casestudy, strategy, Strategy

Efficiencies in Policy Operations

Efficiencies in Policy Operations

In today’s digital age, insurance carriers understand the critical importance of enhancing customer and agent experiences, often investing heavily in digital engagement solutions. Despite these efforts, they continue to receive a significant volume of documents through email and traditional mail, which still require manual processing.

Case Study

Client: A mid sized P&C insurance carrier 

Problem statement:

A West Coast-based insurance company specializing in personal lines insurance struggled with operational inefficiencies due to the manual handling of various policy requests. The company faced a high volume of requests for policy changes, lienholder updates, and document requests from agents, brokers, and customers. These requests came through multiple channels—emails, PDFs, and web forms—which required time-consuming manual intervention. The manual nature of the process led to delays, increased errors, and tied up valuable resources that could have been better utilized elsewhere.

Our Approach

The insurance company implemented KognitiveWorks to address these inefficiencies. The platform automated the process of managing policy change requests by interpreting and classifying data across different document formats and channels. It automatically updated policy details, integrated with the company’s backend system, and ensured that the policy changes were processed with minimal manual input. Whether the request involved modifying policy limits, adjusting coverage, or updating lienholder details, the platform streamlined the entire workflow.
Intelligent Data Extraction: KognitiveWorks accurately extracted and categorized relevant information from various document formats, allowing the insurer to handle requests consistently.
Next Best Action: Once processed, the system immediately updated the policies in the insurer’s backend, ensuring accuracy across systems.
Error Reduction: By automating manual data entry, the system minimized errors, ensuring accurate policy updates with each request.
Technology Landscape

    • DuckCreek (Policy,Billing, Claims)
    • Customer portal – Angular, google analytics
    • Homegrown (document storage)

Results

The implementation of KognitiveWorks led to significant operational improvements for the insurer, resulting in:

    1. 100% Classification Accuracy: The platform achieved complete accuracy in categorizing requests, eliminating errors that often arose from manual processing.
    2. 60% Reduction in Manual Effort: Automating the process drastically reduced the manual intervention required, allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
    3. 40% Improvement in Productivity: With reduced manual work, the overall productivity of policy administrators improved, enabling them to handle more requests in less time.
    4. 90% Decrease in Turnaround Time: The automation of policy changes enabled the company to process requests in real-time, cutting submission turnaround times by 90%, leading to faster service for agents and customers.
    5. Increased Agent Satisfaction: With faster response times and improved accuracy, the company experienced heightened satisfaction from agents, brokers, and customers, ultimately enhancing relationships and customer loyalty.
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casestudy, Strategy, strategy

API Implementation

Implement APIs

In the dynamic world of insurance, an effective API implementation stands as a linchpin for digital transformation and operational efficiency. Leveraging AWS API Gateway, insurance companies are ushering in a new era of streamlined and efficient operations. The API Gateway acts as a centralized hub, orchestrating and managing interactions between diverse insurance systems such as policy administration systems, billing systems, claims management, agent portals and customer portals. By deploying APIs through aws API gateway, insurers benefit from seamless scalability, robust security measures, and real-time monitoring capabilities intrinsic to the AWS ecosystem. This allows them to handle vast numbers of policyholder/agent requests swiftly, ensure data integrity, and reduce latency. Additionally, with the built-in developer tools and integration capabilities of AWS API Gateway, insurance companies can accelerate the development and deployment of innovative insurtech solutions. This rapid implementation not only optimizes backend operations but also drives enhanced digital experiences for policyholders/agents, from instant policy updates to swift claim processing, all underpinned by the reliability and agility of AWS.

Case Study

Client: A mid sized personal lines insurance carrier.

Problem statement:

Client was looking for rapid digital transformation and they realized that APIs often play a critical role in many functions of their business as an enabler for digital products and projects.

  • Limited agility in launching new insurance products.
  • Inefficient data exchange with partners, brokers, and third-party platforms.
  • Suboptimal customer experiences due to delays and lack of real-time service capabilities.
  • Increased operational costs and maintenance overheads.

Client was looking for a partner with expertise in building out APIs using aws API gateway so that they can speed-up delivery of APIs needed for agent portal and customer portal delivery.

