Economic upheaval and innovative startups are forcing insurance carriers to replace antiquated technology, ISG Provider Lens™ report says

Many insurance carriers in the U.S. are updating their core technology platforms to fend off new competitors and overcome growing macroeconomic challenges, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Insurance Platform Solutions report for the U.S. finds that carriers of both life and retirement (L&R) and property and casualty (P&C) insurance have begun to recognize that legacy systems, often internally developed and decades old, are major impediments to innovation. In an environment of extreme weather and climate change, inflation and related economic disruptions, they are under growing pressure to become more agile.

“Insurers are no longer deciding whether to modernize. It’s only a question of when and how fast,” said Paul Schreiner, partner and Americas Insurance Industry lead, at ISG. “The sooner they move, the more they stand to gain.”

Adopting a modern core insurance system is critical to carriers’ commercial survival, the report says. Insurers need updated technology to make almost any change aimed at improving productivity and enabling growth, including expanding product lines, locking down cybersecurity, reducing workloads and preparing for disaster recovery. As long as outdated platforms remain, IT costs and performance issues will increase.

Many U.S. insurance carriers in both sectors are partnering with service providers to digitally reinvent themselves by layering new technologies on top of old systems via APIs, the report says. These solutions deliver some quick wins but only represent interim fixes while the companies craft new operating models.

Digital-native startups with superior data and analytics capabilities are offering new insurance products that in many cases provide better customer experiences, ISG says. Traditional insurers’ legacy operating models and technology stacks often are too rigid to ingest and use the data required for new product development and successful risk management.

“Modernization lets carriers tap into a wealth of consumer information to craft products and services for specific customers’ needs,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “The same data can help them identify both opportunities and risks, leading to better decision-making.”

The report also examines other trends in the U.S. insurance industry, including the need to shift from risk reduction to risk removal and to build more consumer trust.

For more insights into the challenges facing U.S. insurers, including skills shortages and ingrained resistance to change, and advice on how best to move forward, see the ISG Provider Lens™ Focal Points briefing here.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Insurance Platform Solutions report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 38 providers across two quadrants: Life and Retirement Insurance Platform Solutions and Property and Casualty Insurance Platform Solutions.

The report names DXC Technology, EIS and Majesco as Leaders in both quadrants. It names Accenture ALIP, Britecore, Duck Creek, EXL LifePRO, FINEOS, Guidewire, Infosys McCamish, INSTANDA, Insurity, OneShield, Oracle OIAP, Verisk FAST and Vitech as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Mphasis Wynsure and Solartis are named as Rising Stars — companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition — in one quadrant each.

A customized version of the report is available from Verisk FAST.

The 2023 ISG Provider Lens™ Insurance Platform Solutions report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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