The integrated nature of modern insurance distribution networks is increasingly driving insurers to invest in APIs that they can extend to brokers and other distribution partners for faster appetite indications and sales. Insurers who invest in this area can accelerate adding partners to their networks and sales cycles. Everest Re demonstrated this in a recent case study which won a Novarica Impact Award in the core category.
Everest Re developed a standard library of APIs, allowing it to onboard new distribution partners quickly and enable straight-through processing for common business transactions, as part of a larger effort to expand its partner network. The API suite allowed Everest to add one large underwriting partner and two large brokers, which helped the company meet growth targets.
The project team developed the API library over the course of two years, working in concert with resources from several vendor partners. The team managed the complexity of the project by prioritizing key transactions for key states before expanding functionality and territory in later releases.
Property/casualty insurers, especially larger ones, have made investments in externalizable APIs in recent years. Novarica’s 2020 N100 benchmarking study found that more than three-quarters of large property/casualty insurers have capabilities for externalizable APIs, though most do not rate their capabilities in this area as “mature.”
Standardizing APIs in this fashion isn’t a simple process; clarity on key transactions and excellent communication with the project team is crucial. But it’s also clear that APIs for underwriting and distribution partners have become table stakes. Insurers that have invested in this area have the future advantage of being able to articulate clear standards for future network partners, which can speed up mapping and integration.
In July, Novarica announced the winners of the ninth annual Novarica Research Council Impact Awards. These awards recognize insurance technology projects that demonstrate real business impact and are selected by insurer CIO members of Novarica’s Research Council.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll continue taking an in-depth look at each of the eight winning case studies. Case studies for all winners and 20 other IT projects considered for the Impact Awards appear in this year’s Insurance Technology Case Study Compendium. More than 100 case studies from the last five years are available in Novarica’s research library.
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