Odoo is an open-source user-friendly software that offers customizations with software modules for insurance companies.
ERP for insurance: key features, benefits & top tools
July 25, 2024
ERP for insurance automates core business processes within an insurance organization, including financial, billing, document, and HR management. Integrated with claims processing, policy management, and data analytics systems, it facilitates informed decision-making and better customer service.
Itransition delivers comprehensive enterprise resource planning solutions for the insurance sector to help companies streamline business processes and achieve data consistency, ensuring cost savings and accelerated service delivery in the long run.
ERP capabilities for insurance businesses
ERP software for insurance is an integrated solution that comprises various software modules. Each module covers a business process or function, so insurance companies implement the necessary configuration of ERP modules based on their specific requirements and objectives. Relying on our decade-long experience in implementing ERP systems, we outline the key capabilities of an ERP solution that insurance organizations can benefit from.
Financial management
Streamlining accounting and financial operations and improving data accuracy to gain better control over the company’s finances and comply with regulatory requirements.
- Accounts payable/accounts receivable
- General ledger
- Cash flow and transaction management
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Financial reporting and analytics
Billing management
Automating customer billing to improve the accuracy of the policy invoicing and enhance customer satisfaction.
- Automated invoice generation and submission according to payment terms
- Recurring billing
- Payment processing
- Client payment history storage
- Automated tax calculation
Human resource management
Accelerating HR processes and operations to optimize workforce management, enhance employee experience and engagement, streamline hiring and onboarding, and decrease HR spending.
- Employee data management
- Payroll and compensation management
- Professional training management
Supplier management
Enabling insurance organizations to effectively manage relationships with suppliers and get a comprehensive view of the company's third-party relationships to minimize associated risks.
- Supplier data consolidation
- Supplier contract management
- Work order progress monitoring
- Supplier performance tracking
- Supplier risk management
Sales & marketing
Automating key sales and marketing operations and centralizing customer data to improve the efficiency of marketing campaigns, enhance sales agents’ productivity, and make customer service more personalized.
- Lead and sales opportunity management
- Omnichannel sales processing
- Customer data consolidation
- Marketing campaign management
- Sales forecasting
Task management
Streamlining the administration of tasks for individuals and enabling employees with greater visibility into their activities and task statuses to enhance productivity.
- Task and subtask planning and scheduling
- Task assignment and progress tracking
- Work time tracking
- Task collaboration and document sharing
Document management
Storing contracts, agreements, policies, claim forms, certificates of insurance, and other related documents in a centralized database to access the required data anytime and anywhere, minimizing the risk of document loss and damage.
- Data indexing and global search
- Document sharing and collaboration
- Version control and document editing
- Electronic signatures
- Access control management
- Automated data backup
Analytics & reporting
Getting real-time access to all company data and gaining insights into different aspects of business processes to facilitate data-driven decision-making and improve operational efficiency.
- Data integration and management
- Scheduled and ad-hoc data querying and reporting
- Real-time data analysis
- Predictive and prescriptive analytics
- Data visualization with customized dashboards
- Operational KPIs tracking
Streamline your business operations with a new ERP system
Key integrations for insurance ERP
To ensure an uninterrupted flow of data and its consistency across the company’s departments, minimize manual data entries and possible human mistakes, and streamline the efficiency of business operations, insurance organizations should consider integrating their ERP with other corporate and third-party systems in the company's IT environment. Among the most common integrations, we single out the following:
ERP
Claims management system
to consolidate information on customers, insurance policies, communication logs, as well as claim details, like costs, invoices, receipts, and photographs, and make the claims management process more accurate and efficient.
Policy administration solution
to bring together data on policyholders, premium amounts, payment schedules, claim history, premium payments, and policy renewal/cancellation data, get a 360-degree customer view, and improve customer experience.
Customer portal
To enable customers to submit claims directly through the portal, update personal information, and get access to policy details and current claim resolution statuses.
BI software
to gain a consolidated view of the organization's overall performance and profitability, perform risk assessments, detect fraudulent claims, and predict customer behavior.
