Group and Voluntary Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems: 2018 North American Solution Spectrum

As decision-making shifts to individuals with the rise of voluntary benefits, the bar will rise for carriers to deliver seamless and intuitive customer experiences.

Insurers will be looking for systems that can provide a digital experience. Delivery of a distinctive digital customer experience, supported by advanced analytics, should be high on the list of features insurers look for when evaluating a group policy administration system.

Group and voluntary life insurers are looking for operational efficiency in processing, no different than their individual insurance counterparts. Policy admin systems have evolved which enable group insurers to efficiently enter, capture, and serve this market. This report profiles providers of modern group and voluntary PAS.

Group and voluntary life insurance has grown for a number of reasons. Some employers, aiming to shift benefit expense to employees, are offering supplementary products that provide employees with greater choice regarding how they spend their benefit dollars. Group life brokers, in turn, are looking to expand their revenue base by distributing more supplementary products to meet shifting employer needs. In addition, the advent of the private exchange has created a platform for introducing more voluntary and ancillary products to consumers.

For most insurers, any plan aimed at responding to current market trends points toward technology renewal or replacement. Addressing core systems deficiencies, including the inability of policy administration systems to handle distribution or product expansion, is a nearly universal imperative. The same market drivers are also impacting billing, enrollment, and portal platforms.

Sixteen vendors that responded to Celent’s request for information regarding client base, features and functions, and technology of their group policy administration systems are profiled in this report.