Technology for real impact in insurance sector

For a major international insurance company like RCI Insurance that provides insurance solutions to over 2.5 million customers across seven European countries, delivering a claims management solution that truly delivers efficiency was a must. “What we developed was a platform that resulted in over 30% increase in productivity and a significant reduction in time to handle claims,” says CHRISTINE FALZON, Chief Sales Officer at ICON

Christine Falzon
Christine Falzon
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Do companies still struggle to embrance technology and its advantages?

We continue to live a digital transformation that is reshaping the current and future state of many industries and the insurance industry is no exception. This should be the main reason companies must embrace change and rethink their business model to move towards more compliant and secure digital operations. Companies are starting embrace more the fact that technology can help them streamline the development of new products, digital experiences as well as enhance customer and employee satisfaction.

What triggered this project for RCI Insurance?

RCI were very clear with their brief. They wanted a solution that reflected their mission to always achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients. In ICON, they found a digital solutions partner with relevant experience and expertise in the insurance industry to develop a highly customisable and future-proof insurance software solution for their company. Through this project RCI Insurance wanted to achieve more efficient numbers, more cost-effectiveness, innovation, and flexibility in the application of the new solution.

Were specific targets set?

RCI Insurance’s target was to achieve efficiency through a reduction of 20% in the length of their claims handling process but I am proud to say that we managed to help them achieve over 30% reduction! We also managed to achieve cost-effectiveness through a reduction in the overall running costs of the insurance claims management software by applying a highly innovative and customisable solution. They are also enjoying the flexibility they needed by being able to manage and support the system internally.

Can you specify a bit more the work you did for RCI?

RCI opted for a custom-built claims management system which was to be supported by pre-built software components. This involved splitting the solution into minimal viable products to ensure business users are frequently reviewing, testing, and familiarising themselves with the solution, the identification of a pilot market with whom to test the solution and the creation of a communication strategy to keep all stakeholders informed and updated.

What do you think attracts companies like RCI to you?

Output is the most important thing when measuring success of any project. We take time to ensure that we work very closely with our clients to whom we dedicate multidisciplinary teams of experts who understand their pain points from the very beginning and who work hand in hand with their technical teams to execute the brief in line with their vision.

What would you identify as being one of ICON’s best strengths?

I feel that one of the strengths of our service lies in the fact that we allocate a dedicated, multi-disciplinary team to every project. We sit with the client to understand what their expectations are, and we deliver solutions that are tailor-made to their requirements. More importantly, we work with the client’s team because we would want to ensure that knowledge is developed and retained throughout the process, giving the client ownership and the ability to run the solution.

So you give your clients autonomy...

Yes. In fact, the software we provided includes key capabilities that empower RCI with the ability to rapidly launch new products, improve its claims handling process and increase its operational efficiency. Today RCI’s claim handlers are enjoying a modern and user-friendly dashboard to handle day-to-day tasks and to process claims efficiently with a limited amount of clicks and page refreshes. The system also allows controlled access to claim handlers and employees directly from the administrator dashboard while authorised users access the system from any device, any time without having to install the software.

Is the system applicable only to the Maltese market?

No. In fact, a key feature of ICON’s platform is its flexibility as it allows its users to quickly adapt to market changes. The system is also multilingual, supports multi-currency and can be configured to support various insurance products, workflows, and reporting metrics. The platform is also interconnectable with both internal and external software systems to ensure data consistency and a real-time view of a customer’s claims process. And given the highly regulated industry RCI operates in, key importance was placed to ensure the system meets the regulatory requirements across the different target countries.

This project must have been a learning opportunity....

This collaboration with RCI Insurance turned out to be a great learning curve for ICON where our tech team unlocked the potential of the latest available technologies and delivered a solution that achieves modularity, scalability, and performance efficiency. Working with RCI not only improved our understanding of the insurance industry, but also gave us the ability to cater for multinational business needs. RCI Insurance has definitely made ICON a more dynamic, versatile, and fast paced company.”

Was this project with RCI a one-off job or do you foresee a continuous collaboration?

RCI Insurance’s commissioning of a claims management platform was a one-off project but when the company recognized the value of its relationship with ICON, the agility in execution and the flexibility we offer, they switched to ICON’s framework agreement. This means that at the beginning of the year, RCI Insurance provides us with their high-level vision which we then transform into tangible MVPs which we release every 6 weeks with the ability to change their requirements or re-prioritise the MVPs based on their business needs.

A final comment?

Today, the very smooth synergy that has been created by our team and RCI’s developers and business analysts led to the creation of a ‘hybrid team’ that brings all the needed flexibility especially when RCI’s new Claims Management System is being deployed across new markets and during the launch of new insurance products. Most importantly, RCI’s employees’ feedback has been most positive and are now enjoying a greater user experience.

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