How to implement ERP for insurance
Insurance companies usually handle large amounts of data and have intricate operational processes. That is why implementing and integrating an ERP system with other enterprise software systems requires careful planning. While the implementation process can vary depending on the company’s needs and business peculiarities, there is a standard set of steps each ERP implementation project is likely to have.
1
Analysis
Examining the company's current workflows and IT environment
Identifying key needs, challenges, and expectations
2
Design & tech stack selection
Defining functional and non-functional ERP requirements
ERP solution architecture design
Defining integration scope
3
Planning
Creating a detailed project plan with defined timelines, resources, budget, and milestones
Risk management, data migration, and user onboarding strategies definition
4
Solution delivery
ERP system customization/development
Integrating ERP software with the existing corporate applications and external systems
5
QA & testing
Functional, usability, performance, security, and compatibility testing
Bugs and issues resolution, if any
6
Launch
Setting up the necessary infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines
User acceptance testing
User training
7
Post-launch support
ERP user support
Regular system reviews to address any issues and make necessary adjustments
Benefits of ERP for insurance
Streamlined data access
Consolidated data from across siloed departments stored in a central database helps ensure quick and secure access to consistent and trustworthy data anytime and anywhere with minimal manual effort.
Improved workflow efficiency
Simplified information exchange and collaboration between business departments help employees get quick access to the information they need on demand, increase process efficiency, and save time and effort associated with manual data management.
Customer service improvement
Instant access to actual and trustworthy customer data, unified across the company, enables insurance agents to quickly and more efficiently address customer inquiries, process claims, and ensure more personalized service delivery.
Human error reduction
Elimination of error-prone repetitive manual data entries and other data manipulations helps maintain data accuracy, aids in regulatory compliance, and reduces operating costs.
Business growth enablement
A 360-degree company view, improved synergy between departments, and automated time-consuming activities help insurance organizations make informed decisions and lay the groundwork for future business growth and development.
Challenges of implementing ERP for insurance
Considering the complex structure of ERP systems and the heterogeneity of IT environments they are integrated into, insurance companies can face certain challenges when implementing ERP software.
Challenge
Solution
ERP integration
If insurance companies use a variety of systems and applications, including legacy ones, spread across different deployment environments, integrating ERP with these applications while ensuring fast and secure data exchange, can require significant expertise and extensive development efforts.
Addressing the challenge of integrating ERP with the existing IT ecosystem requires careful assessment of the current systems and comprehensive integration planning. To seamlessly connect the existing and new software, you can follow different integration approaches such as point-to-point connection (APIs or pre-built connectors), middleware, or IPaaS.
Data migration
ERP implementation implies consolidating and migrating data from an old ERP solution or other enterprise applications, like accounting, CRM, claims, or policy management software, to a new ERP system. Due to large amounts of historical data, possible data inconsistencies, duplicates, or redundancies, migrating information to the new ERP database can pose a significant challenge throughout the implementation process, hindering project success.
To successfully migrate enterprise data to a new ERP system, companies need to prioritize data migration and allocate sufficient time and resources. Before migration, carefully audit all your data to decide what information to migrate and get rid of obsolete or duplicate records. After data transfer, perform rigorous testing to validate that all the data has been safely migrated without losses.
Resistance to change
Implementing an ERP system for insurance businesses helps automate many routine manual processes, like premium billing, payroll processing, or financial analysis, which results in changes in employees’ day-to-day work. A lack of awareness about ERP benefits and value can raise employees' resistance to change.
To ensure swift and painless ERP adoption for your business, clearly communicate the advantages of insurance ERP software to department managers and end-users. Upon implementation, develop adequate training programs and ensure ERP user onboarding doesn’t interfere with their work tasks. Organize support channels for employees to quickly address arising issues regarding functionality usage.
ERP platforms to consider for the insurance sector
Increasingly more businesses across multiple industries opt for SaaS ERP software provided on a subscription basis. Such growth can be attributed to companies’ desire to save costs on implementation and maintenance, decrease time to value, and benefit from better ERP accessibility and AI capabilities that many SaaS providers already integrate into their solutions. Below, we observe some of the top ERP SaaS providers on the market.
