A new type of partnership

Partnering with a strategic managed services provider at the cutting edge of change represents a sensible strategic decision that allows insurers to focus on their core strengths, Arun Balakrishnan, chief executive officer of Xceedance, tells PCI Today.

The present-day speed of change is unprecedented in the insurance industry, and companies must adapt and keep pace or face oblivion.

That was the gist of the viewpoint David Sampson, president and chief executive of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), shared with this publication yesterday, teeing up the ethos and theme of the conference: The Future of Insurance. It is a topic on the minds of insurance executives everywhere, and the principal theme of many other conferences globally that cover the risk transfer industry.

There are numerous elements of the business where a cost-effective alternative to complete reliance on in-house resources is sensible and practical, and joining forces with the right partner to reinforce the forward-looking skills and tools required for change management is a good option.

That is the view of Arun Balakrishnan, chief executive officer of Xceedance, the strategic managed services provider that specialises in helping insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and managing general agents (MGAs) across four continents advance productivity and growth. The company, which operates in the US, the UK, Poland and India, helps its global clients optimise operations and implement the next generation of intelligent technologies against a backdrop of rapid change in the insurance ecosystem.

“It is almost impossible for individual companies to keep pace with every aspect of change in the industry. By partnering with us, they can focus on their core skillsets and strategic objectives, and we can help to manage transformational challenges and prerequisites,” Balakrishnan says.

Support across the board

Balakrishnan, the former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway India, explains that Xceedance offers strategic managed services for insurers in a way that sets it apart from traditional business process outsourcers, insurance application developers, IT service providers, and enterprise consulting firms.

The company offers support and services across the spectrum of re/insurer functions. With its team of highly skilled experts bringing in-depth operational and technical knowledge, Xceedance works with its clients in a bespoke manner to deliver solutions and value specific to their individual needs and goals.

Balakrishnan adds that Xceedance engages with clients in unique ways. Often, the relationship begins in one area of operations but rapidly develops into others because the insurance expertise of Xceedance teams contributes new ideas.

“We frequently expand services as the engagement with clients develops and they better understand the wide scope of our knowledge and offerings,” he says.

“We provide strategic solutions and continuously look to add measurable value to a client’s operations. In fact, regardless of where our conversations with clients begin, we are always looking to understand and help resolve underlying, essential business or technology-related challenges.

“There is often a wider or more bespoke solution we can offer that solves a strategic problem or streamlines key operations, rather than simply addressing a short-term issue.”

He explains that many re/insurers will realise a much better return by working with a managed services partner instead of expanding their in-house capabilities. That’s because engagement with an industry-focused managed services provider allows re/insurers to concentrate on fundamental priorities rather than expending energy and resources in areas outside of primary insurance operations.

“Whether re/insurers are building catastrophe models or implementing artificial intelligence (AI), these are complex undertakings that typically sit outside the core skillset of insurers—which is managing capital, and assessing and underwriting risk,” Balakrishnan says.

“To build such capabilities in-house can be expensive and complicated. So, by outsourcing, re/insurers are effectively allowing experts to do the job on their behalf and bringing domain expertise into the organisation. Frequently, the results are more efficient and cost-effective, with a better outcome.”

Xceedance understands there are some functions re/insurers prefer to support and develop with in-house expertise, such as underwriting and core IT function.

“We have the deep knowledge and experience to work side by side with clients and devise cost-effective solutions,” Balakrishnan explains.

At the cutting edge

One advantage of working with a managed services provider lies in its ongoing responsibility to stay abreast of the latest business, regulatory and technology developments in the global 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.

Xceedance is a global provider of consulting and managed services, technology and data sciences to insurance organisations.
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.

Arun Balakrishnan is the chief executive officer of Xceedance. He can be contacted at contact@xceedance.com

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