    Our Approach

    – Built an agile pod to deliver APIs with team that comprised PO with deep domain background and engineers with deep technical knowledge.
    – Implemented AWS API Gateway with ReST services built using lambda
    – CloudWatch for monitoring
    – Custom Lambda Authorizer.
    – Leveraged best practices for APIs from design to coding with emphasis on automated testing engineered into the DevOps build pipeline.
    – Implemented the APIs over 5 months period with 1st delivery live in 6 weeks.
    Technology Landscape

    • Duckcreek
    • Agent portal – Angular
    • aws API gateway, lambda, Java / Node.JS backend

    Results

    • Enhanced integration – seamless integrations – helping speed to market (and cost reduction) for launch of new experience and capabilities.
    • Innovation and agility – rapid experimentation of digital products.
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    casestudy, strategy, Strategy

    Improve Digital Adoption

    Digital Adoption

    In today’s digitized era, insurance carriers recognize the pivotal role of digital tools in elevating the customer experience. However, a mere investment in these assets doesn’t guarantee success; their meaningful adoption is where the true value lies. Without a strategic focus on maximizing the utility and adoption of these digital assets, carriers risk underutilizing their investments, leading to diminished returns. To truly reap the benefits and enhance customer experience, insurance companies must actively drive the adoption of their digital offerings, ensuring that they are intuitive, user-centric, and seamlessly integrated into the customer journey.

    Case Study

    Client: A mid sized P&C insurance carrier had digital assets like online quote and bind, customer

    Problem statement:

    The question client was trying to answer – how do we improve digital adoption (enrolment in paperless and registration in customer portal) and increase customer digital engagement?

    Client a had rolled out digital assets like paperless communication, customer portal for self service and was experiencing low adoption.

    • Low adoption of paperless leading to increased operational cost

    −1 in 5 have enrolled to receive paperless billing

    −1 in 16 have enrolled to receive paperless policy documents

    −1 in 304 have enrolled to receive text

    • Less than 50% of Direct customers go on and register in customer portal after they buy a policy.
    • Very small % of non-online (agent channel) customers registered for customer portal.

    Our Approach

    Current state study/data collection
    – Identify customer communications and state of paperless initiative
    – Adoption data on paperless, customer portal
    – Customer journey for paperless and portal registration
    Analyze
    – Identify system and process gaps
    – Identify critical data needs/gaps
    – Customer data analysis to identify customer segments and propensity
    Synthesize recommendation
    – Future state customer journeys with system impacts.
    – Recommendation for addressing data gaps.
    – Recommendations for approaches for different customer segments.
    – Monitoring and segment based campaigns to educate customers on digital solutions
    – Identified system and process changes to drive portal registration/adoption and paperless enrollment.

    Technology Landscape

    • Guidewire (PC,BC, CC)
    • Customer portal – Angular, google analytics
    • DocuSign, Documaker (document generation) and Highland (document storage)

    Results

    • Paperless adoption increased by 22% over one year.
    • In one year Customer portal registration for direct customer went up to 85%.
    • Customer portal registration for agent channel increased by 20%.
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    casestudy

    Cloud Migration

    Cloud Migration

    Embracing cloud migration is pivotal for organizations striving to maintain relevance in today’s rapidly advancing digital era. Specifically, transitioning from on-premise solutions, like BizTalk, to the cloud not only offers enhanced flexibility but also aligns perfectly with AWS-powered digital stacks. This shift ensures seamless integration, optimizes operational efficiency, and accelerates speed to market. By leveraging the power of the cloud, businesses can adeptly navigate the challenges of modern commerce and harness the full potential of their technological investments.

    Case Study

    Client:A homeowners insurance carrier from West coast

    Problem statement:

    Client was trying to find a partner for the cloud migration.

    The carrier used Biztalk for integrations.

    • Internal integrations like policy lookup, claims lookup etc.
    • External ternal integrations like credit score from 3rd party, MVR details from third party etc.

    The customer also incurred significant licensing cost on an annual basis.

    Biztalk looked out of place in the new enterprise vision for the technology – specifically with digital.

    Our Approach

    Discovery and blueprint
    −Inventory of integration and complexity assessment (source and consumer)
    −Identified key integrations patterns
    −Design patterns with mapping to aws tech stack
    −POC for identified design patterns
    −Roadmap for migration
    Delivery sprints over 6 months to deliver first 20 integrations.
    Stop use of Biztalk by end of 9 months (all 28 integrations in production migrated to aws).
    Created integration delivery PODs in collaboration with the customer.

    Technology Landscape

      • aws API Gateway, Lambda.
      • Node JS.
      • Biztalk (during the analysis – decommissioned).

