The CIO’s Challenge: Balancing Transformation with Day-to-Day Operations

Insurer management, CIOs in particular, are constantly caught between the need to drive innovation and the pressure of keeping daily operations running smoothly. With an average tenure of just four years, many CIOs spend most of their time “keeping the lights on,” unable to focus on strategic transformation.

So, how can CIOs balance this while still driving meaningful change? It starts with asking the right question:

• How are my initiatives removing friction, lowering costs, and driving better underwriting results?

The submission process is particularly sensitive to friction. Less than optimal submission processes impacts both an insurer’s ability to close profitable business and the relationship with producers. It also drives up costs and impacts the expense ratio.  

Here’s an interesting stat: 59% of insurers with better combined ratios than their direct competition have higher expense ratios than those same competitors. These insurers may have less efficient, manual operations BUT they are focused on what matters most to their distribution channels and are underwriting effectively. The risk is that they are not flexible enough to change direction quickly, regardless of whether that change is being driven by the market or management. Today, however, insurers can improve their operations and expense ratio without sacrificing the quality of their program – or taking a hit on their loss ratio.

The Submission Process: Where Friction Lies

Let’s break it down. Where does the friction live in the submission process, and how can we smooth it out?

1. Manual File Setup

Here’s the problem: submissions often come through as PDFs, and someone has to manually re-enter the data into systems. This process is slow, costly, and prone to mistakes. This is where automation comes in. Tools powered by AI can extract data from those PDFs and automatically populate your underwriting system, cutting down the time spent on these repetitive tasks.

Just look at what Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) did – they automated their submission intake, going from 30 minutes of setup time per file to just 2 minutes. The result? Straight-through processing (STP) jumps from 40% to 71%. That’s a massive win for efficiency and freeing up underwriters to focus on more complex tasks. 

2. Faster, Smarter Responses for Producers

Producers are busy, and they’re working with a lot of carriers. They must know if their risk fits your appetite profile and want a quick quote indication. If your response time is slow, it puts the producer in a tough spot, and they’ll move on to one of your competitors. So, what can you do? You can speed up the quoting process by automating some of the decision-making, application testing and prioritizing high-value submissions. Salesforce’s tools help underwriters work faster, tie multiple systems together into a smooth flow, and collaborate more effectively with producers. This builds producer loyalty and drives more business.

Take N2G Worldwide Insurance Services, for example. They used Salesforce to streamline complex submissions, consolidating seven systems into 3. The result? A 25% improvement in underwriting documentation and faster multi-line quotes. Not to mention, it helped solidify their relationships with producers.

3. Uncovering Missed Opportunities

Another challenge? Underwriters often don’t have the bandwidth to review the applications they receive and focus on the producers they know, leaving new opportunities untapped. By using AI to scan all submissions and prioritize high-value risks, insurers can capture more opportunities without putting additional strain on their teams. This means you’re making more intelligent decisions and increasing your potential for profitability.

4. Compliance and Underwriting Discipline

Manual processes also make it harder to consistently follow underwriting guidelines and regulatory requirements, especially for less experienced underwriters. However, with automation, Salesforce enforces the right rules at the right time, ensuring compliance and underwriting guidelines, reducing risk. This kind of consistency strengthens your foundation for growth and protects against potential issues down the road.