Insurers specializing in commercial lines are moving forward on digitization primarily due to customer demands and the influx of digital capabilities available in the world. The tremendous potential of digitizing assets alongside the customer experience is now well recognized in all aspects of commercial lines. With the transformation well underway, we have recently seen shifts in companies’ digital priorities due to the pandemic. The work-from-home environment that occurred very quickly exposed gaps in commercial insurers’ capabilities. Insurers were faced with reprioritizing projects to support agents, policyholders, and employees seeking digital, remote capabilities throughout the past several months.

While the digital transformation is deemed to be modern core systems and continuing to digitize assets, these projects may not, by themselves, drive significant change. They are vital enablers for a whole range of more transformative digital projects for years to come. More information must become available in digital formats. In addition, the insurer systems that manage critical transaction flows and data will be developed on modern architectures that provide the flexibility and adaptability needed in the digital age.

Some focus areas for small and mid/large commercial are as follows:

Small Commercial

Increasing the amount of business handled via straight-through processing is a top priority. This will eliminate the need for manual processing which will further allow for fast and accurate reconciliation. In conjunction with that goal, upgrading to more advanced portals is high on the task list for many insurers. Strategic-through processing starts with capturing more data in structured data formats, which is where portals can assist greatly. Furthermore, the portals are developed to meet the expectations of agents and policyholders for digital interactions.

Mid/Large Commercial

Insurers serving these segments focus on foundational elements. These segments can include implementing current policies, claims systems, billing, and accounting procedures. With significant project activity for policyholder self-service capabilities, primarily due to other lines having already implemented those capabilities, and mid/large is catching up. One exciting area of focus is using artificial intelligence technologies such as natural language processing and machine learning for unstructured data. In this area, the insurers focused on mid/large businesses are forging ahead of the industry. The complexity of the company and the vast volume and variety of forms, letters, documents, and other unstructured data result in significant opportunities for automation and insight.