Upgrading or changing legacy platforms and enterprise software can be a nightmare to disentangle, particularly when dealing with existing operating systems, data storage, and payment processing software.
When planning an upgrade, there have historically only been two options:
- Buy pre-made IT solutions from third-party vendors and attempt to synchronise workflows to fit the structure of the solution, or
- Write your own code to create a bespoke solution for your business.
The maintenance and updating of legacy systems have been a millstone that has weighed heavily on insurers, typically consuming as much as 70% of IT budgets, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
While a full “rip and replace” strategy for legacy systems is likely to prove too costly and risky in the current economic climate, insurers have been coming around to the idea of innovating on top of their systems – modernizing without causing any major disruption to their businesses.
The not-so-secret weapon has been the implementation of low-code and no-code software – a flexible technology that allows businesses to develop software applications without needing extensive coding skills.
Tools for Transformation
No-code and low-code are tools and platforms that allow you to create applications and use data to solve problems without the need to write computer code, which is used in building websites and web applications or designing just about any kind of digital solution that a company might need.
They are even becoming available for creating artificial intelligence-powered applications, dramatically lowering the barriers to entry for anyone wanting to leverage AI and machine learning.
Holding the potential to propel digital transformation, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction, no-code and low-code solutions will drive a more competitive and innovative insurance landscape.
Using purely drag-and-drop user interfaces, the no-code approach can help businesses build simple, repetitive applications based on common use patterns. Ideal for non-technical business users who have little or, in some cases, no programming skills, no-code is primarily used to create tactical applications to handle simple business functions. For example, an insurer could automate the process of saving attachments from their email accounts to a specific folder in cloud storage – all accomplished through a visual, user-friendly interface without any coding.
An enhancement to this idea is the low-code platform which provides some “light” coding functions to the graphical user interface. This added level of control enables companies to focus on creating the 10% that makes their application different or specific to their business while leaving the standard (more mundane programming tasks) pieces to drag-and-drop features. Low-code is suited for rapid implementation and development but with the power to tailor an application to bespoke requirements.
The adoption of low-code platforms is exploding. Forrester estimates that the combined low-code and digital process automation (DPA) market , representing a growth rate of roughly 21% since 2019. Its most recent survey data also shows that 87% of enterprise developers use low-code development platforms for at least some of their development work.
Breaking Free From Legacy Systems
For insurance companies, the speed of implementation is often the narrow margin between success and failure, which is why the interest in these easy-to-use platforms has skyrocketed.
By using no-code and low-code methods to develop their own apps, insurers that need to migrate away from legacy systems can wean themselves off outdated platforms in a controlled and measured manner without risking the breakdown of existing systems.
Low-code platforms make it easier for legacy systems to integrate with modern applications, allowing insurance companies to leverage their current infrastructure while modernizing their processes—helping streamline operations, improve data accessibility, and enhance overall system efficiency.
Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» companies are already becoming sold on the idea with genuine enthusiasm about its potential. A showed that 56% of insurance companies had already invested and deployed or were actively experimenting with low-code/no-code solutions while another 79% planned to increase their spending over the next two years
There is an abundance of applications that can be quickly built with no-code and low-code: automation rules, quotes, documents, email, and letter templates, to name a few. Workflows and processes can be pre-built to automate automatic renewals, so a company can configure its systems to collate all the third-party underwriting rules and then generate and send out the documents, thereby streamlining the entire process.
People responsible for pricing and distribution decisions know their customers best, so it makes sense to empower them to create their own apps. Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» companies can rapidly deploy customer-centric applications such as self-service portals, mobile apps, and chatbots. These all improve the customer experience with better access to real-time information, engagement, claims interactions, and many other personalised services.
Application development can be accelerated with pre-built components, templates, and visual interfaces that enable rapid development. This speed-to-market advantage means new applications can be developed and deployed quickly, operational efficiency is improved, and customer experience is enhanced.
In general, low-code approaches are best suited for creating independent mobile or web apps and portals that integrate with other systems and data sources. On the whole, they can be used for almost anything and would only ever struggle in mission-critical systems that need to interface with various backends and external data sources.
On the other hand, no-code environments are a good fit for product prototyping (such as app prototypes, e-commerce solutions, and blogs), landing pages, single-page sites, and customer-facing apps with simple functionality.
Adding complexity invariably adds to more time spent fixing bugs and security flaws. Low-code or no-code platforms benefit from running more smoothly, having been tested to more rigorous standards. And cost-wise, low-code or no-code development comes at a much lower price point, as businesses only pay for accessing specific services.
The insurance industry is at its best when it is driving change. Bringing new products to market, utilizing new distribution channels, digitalizing the portfolio, integrating legacy systems or addressing compliance issues, both no-code and low-code approaches are placing a usable technology solution into the hands of people working on the frontline and are playing a significant part in digital transformation journey of the industry.
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