    Results

    • Savings of close to $1M per year on Biztalk lic, maintenance staff (specific skill).
    • Consolidation of technology and skillset needed to support.
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    casestudy, Strategy, strategy

    API Strategy

    API Strategy

    In the dynamic world of insurance, an effective API (Application Programming Interface) strategy stands as a linchpin for digital transformation and operational efficiency. By harnessing the power of APIs, insurance companies can seamlessly integrate disparate systems, from policy management to claims processing, facilitating real-time data exchange and automation. This not only streamlines internal workflows but also enhances customer experiences by offering tailored products, instant policy quotes, and rapid claim settlements. Moreover, with the proliferation of insurtech and digital platforms, APIs enable insurers to tap into innovative ecosystems, collaborate with third-party developers, and extend their offerings across multiple digital touchpoints. By doing so, they can cater to the evolving needs of modern policyholders, drive revenue growth through new channels, and stay ahead in the competitive landscape. In essence, a robust API strategy empowers insurance companies to be agile, data-driven, and customer-centric, setting the foundation for sustained success in the digital age.

    Case Study

    Client: A mid sized insurance carrier personal and small commercial focused, who sell their products through independent agents.

    Problem statement:

    Client was looking for rapid digital transformation and they realized that APIs often play a critical role in many functions of their business as an enabler for digital products and projects.

    • Limited agility in launching new insurance products.
    • Inefficient data exchange with partners, brokers, and third-party platforms.
    • Suboptimal customer experiences due to delays and lack of real-time service capabilities.
    • Increased operational costs and maintenance overheads.

    Client was looking for a partner with expertise in technology and business to answer

    How are insurers approaching APIs?

    What insurers are doing with  the APIs?

    What eco-systems are out there?

    What should we be doing? What should be our technology? What should be internal and external APIs?

    Our Approach

    Current state study/data collection
    – Understand current integration patterns and technology landscape.
    – Understand overall business goals, technological challenges, and the potential value drivers of implementing an API strategy.
    – Understand potential API consumers, both internal and external – needs and painpoints.
    Analyze
    – Identify strategic fit of API between business and IT context.
    – Identify technologies that fit the need.
    – Identify critical data needs/gaps
    – Identify API ecosystems that could have potential.
    – Understanding the competitive landscape, market trends, and best practices in API implementation.
    Synthesize recommendation
    – A detailed API strategy blueprint, highlighting the architecture, integration points, and technology stack recommendations.
    – A roadmap for API implementation, prioritizing critical integration points and quick wins
    – Guidelines for API security, governance, and lifecycle management to ensure data protection and regulatory compliance.Future state customer journeys with system impacts.

    Technology Landscape

    • Guidewire (PC,BC, CC)
    • Customer portal – Angular
    • API gateway, Java / Node.JS backend

    Results

    • Enhanced integration – seamless integrations – helping speed to market (and cost reduction) for launch of new experience and capabilities.
    • Innovation and agility – rapid experimentation of digital products.
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    casestudy, Strategy, strategy

    Digital Roadmap

    DIGITAL ROADMAP

    The consumers are expecting high quality, personalized seamless experiences and services across all digital channels. With integrated approach to strategy and execution, we will help you to define the digital transformation roadmap and exceed your customer’s expectation.

    Case Study

    Client: A mid sized P&C insurance carrier had digital assets like online quote and bind, customer

    Problem statement: Client wanted us to broadly answer two questions. What should be our strategy regarding mobile self-service capabilities? What should be our priorities?

    Our Approach

    We started with a Current state study. We Collected current customer portal usage pattern. We collected Competitor mobile apps and their capabilities. We got Customer feedback on competitor mobile apps.

    Then we analyzed the data collected. Created a list of capabilities that customers are seeking from mobile by looking at traffic to customer portal from mobile. We did the analysis of competitor mobile features and analysis of customer feedbacks on mobile apps. Ended up with a comprehensive list key features and the needs for realizing them on a mobile app.  We established the customer need/demand from mobile apps from direct feedback and their frustrations with existing capabilities.

    Finally we synthesized recommendation – which included many rounds of reviews and feedback. We created a Roadmap of features to be delivered with focus on key capabilities desired by the customer and internal capabilities to deliver that successfully. We also worked on technology selection and architecture.

    Technology landscape included Guidewire, APIs built using Java, Mobile app built using Flutter for iOS/android.

    Results

    We delivered a Mobile roadmap for 15 months – with first release in 6 months for table-stake features.

