobile connectivity and opening the door to creative solutions.
With the onset of COVID-19, even greater pressure has been applied for carriers, MGAs and other insurers to think outside the box and become more technologically-driven. WaterStreet Company offers P&C Policy Administration Software focused on helping incumbent insurers in 2020 and beyond.
How Incumbent Insurance Carriers are Evolving
1. Innovative Coverages & Customer Engagement
With market disruption, new opportunities have emerged. Insurers have begun to take advantage of their wealth of data to craft new coverages that have never before been considered.
Rating by peril is an example of how insurers can better weigh risk with the cause of loss. The cost of damage by a named peril is covered under policy, rather than an all-inclusive or less-inclusive plan. Customers today are more receptive to clearly defined coverages, also seen with usage-based insurance trends. This concept can be applied to more specific perils that come with higher risk, such as hurricanes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought customer satisfaction to the forefront of all insurer’s priorities. Renewal rates and new customer sign ups can be improved with better customer service, but also through better software usability from mobile apps and self-service interfaces.
2. Third-Party Integrations & Partnerships
The insurance industry is still at the beginning of a period of rapid growth. Each insurer is on a path to collect and store informative data on their customers, but the data collected by insurers is limited.
Connecting to third-party solutions allows insurers to expand the toolbox of any given specialty. These solutions can be helpful for streamlining workflows, such as with Forte, the all-in-one payment processing solution with seamless and secure integration into WaterStreet Company’s P&C Insurance solutions.
The variety in third-party integrations is sure to evolve with the innovative coverages insurers bring to market. Geocoding for insurance is another example of integrating solutions that provide better risk assessments with hyper-accurate location models.
Many insurers are forging partnerships to carve out niche disciplines and set the stage for adaptable software that can continue to evolve with unique offerings.
3. Cloud-based & Flexible APIs
The main difference between a dated legacy system and a modern flexible system comes down to the solution’s Application Programing Interface (API).
Rather than rip and replace parts of the carrier’s core solution, a robust API allows a “plug and play” method of connecting to any number of third-party vendors. Many incumbent carriers currently have a “best in breed” solution, which means the software was designed around a niche specialty to become competitive in one discipline. These solutions can quickly become dated, requiring continued investment in IT infrastructure and troubleshooting for how to best bring new data into the system.
WaterStreet Company offers a cloud-based solution built with a robust API and Document Management at its core. This offers insurers a central repository of information within one unified solution. All parts of the P&C Policy Administration Suite connect to a historical log of documents while connecting to any number of the insured’s desired integrations.
Reach out to WaterStreet Company today to request a consultation and demo of our solutions.
