The Search Is On

Your legacy system is starting to wheeze a little. It’s not as reliable as it once was. It’s nowhere near as flexible as it used to seem to be. It requires a little more coaxing than you’d like to give it. And you, your agents, and your policyholders are starting to wonder if it might be ready for a safe spot in the Old Systems Home.

But where do you start?

Well, you start with the facts, of course, beginning here:

1. What deployment models does the vendor offer? Do they provide a choice between SaaS and on-premise platforms? You may have more control on-premise, but it likely will require more internal IT resources. SaaS, on the other hand, offers greater security, scalability, and flexibility. And it may offer lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
2. What’s the vendor’s track record on implementations, migrations, and data conversions? Does it stumble out of the blocks? Does it fade in the late going? Or are its pace and delivery steady from start to finish? Your business operations will depend on the vendor’s performance.
3. How is the process of implementing the software, migrating your data to the new system, and performing the necessary conversions priced? Will you be on the hook for delays or scope creep?
4. What’s the vendor’s approach to change management (process re-engineering and getting your employees up to speed on the new software’s ability to facilitate necessary processes) and training (ensuring buy-in from and a smooth transition for your employees).
5. How good is the software? How much of it is standardized? How much of it is customizable? How reliant do you have to be on the vendor to configure the system, to configure existing products, and to develop new products?

That Was Fun

All five steps above are necessary, and we highly recommend the gathering of as many fact as you need to ensure your decisions about a vendor and its software are fully informed. You can find all manner of data to support the contention that the single most important factor in a property/casualty insurer’s selection of a core processing system is integration with existing systems and data. But it’s not.

The single most important factor in any insurance company’s selection of any software is word of mouth. In other words, the most important thing to establish with a vendor is trust, beginning with the trust it’s established with other insurers. Yes, the software has to be good. But a trusting relationship comes first.

If your legacy system is telling you the search is on, remember this: There is no perfect system. But there is a perfect system for you.

That includes your relationship with the vendor.