Two weeks ago, at Novarica’s 12th annual Insurance Technology Research Council Meeting, I had the opportunity to lead a roundtable discussion for a dozen insurer CIOs in Novarica’s standard commercial lines and workers’ compensation special interest group. It was an engaging conversation about the challenges commercial lines CIOs face.
Emerging tech, innovation, and new capabilities
CIOs are often tasked to deploy new technologies with limited resources, and one line of discussion centered around “low-hanging fruit” in emerging tech that had substantial impact for minimal pain. One CIO mentioned that transitioning to AWS had created substantial infrastructure savings; while the transition wasn’t trivial, it could be done piecemeal over time, especially through a managed service provider to assist with migration. Others mentioned OCR-powered application ingestion tools or success with third-party data vendors. Options like these can give CIOs the opportunity to create value or add differentiating capability with minimal disruption.
Modernization and integration throughout the enterprise
Adding new capabilities adds complexity, and many CIOs spoke of the challenges that come along with managing complex technological environments while still modernizing across the enterprise. One CIO is currently facing the challenge of integrating a single claims system that needs to query data from five policy admin solutions; another insurer in the group had resolved a similar challenge through a Mulesoft implementation. Other CIOs had similar issues and successes enabling data initiatives, which can require complex integration between enterprise components. The group as a whole was positive on the impact of ESBs to integrate complex environments, even as they acknowledged that a majority of insurers don’t yet have ESBs. Security was also top-of-mind for many CIOs, and many indicated they’d turned to vendors for vulnerability testing that can be independent of system experts.
Vendor management and vendor disruption
The other side to managing new capabilities is managing the vendor partners who provide them, which can be challenging. One major thread of conversation centered around weathering the disruption caused by vendor acquisition, which insurers always need to keep in mind; several CIOs mentioned the importance of limiting dependency on vendors who could be acquired at any time. One CIO said that she had been able to negotiate her vendor contract such that her organization will receive the core code of the vended offering should the vendor diverge from the current strategic direction.
Commercial lines CIOs face challenges in leveraging technology to meet enterprise needs on flat budgets. Vendors can be useful partners to deploy capabilities rapidly, and there are “low-hanging fruit” options that are quick and affordable, but these options aren’t risk-free. To be successful, CIOS need to execute in the present while keeping an eye on the future—both to be ready for new technologies and to mitigate unforeseen disruptions.
Many insurer CIOs don’t often have the chance to speak with peers outside their organization, so the knowledge-sharing that happens at these events can be invaluable. If you’re interested in joining future conversations, please reach out or check our events page to see upcoming opportunities.
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