InsurTech Ohio Spotlight with Lisa Wharton

Lisa Wharton is the CIO of Columbia Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurance group that sells Commercial Lines policies for businesses, and Personal Lines Auto. Lisa was interviewed by Michael Fiedel, Co-Founder at InsurTech Ohio and Co-Founder at PolicyFly, Inc.

Lisa, when and why should carriers consider core systems transformations?

“There may be companies that have older legacy systems, or their current solutions are no longer viable and are at the end of life. These systems need to be retired to make way for a new, modern platform. The main reasons companies move forward to a new core system are to improve speed to market, workforce efficiencies, ensure health, hygiene and security for the technical ecosystem and enable the adoption of emerging technologies, which enable the company to stay relevant and compete in the market.

In regard to speed to market, lost time is a lost opportunity, so it’s important to release the new functionality quickly. Emerging technologies offer enhanced efficiency through automation, access to data through the use of a singular suite of integrated systems and for some companies that are ready, the use of new AI technology. Additionally, employees who perform more clerical and administrative activities will have the opportunity to learn and grow to allow them to spend time in a capacity that allows them to conduct higher value work for the company.

Many of the new core systems have enhanced security platforms. With ever-increasing security threats in the market, partnering with a larger, core-system software company that's focused on keeping their software platform current and making sure it stays secure is essential, especially if the solution is in the cloud and offers regular upgrades along the way.

Research and development go hand-in-hand with a modern security platform. Companies that move forward with a core-system transformation initiative are positioned to take advantage of new functionality to stay competitive with competitors in the industry and stay current on the technology. I know of many companies that experience issues with outdated, legacy technology that's no longer supported, and it’s a herculean effort to upgrade the older technology. Moving to a new core system that has a defined upgrade path alleviates falling into this situation again in the future.

My final point involves recruiting and retention for the employee base. A lot of folks don't prefer to be stuck supporting legacy technologies. It's not new or exciting, and it's not necessarily good for their careers long-term. Also, trying to find talent to support legacy Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) mainframe solutions is getting harder and harder. New technology most certainly improves recruiting and retention.”

How does organizational change management play a pivotal role in a successful transformation?

“Oftentimes, technology is hard enough to implement properly, but at least it's black and white. There's not a lot of emotion in the technology piece. When people think of a core system transformation, they often think of it as an IT project. Core system transformations are enterprise projects that have many facets, technology being a big one, but equally, organizational change management should also be at the top of the list. Organizational change management focuses on helping people through the change curve. One of the worst outcomes of a core system transformation would be to implement a system that meets all of the requirements and has been deployed to production, but people fight using the system (the change) instead of embracing it.

Organizational change management is as important as successfully completing the technical work. Helping people's minds and hearts embrace the new system and the future is essential. So, make sure your organizational change management practice has clearly defined communication plans, training plans and engagement plans to help people see what's in it for them. The combination of a successfully implemented technology platform and successfully implemented organizational change management plan really are the winning ticket for a new core system implementation.”

What do systems integrators bring to the table that deserves consideration when taking on these core systems projects?

“The systems integrators, or SIs, are great to include in a core systems transformation as trusted advisors and in many cases, to pick up the lion’s share of the program work. Many SIs have decades of experience implementing new core systems, specifically in the insurance sector. I've had the opportunity to work with a systems integrator across three core system transformations at three different carriers. There are a couple of big things that I believe a SI brings: One is accelerators for various components of the program for both technical and non-technical (example - Organizational Change Management framework and strategy).

The second is for major software platforms that are widely adopted. An SI generally has extensive experience across a multitude of carriers in actual implementations. This results in many lessons learned that have been used to mature implementation practices, significant experience with the software platform and how it fits into the overall technical ecosystem of a carrier and business knowledge. The business knowledge piece is extremely important as well given many insurance carriers have business employees who have never been through a major project, let alone a core system transformation, and the business knowledge needed to ensure all functional requirements are gathered to enable successful development of the system are essential to success.”

What should it look like on the other side of these transformations?

“Going through a core system transformation - I will not sugarcoat it - is painful. It’s a journey. When people go through this together, they form the trusting and deep relationships that I believe aren't formed under most other professional circumstances. Coming through as one team that works together collaboratively, you feel a sense of achievement and camaraderie. For most, it’s a once-in-a-career opportunity to implement a new core system because companies do not switch core systems every other year. That feeling of achievement and having a legacy is amazing.”