CASE STUDY
Core System Replacement Without Business Disruption
Company Background
A regional property and casualty insurance carrier serving multiple Midwestern states had built a strong reputation on dependable underwriting and long term broker relationships. The carrier specialized in commercial and small business lines and relied on a legacy policy administration system that had supported growth for more than a decade.
As volumes increased and product complexity grew the limitations of the existing core platform became increasingly apparent. Manual workarounds were common integrations were brittle and straight through processing rates lagged behind industry benchmarks. Leadership made the strategic decision to replace the core PAS to support future growth improve operational efficiency and modernize the policy lifecycle.
While the business case for replacement was clear the operational risk was significant. Any disruption during the transition could impact underwriting service levels policy issuance and billing cycles. The carrier needed a partner that could execute a high-risk transformation without interrupting day to day business.
CLIENT CHALLENGE
Core system replacements are among the most complex and risky initiatives an insurance carrier can undertake. For this carrier the stakes were especially high. The legacy PAS was tightly coupled to upstream rating systems downstream billing platforms document generation and multiple third party data providers.
The carrier had three primary concerns. First, they needed to ensure uninterrupted policy issuance renewals and endorsements throughout the transition. Second, they needed to stabilize and protect critical integrations that supported underwriting and operations. Third they needed development teams that understood insurance workflows deeply enough to anticipate edge cases before they became production issues.
Internal teams were stretched thin supporting daily operations and vendor resources lacked sufficient insurance domain expertise. The carrier needed a phased cutover strategy that would allow old and new systems to operate in parallel while minimizing risk to the business.
Our
Solution
INFORCE approached the engagement with a business first execution model designed to reduce risk while accelerating value.
The team engineered a phased cutover strategy that segmented policy types and transactions into controlled migration waves. This allowed the carrier to move discrete portions of the business onto the new core system while keeping the legacy platform fully operational as a safety net. Each phase included defined success criteria rollback plans and performance validation checkpoints.
Before cutover, INFORCE stabilized all upstream and downstream integrations. APIs were refactored data contracts were validated and error handling was strengthened to ensure consistent behavior across both systems. Parallel environments were established so transactions could be processed and reconciled in real time during transition windows.
A dedicated team of insurance savvy developers and QA specialists was deployed aligned to carrier business hours. This alignment enabled rapid collaboration with underwriting operations and IT stakeholders allowing issues to be identified and resolved within hours rather than days. QA resources were embedded throughout development and migration activities rather than reserved for end stage testing.
The result was a tightly coordinated execution that prioritized operational continuity while steadily advancing toward full core replacement.
THE RESULTS
Zero business interruption during transition
Throughout the phased cutover there was no unplanned downtime for underwriting policy issuance or billing. Daily transaction volumes continued without disruption and service level agreements were consistently met.
Straight through processing increased by 22% in the first 30 days
Within the first month after go live automated policy issuance and endorsement processing increased measurably. Reduced manual intervention freed underwriters and operations staff to focus on higher value work.
On time full core system go live
The carrier achieved full production cutover on the planned date with no schedule extensions. Legacy system dependencies were retired as expected and operational teams transitioned smoothly to the new platform.
Post launch defect rate reduced by 60%
Compared to prior system releases the carrier experienced significantly fewer production issues in the first 60 days following go live eliminating the typical stabilization period.
Accelerated return on investment
Operational efficiency gains and reduced rework allowed the carrier to realize measurable ROI within the first quarter rather than over multiple renewal cycles.
business Impact Analysis
By eliminating downtime risk the carrier avoided the operational and reputational costs often associated with core replacements. Based on historical transaction volumes even a single day of disruption could have delayed thousands of policy transactions and impacted millions in written premium.
The increase in straight through processing translated directly into labor savings. An estimated 40 hours per week of manual processing was eliminated across underwriting and policy operations equating to approximately 2,000 hours annually. At an average fully loaded cost of 90 dollars per hour this represented roughly 180,000 dollars in annual efficiency gains.
Equally important was the confidence gained internally. The success of the core replacement established a repeatable modernization blueprint and restored stakeholder trust in large scale technology initiatives. Business and IT leadership aligned on future enhancements knowing they could be executed without jeopardizing ongoing operations.
The carrier emerged with a modern core platform improved automation and a foundation capable of supporting new products and growth initiatives without the fragility of the past.