November 2019 – Straight-through processing (STP) has become common, with more than half of personal, small commercial, and life insurers processing substantial volumes of new business via STP.

While STP can provide advantages in speed and consistency, adoption rates in complex product lines remain low. Concerns about data and modeling capabilities are the main inhibitors, as well as legacy systems and a belief that it is incompatible with strong underwriter relationships.

This snapshot study summarizes key issues in STP and looks at usage rates and average volumes across a group of more than 50 insurers.