Metaskil, the consulting firm and leading provider of insurance technology solutions, has today warned that common misconceptions regarding the cost of upgrading legacy systems is causing many insurers to rely upon out-dated and disjointed IT solutions – and possibly damage the customer experience as a result.
Ian Faulkner, MD of Metaskil says:
“It is a widespread misconception that replacing legacy systems can cost firms tens of millions of pounds, even though this is often not the case. We’ve worked on projects where a budget of £1m has been realistic to replace legacy applications.”
Legacy systems can often hamper the service provided to by insurers to customers by slowing down internal processes and delaying feedback to customer queries. Problems like these can have a serious impact on the insurance firm’s brand. Given the ease of switching between products and companies in the sector, the customer experience has to be spot on, each time, every time. As such, if service levels are deemed to be even marginally insufficient, customers will look elsewhere in order to find a firm that can offer greater flexibility and faster response times.
Faulkner continues:
“By changing their systems, processes and technology to improve their service offering, forward-thinking insurers will be in a very good position to lure dissatisfied customers away from their current suppliers, many of whom will still be using cumbersome legacy systems. The insurance industry is changing at an incredible pace, which means that firms that choose to stick with a short-term outlook are likely to be left behind by those who are willing to look beyond the immediate horizon and invest in their company’s future.”
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