Insuranceciooutlook

Four Steps for Underwriting Modernization

Insurance CIO Outlook | Thursday, March 11, 2021

Life insurance companies need to advance their developments of digitally enabled data-augmented, life-product purchasing journeys.

FREMONT, CA: Insurance companies need to understand and tackle the dissatisfaction of customers and agents with the time-intensive, high-touch, manual process of underwriting services. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the need for risk assessments to move towards a more remote, data-driven models and shift the distribution to online interactions.

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To modernizing the underwriting and customer onboarding process, organizations need to reprogram and follow agile principles such as disciplined project execution.

Here are four key factors to accelerate digital and AI-powered underwritings in insurance:

Break Down Silos

Coordination among different departments and roles is essential for successful transformation, and a dedicated cross-functional team is needed to execute this transformation. The team should be accountable for program objectives with a portion of compensation and career progression related to the overall success.

 

Speed Up the Pace

Road maps and other strategies need to demonstrate clear wins for the field and customers every quarter. Long-term initiatives need to be split to fit into these release cycles. Bite-

size features need to be presented to the markets and course corrected quickly if something is not working.

Adopt Systems Thinking

Companies should follow systems thinking to have a deeper understanding of how the components interrelate and how individual systems operate in larger systems. The critical aspects of the transformation program are submission and requirements gathering, underwriting decision process, digital issuance, and product development and rate filing.

Commit to Transformation from the Highest Level

Maintaining the speed, resourcing, and dedication need sponsorship from the company’s top executives. Executives need to be assured that the transformation shows an essential shift in how underwriting and onboarding will be delivered. The program will face challenges to get traction without a firm assurance, clear objectives, and communication from the top.

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