    The benefits were enormous. JD Powers recognized the insurer as number one in digital  experience 6 months after the mobile app release. Customer satisfaction score improved 40%. The mobile application was rated 4.9 and one of the best insurance apps (limited features but works what it promises).

    All this was achieved in 6 months from the start of kickoff of the strategic engagement with acxhange.

    At axhange we value innovation, collaboration, integrity, and a relentless commitment to client success.

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    casestudy

    DuckCreek Delivery Squad

    DuckCreek Development

    In today’s dynamic insurance landscape, insurers are recognizing the imperative to evolve and adapt. Transitioning to modern core platforms, like DuckCreek, has become a strategic priority for many. These advanced systems not only facilitate rapid product launches but also ensure enhanced flexibility and rigorous compliance adherence. By investing in such cutting-edge solutions, insurance companies position themselves at the forefront of innovation, streamlining operations and delivering unparalleled customer experiences.

    Case Study

    Client:A homeowners insurance carrier from West coast

    Problem statement:

    Client was looking for a partner who can build a strong Duckcreek competency.

    The client has a legacy policy administration on AS400. They also have an older version of Duckcreek (relic from previous attempt to modernize) with a small book of business. The client wanted to rollout some of the biggest books to Duckcreek 7.2 which can be used as base product as they migrate rest of the book.

    The client was not happy with the existing partners who had worked on earlier modernization efforts. Specifically – client was looking for,

    • A partner who can build a strong offshore team that his team can directly work with.
    • A partner who understands their business and can engage at appropriate levels while they are on their transformation journey.

    Our Approach

    – Identified gaps in skills for the team.
    – Senior leadership spent time to understand the architecture, current challenges and roadmap.
    – Established benchmark goals for us (customer and acxhange) to be successful
    – Started with one pod – ramped up a team in collaboration with customer that was deployed over 3 months time
    – Mixture of internal and lateral recruitment.
    – Addressed specific HO insurance knowledge gaps through training
    – Setup governance structure that helped us monitor progress and ability to take corrective actions.

    Technology Landscape

      • DuckCreek 7.2

    Results

    • Go-live achieved for a major state on time and under budget
    • Speed to market and quality goals measured achieved.
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    casestudy

    Fullstack delivery pod

    Fullstack Digital Engineering Pod

    In the digital era, insurance companies are keenly aware of the pivotal role agents play in fostering strong customer relationships. To empower these agents, many insurers are investing in state-of-the-art agent portals, a testament to their commitment to enhancing the agent experience. These portals, equipped with modern digital capabilities, serve as a one-stop hub, streamlining processes and providing real-time data access. By offering tools that simplify and enhance tasks, insurers not only boost agent productivity but also ensure that agents can provide customers with swift and personalized service, setting a new benchmark in the industry.

    Case Study

    Client: Client a niche homeowner insurance carrier focused on West coast market who sell their products through independent agents.

    Problem statement:

    The customer was looking at Increased ease of doing business for agents using a modern technology platform that is easy to maintain.

    • The developed product was not meeting the quality and there was a need for speed to market.
    • The client had challenges having a balanced team (onsite/offshore) that has knowledge of insurance and competent in the relevant technology from existing vendors.

    Our Approach

    – Analysis of the proposed architecture and key challenges
    – Identified key skills required
    – Established benchmark goals for us (customer and acxhange) to be successful
    – Setup governance structure that helped us monitor progress and ability to take corrective actions.
    – Ramped up a team and built pods in collaboration with customer that was deployed in 2 months time
    – Mixture of internal and lateral recruitment.
    – Addressed domain knowledge gaps through training
    – Address technology gaps through training to develop fullstack engineers.
    – Improved DevOps pipelines to automate deployments
    – Improved code quality through changes in architecture choices and leveraging tools.

    Technology Landscape

      • Angular 11 frontend
      • API gateway, Java / Node.JS backend
      • DynamoDB
      • DuckCreek 7.2

    Results

    • Go-live achieved for one major state on time and under budget ; Biggest state will be live on the platform in 6 months.
    • Speed to market and quality goals measured achieved.
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    casestudy, strategy, Strategy

    Payments Processing Transformation

    Payments Processing Transformation

    Payment processing plays a pivotal role in the insurance sector, especially crucial in today’s digital era where the expectation is for instant, secure, and flawless transactions. Effective payment processing systems ensure prompt and precise collection of premiums and expedite the settlement of claims, thereby fostering trust and satisfaction among customers. In the digital space, this necessitates the integration of payment gateways, the automation of reconciliation processes, and the secure handling of sensitive financial information, all contributing to a seamless customer journey. Additionally, digital payment processing allows insurance companies to gather and scrutinize transaction data, offering insights for enhanced operational efficiency.

