Software applications fill all spheres of our modern life, inevitably. They help in booking tickets and accommodation, accompany in watching sports and facilitate learning foreign languages. More than ever, apps enhance business performance because they automate numerous manual tasks and increase revenue greatly. Among others, insurance product development becomes essential for various underwriters, agencies, and ordinary users.
Further in this article, we will cover basic stuff like software types and development cycles as well as more advanced things related to health insurance product development stages and advantages. Don’t miss the last part, where we briefly answer the most popular questions. Let’s go!
Before we move to insurance systems and insurtech approaches, you want to know how software differs and how developers create it, basically. Without diving too much into tech debris, let’s find out the differences between the main categories.
As an entrepreneur, you have two basic types to order: a ready-made one and a custom one. Both of them have pros and cons, so at the end of the day, you should choose a system which meets your requirements better. Here are a few primary features of both types:
Regardless of the chosen option, applications go all the way through the software development life cycle or SDLC. Long story short, this term means the entire development framework, which starts with the first product sketches and ends in the maintenance stage. But actually, SDLC is continuous and endless because apps require constant support with regular updates. The life cycle acts as a general plan or structure of software creation.
There are a few SDLC models suitable for different partnership patterns between software authors and their customers:
To discover how our company works, read about software development phases
Firstly, let’s talk about prepackaged or ready-made apps. We consider them as a viable alternative to bespoke solutions for all businesses which don’t require advanced tuning. If you have a small online insurance agency that works with individuals in a single given town somewhere in the USA, then you don’t need complex applications with multicurrency support or large catalogs for entities. Moreover, you want to get a basic piece of software for a moderate price ASAP, without waiting months while developers build apps from scratch.
Thus, packaged applications are wonderful as they include traditional modules, can be installed right off the bat, and, mainly, feature best practices. Generally, they are methods, processes, functions, and ideas tested and proven by numerous companies related to the target industry. This means that development teams build packaged software products on these approaches because the majority of users appreciate them.
Talking about insurance product development best practices, here are the most popular examples:
While ready apps may be useful for some businesses, a lot of not-as-traditional companies will get more benefits from custom products. Thus, it’s better to know how your program is developed to be able to leave feedback or request some changes. Read through the next sections to educate yourself about insurtech systems, their advantages, and the stages of SDLC.
Generally, insurtech stands for insurance + technology, similarly to fintech. This approach combines the core tasks of insurance companies with modern digital systems to create useful applications with tools for underwriters and insured persons or teams. A robust insurtech platform can boost your business significantly thanks to several features:
Strictly speaking, you can order any type of insurance software: accounting, HR, CRM, ERP, and more. Depending on the current objectives, insurers can ask for specific applications or purchase a complex one to cover all needs at once.
But not only offshore software development benefits are cool. Your understanding of the processes handled by developers is important, too.
By realizing how things work during SDLC, managers and stakeholders can improve their vision and modify requirements. Say, initially, a team of underwriters desired an all-in-one package with advanced catalogs and enterprise-grade accounting software. But after discussing plans with developers (step #1), exploring business analysis (step #2), and receiving an MVP with only basic tools (step #4), employees realized that they don’t need other costly extensions. As a result, this company was successful in getting higher ROI.
This means it’s always better to know about something rather than not. Keeping this statement in mind, let’s look at the insurance product development stages.
The first phase is fully theoretical as it includes all the possible plans, estimations, and evaluations. During the planning stage, managers, stakeholders, key users from all the company’s departments, and developers discuss how the project will go on. Here, you should define the location of resources, the project scope and goals, schedules, budgets, requirements for the QA team, and potential risks. As a result, the first sketch will be ready.
Further, all the mentioned things must be discussed once again with in-house or external analysts. These experts can help if you don’t clearly understand the software requirements or market conditions. Results of analytical work are processed and concluded in the form of the SRS – Software Requirement Specification document, which will be the main guideline for developers. Agile teams may have several SRS samples for each iteration.
