Make a Sound Buy Decision While Improving the User Experience

Frank Heaps
Director, P&C Product Marketing
StoneRiver

As I read through analyst reviews of trends in the P&C software and solutions industry, I am struck by the hype of solutions that focus on a toolkit approach to workflow design. This is a popular trend in the industry and one of the keys to improving speed and accuracy in your insurance operation. However, the industry is still maturing when it comes to workflow-driven solutions.

True, these solutions show well and get buyers excited because they demonstrate the ability to drive work through a process and enforce your company guidelines. The danger comes when you pull back the covers on the shiny UI and look for the function. Key characteristics of a solution review should be the user experience and business improvements. You should also look at the reputation of the vendor, their track record, customer experience, domain expertise, etc. in addition to the veneer on the solution.

A slick, process-driven UI is nice but you are making a long-term decision and need to be sure the vendor will be around in two years and the platform will be supported. The P&C solution industry is littered with companies that had a great idea, had a powerful demonstration, but could not deliver and support the solution. Many of these workflow type solution implementations bog down because the customer cannot get through the implementation. Some companies have underwriting processes defined but lack details or the processes for quote, renewal, billing management, claims, etc. in a form that can be easily translated to a process definition tool.

Countless hours are lost as the business users deliberate over the third step of a claim-assign triage process for personal auto in the state of New Jersey. Workflow with process-driven capabilities are important but should be a manageable component of a project plan to deliver a proven, production-ready solution for your mission critical applications. When looking at solutions you should consider the whole picture and not just the colorful candy coating.