Interview: MONDAY
Arun Balakrishnan, Xceedance
16.10.17
insurance industry. A company such as
Xceedance must remain up to date and
relevant to its clients by assimilating a wide
range of industry trends and innovations,
in service to the diverse requirements
of its clients. To that end, Xceedance
teams are committed to proactively
anticipating and adapting to the
shifting landscape of the insurance
industry.
Balakrishnan underscores that the
pace of change and the adoption of
new technologies varies greatly by client
profile, line of business and geographic
region. But, because of the company’s
global reach, Xceedance learns and absorbs
such developments from an industrywide
perspective and through the lens of client
operations.
“At the same time, we need to be mindful of
how quickly we adopt change, given regional
variations and individual client needs,” he observes.
Asked about the type of company that
benefits most from partnering with a managed
services provider, Balakrishnan notes that size is
irrelevant—the company’s clients range from $5
million in gross written premiums to multibillion
dollar companies. Instead, he says, insurance
organisations that are either growing quickly
or need to address change for competitive
differentiation tend to gain most from working
with Xceedance.
“It depends on the business objectives of clients.
If organisations are looking to adapt, diversify,
grow, or manage change, then we can help.”
Some of the company’s best success stories
have been with longstanding clients. For them,
Xceedance continues to provide a combination
of services and skills that allow the companies to
grow without strain on internal resources.
Case studies
Balakrishnan can cite numerous specific
examples where the company has helped clients
boost operational efficiencies and leverage
technology to optimise productivity and growth.
In one instance, an insurer was faced
with frustration and loss of business when
brokers submitted large, complex properties
for assessment by individual underwriters. A
complicated submission and review process, and
continual tweaks to policy wording, caused delays
and logjams between underwriters and brokers.
By gaining a detailed understanding of the
type of changes underwriters would consistently
make to policies, Xceedance implemented AI
to learn and mimic underwriter actions and
significantly speed up the submission process.
The solution yielded faster turnarounds and
cost-effective practices to write better business
and improve broker relations.
“We sped up the process using our
multidimensional expertise which the client
would not have been able to rapidly assemble
and execute internally,” Balakrishnan explains.
The same logic applies to how Xceedance can
help its clients better manage and leverage their
vast data resources to improve underwriting,
policy service, claims management, and other
key operational priorities.
“Many companies hold a great deal of
valuable data,” he says. “Especially where
companies have extensive legacy systems or have
grown via acquisition, there is often a host of
data management and integration challenges
they need to better manage and operationalise.
“Brokers are sometimes in the same quandary:
they have a lot of data but need help and expertise
to leverage it more proficiently,” he says.
He emphasises that emerging technologies—
such as robotic process automation, AI platforms,
self-learning algorithms, and blockchain—offer
great possibilities for operational efficiency.
But effective, coherent deployment can be a
minefield without the right levels of expertise.
“Speaking of tools and technology for
business transformation, there are fantastic
solutions becoming available every day.
But it can be hard to know where to invest
time, effort, and money,” he says.
“We can help re/insurers be successful
and make the right decisions on a variety
of new technology platforms and tools.
In fact, we continue to play a key role
for our clients in evaluating and adopting
emerging technology.”
Finally, he stresses, industry-focused,
technology-driven managed services partners
can deliver lasting and efficient operational
support and cost ratio improvements to re/
insurers.
“Xceedance has a strong track record in
assisting a wide range of companies stay ahead of
the curve across many aspects of their business.
In an industry undergoing such rapid change,
working with an external partner that offers deep
domain expertise can be a strategic differentiator
for expanding insurance organisations.
“As our clients attest, working with Xceedance
allows them to focus on core business processes,
while we assist with their modernisation plans
and digital transformation requirements,”
Balakrishnan concludes. n
Arun Balakrishnan is the chief executive officer of
Xceedance. He can be contacted at
contact@xceedance.com
About Xceedance
With offices in the US, the UK, Poland and
India, Xceedance partners with insurers
to launch new products, drive operations,
implement technology, and deliver
advanced analytics capabilities and process
optimisation. The experienced insurance
professionals at Xceedance enable insurers,
reinsurers, brokers, MGAs and programme
administrators worldwide to enhance
policyholder service, enter new markets,
boost workflow productivity and improve
profitability.
To learn more, visit www.xceedance.com
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