Using the mentioned requirements, product authors design an architecture, make prototypes and deploy them to show how they work. Developers focus on both high-level design with features, modules, and interfaces and on low-level one with databases, functional algorithms, and code itself. At the end of this step, clients get one or a few DDS – Design Document Specifications which describe the product in detail.
The longest stage covers the health insurance product development itself. Coders use DDS as the guide and the chosen languages/frameworks as tools. Waterfall methodology doesn’t provide too many options for reviews and control on the client side, but Agile approaches are more flexible and allow you to leave feedback during each sprint. However, significant changes aren’t desirable during this process.
Modern SDLC models include small testing tasks for each step, but this conclusion is required, as well. Here, QA experts analyze the software performance, check code quality, and perform various tests focused on functional areas, integrations, security, etc. Developers then fix bugs or change modules and send the product back to the QA team for re-test. The next phase can begin only when the software complies with SRS papers fully.
The most recent applications can be installed nearly instantly because of the high level of automation. If preparation measures were taken properly and no bugs were found, the deployment is a question of a formal launch, not more. To avoid issues, you want to install an MVP beforehand and look at how this basic product will work. Additionally, take care of data migration and keep core processes untouched during the launch.
After the deployment, you can choose among various options:
Health insurance markets are quite popular and beneficial, especially in developed countries such as the USA and the UK. People tend to care about their health, so you as a businessman want to invest in innovative approaches to meet the needs of all customers. It’s simple as you can get high ROI from this money. To be sure that the industry is rising, just check statistics about spending per enrollee in the US: for 2015, 2016, and 2026 (predicted). It’s clear that in ten years, the market will be 1.5 times bigger!
Keeping these insights in mind, let’s look at how insurance applications can boost businesses and how they’re useful to your unique tasks.
The basic advantages of software for insurance can be concluded to a few points:
As a result, the company with implemented software cuts money expenses, too. By automating tasks, reducing errors, and optimizing clients’ experience, you can boost brand presence and popularity significantly.
At the end of the day, the software is the most beneficial when it meets the business objectives fully. Let’s say an online insurance agency definitely should invest in email marketing and web-based tools for clients’ data processing, while brick-and-mortar offices would rather rely on telephony and in-person communication. The large insurance industry consists of numerous small, middle, and large corporations, each of which has unique requirements, so proper definition of your own needs is the key to success.
Consider outsourcing to Ukraine if you want to get a good balance between software price and quality.
In the end, let’s quickly remind key parts of the guide related to insurance product development, choosing, and implementation.
As we’ve mentioned, insurtech combines insurance and technology and focuses on applying innovative tech to get the maximum profit from insurance models. All the modern insurance applications are examples of the insurtech approaches.
Basically, there are bespoke and preprogrammed apps. The first type can be fully adapted to your business goals, while the second one comes as a fixed set of features based on tested profitable strategies. Plus, products can be SaaS or stand-alone, free or paid, designed for small, medium, or large companies, etc.
It’s a combination of stages dedicated to planning, creating, and maintaining applications. The process begins with defining software goals, continues with designing first prototypes and releasing an MVP (in the Agile approach), and ends with the final launch. Further, developers can provide techs/customer support and training.
First and foremost, you should know what you need. Brainstorm with stakeholders who will use the planned app, write down goals and wishes, then discuss them with development partners. Here, we suggest ordering a custom solution that will be tailored to your purposes. Nevertheless, ready apps are good too if their features suit your vision.
If you need a solid custom insurtech system, we’re here to help you. With Agile ideas in mind, powerful development tools in our hands, and partner-oriented responsibility for the results, we deliver high-end insurance systems for underwriters, companies, and individuals. Apart from this industry, our experts also handle banking software development, and apps for the finance sector, construction companies, healthcare, travel, sports, e-commerce, manufacturing, and HR. Feel free to choose!