Xuber has today published a new whitepaper revealing the substantial risk legacy systems pose to the commercial insurance industry.
These insights are explored in detail in Xuber’s report, ‘When is Legacy not Legacy at all? Why Defining Legacy is Key to the Future’. The report reveals how, for an industry built upon managing risk, the commercial insurance sector is itself reliant upon creaky systems that are no longer fit-for-purpose. The whitepaper also reveals the commercial market is in danger of lagging behind more innovative sectors, resulting in missed opportunities for progress and efficiency.
Among the findings and key considerations for modernisation examined within the report are:
• At what point does a system become ‘legacy’? To what extent does the environment in which it is used, and those who are using it, determine whether it is ‘fit-for-purpose’?
• Reliance upon legacy systems not only poses a risk to the commercial industry, but is hampering innovation in sectors such as banking and retail.
• How are insurers adapting to keep up with the growing demands presented by advances in the digital arena? As mobile technology becomes a part of daily routine, how must the commercial market adapt to this?
• Legacy and the customer experience; the commercial industry is increasingly following the example set by personal lines of offering a customer-focused service, in which technology is integral to a seamless customer experience.
• How to build the business case for upgrading legacy systems by understanding the perspective of different stakeholders; how do the technology needs and priorities of a CEO, CIO, and day-to-day user differ?
Richard Clark, Head of Business Development and Specialist Commercial at Xuber, comments:
“For many in the insurance industry, the potential upheaval and cost makes the prospect of upgrading legacy systems appear too big a problem to even start to consider. However, this process is not just about avoiding the threat of collapse, but about waking up to the opportunities to forge ahead through innovation – therefore leading to greater business agility, efficiency and cost-savings across the board.
“To best understand the meaning of legacy, insurers must widen its definition to encompass people, processes and data, and consider what needs to change. This in turn will inform the reasons for making that change and upgrading, and enable the commercial industry to follow the example set by other sectors.
“There is a new era of modernisation upon us where a continual process of change needs to be embraced throughout an organisation. We must move with the times to avoid being left as the last dinosaur.”
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