Key features
- CRM
- Contract management
- Claims management/helpdesk
- Accounting
- Sales
- Invoicing
- Human resource management
- Marketing automation
- Inventory management
- Document management
- Recurring sales and subscription management
- Reporting capabilities
Best for
- Small insurance organizations
- Mid-sized insurance organizations
Downsides
- Challenging to scale and maintain without expert help
As a cloud-native ERP platform, Oracle Netsuite is a scalable and flexible ERP platform that helps companies in the insurance sector automate and streamline core business processes and workflows.
Key features
- Finance management and accounting
- Service and marketing automation
- Human resource management
- Billing
- Asset management
- CRM
- Opportunity management
- Planning and budgeting
- Revenue recognition
- Financial analytics
- Reporting
Best for
- Companies of all sizes
Downsides
- Price hikes in the long run
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive business management solution built for the cloud.
Key features
- Financial management
- Customer relationship management
- Contract management
- Opportunity management
- Human resources management
- Service contract management
Best for
- Small companies
- Mid-sized companies
Downsides
- A wide ecosystem of implementation providers/resellers, which complicates ERP vendor selection
SAP S/4HANA
SAP S/4HANA is an ERP platform that allows insurance firms to manage claims, book account statements, treaties, and more within one central system.
Key features
- Financial management and accounting
- Customer relationship management
- Employees monitoring and management
- Sales management
Best for
- Growing companies
- Enterprises
Downsides
- System complexity
- Steep learning curve
How Itransition can help
If you are looking for an experienced partner to implement an ERP solution for your insurance business, Itransition is ready to deliver a comprehensive enterprise resource planning system tailored to the specifics of the insurance sector.
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We advise insurance companies on implementing ERP systems and provide expert guidance on optimizing the existing ERP solution.
- Analysis of business needs and technology environment
- Solution architecture design and ERP software selection
- ERP implementation strategy creation and roadmappingÂ
- ERP implementation support
We help insurance providers launch a highly scalable and flexible ERP solution by taking on the implementation process end-to-end.
- Custom ERP development
- Quality assurance and testing
- ERP customization
- Post-implementation support
- ERP software integration
Looking for an expert ERP implementation partner?
About Itransition
10+ years in ERP services
50+ successful ERP projects of different scales across various industries
Hands-on expertise in delivering custom, platform-based, and hybrid ERP solutions
An Odoo Silver Partner
A NetSuite Solution Provider
FAQs
How to select the best-fitting ERP option for insurance?
When choosing an optimal enterprise resource planning platform in the insurance industry, you should consider the following criteria:
- Prioritized functional requirements and industry focus
- ERP scalability and flexibility
- Solution simplicity in terms of adoption and usage
- Integration and customization capabilities
- Deployment model (on-premises, cloud, or hybrid)
- The cost of implementation and maintenance
What are insurance ERP implementation risks?
One of the biggest risks connected with ERP implementation projects is operational disruption. And one of the reasons for this is poor implementation planning. To mitigate this risk, companies should:
- Clearly define business processes before starting the ERP implementation workflow to ensure alignment with organizational objectives.
- Invest in and put considerable effort into change management to facilitate smooth user onboarding and better adoption.
- Achieve alignment between the company’s executive, project team, and the rest of the stakeholders to eliminate conflicts of interest and ensure stakeholders’ support throughout the implementation process.
- Test the ERP solution both from the technology perspective and user acceptance side to identify and address any potential issues before deployment to production.
What is the cost of implementing ERP for insurance?
The cost of implementing ERP software varies exponentially due to a number of factors, such as:
- The number of functional modules and integrations
- Implementation strategy (custom ERP development or platform-based ERP implementation)
- Software configuration and the amount of customization
- License fees (vary due to deployment mode, number of functional modules/adds-on, number of users)
- Hardware-related costs (in the case of deployment on local servers)
- Data management activities (data integration, quality management, migration, real-time data processing)
- Quality assurance procedures
- Security requirements
- User training and customer support
The abundance of cost factors can make any estimates misleading and affect your project planning. To get an accurate estimation of your ERP implementation project, reach out to our ERP consultants.
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