    Case Study

    Client: A mid sized personal lines insurance carrier.

    Problem statement:

    The client had multiple Policy (6), Billing (5) and Payment (8) systems. Client ended up having these many systems due to various mergers and acquisitions and in the midst of transforming their policy and billing systems to next gen systems.  This complex environment resulted in complex integrations for payment processing and multitude challenges such as

    • Inability to reconcile
    • Lack of audit controls
    • Payment transaction used to hop through multiple intermediate systems
    • Resulted in poor customer experience (inconsistent and inaccurate billing information, duplicate payments, dropped/missing payments, delay in posting payments to billing system, etc.)
    • PCI compliance challenges
    • Intermediate MS Access & Excel based solutions to support payment processes and reporting

    Client were looking for a partner to help transform their payment processing with following objectives:

    • Simplify payment processing
    • PCI compliant
    • Enable audit controls
    • Reduce back office operational processes (manual processes with sizable team)

      Our Approach

      Current state analysis
      – We performed a detailed analysis to understand current state challenges and documented.
      – Detailed integration document that mapped what type of payments are processed by which system and how those payments are posted to billing system.
      Design and Implementation
      – Designed payment journey that provided detailed mapping of insured’s payment journey across payment channels and payment types.
      – We ramped up team and implemented a modular payment system (Bill due lookup, payment processor, vault for CC & accounts, recurring payments, wallet, reconciliation, suspense, etc.)
      – The solution also streamlined financial & GL reporting
      – We delivered the solution in 2 phases with first phase with core capabilities implemented in under 7 months (phase 1) and phase 2 in 4 months.

      Technology Landscape

      Backend REST APIs built using Java/JEE Spring framework, Batch interfaces built using Informatica, with MS SQL Server as database, Angular as the front end technology, observability using Dynatrace, end-to-end encryption at rest and in transit

      Results

      • PCI Compliance (with flying colors)
      • Clear and concise auditability
      • Improved customer experience & service NPS
      • Reduced overall spend by $2M per year
      • Repurposed back office operations team to focus on other key policy & claims functions
      • ROI in under two years
      • A centralized solution that processes USD 4.5 Billion in premium payments
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      casestudy, strategy, Strategy

      Sourcing Strategy and Cost Optimization

      Sourcing Strategy

      For insurance companies operating in today’s highly competitive environment, an effective sourcing strategy is paramount to ensure sustainable growth and profitability. An astute sourcing strategy helps insurers delineate between roles that are core to their business, which should be insourced, and those that can be outsourced for better efficiency and cost structures. Furthermore, by considering offshoring for specific roles or tasks, companies can tap into global talent pools and leverage cost advantages inherent in certain geographies. This strategic decision-making not only optimizes overall operational costs but also ensures that the company retains critical competencies in-house while leveraging external expertise for enhanced scalability and agility.

      Case Study

      Client: A mid sized P&C insurance carrier had digital assets like online quote and bind, customer

      Problem statement:

      Client wanted us to broadly answer three questions.

      1.What areas/skills I should insource vs outsource?

      2.How can I reduce overall cost?

      3.Should I offshore? What work/roles I should offshore?

      Client had relationship with one global vendor for a long time. Recently started engaging other vendors. CIO had a mandate to reduce expense and improve quality and speed to market.

      Our Approach

      Current state analysis
      – Current landscape from the perspective of people, process, technology and initiatives
      – Business strategy and IT strategy
      – Feedback and challenges from the customer on the vendor (reviewed internal scoring)
      – Collected all the spend data for IT – details at the level of person, role, vendor, rate, engagement/project
      Analyze
      – Compared vendor rates to industry benchmarks
      – Models and options for sourcing with cost and benefits view
      – Core vs context and identified key roles
      – Identified key features and the needs for realizing them on a mobile app.
      Recommendations
      – Alignment on the strategy and documenting final recommendation
      – Strategies for vendor negotiation.
      – Helped negotiate a win-win deal between the largest vendor and the client.
      – Identified key roles that was insourced.
      – Identified key roles that was context and moved to offshore.

      Results

      • Reduced vendor cost by $3M annual based on rate reductions.
      • Pushed work that was non-core to offshore and helped reduce overall IT spend.
      • Improved ratio of employee vs contractor that helped retain knowledge.
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