20 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Technology Vendor
Abstract
More insurers are choosing to buy rather than build technology solutions whenever possible. Celent’s latest report offers 20 questions as a guide to evaluating prospective technology suppliers.
In order to maximize the value of the time spent evaluating external technology solutions and the returns on investment in these solutions, Celent’s latest report, "20 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Technology Vendor," provides a brief overview of key issues to address in discussions with potential vendors.
"Many executives may find themselves sitting through vendor presentations that do not address their concerns, and many others may not have a clear idea of what their concerns should be in the first place," says MatthewJosefowicz, author of the report and manager of Celent’s insurance group. "Having a clear understanding of the problem to be solved, the capabilities and true cost of the solution, the resources of the supplier, and process of implementing the solution is critical to making a successful technology investment."
The report provides a set of questions to guide insurance executives in evaluating new technology solutions providers. The questions are divided into four key areas, as listed in the table below: 20 Questions for your insurance technology provider
Area |
Questions |
| Know yourself | How will this product solve my specific business problem? Will this product support my future plans? |
| Know the product | Which insurance products is your solution specifically designed to support? Can we see a simple functionality spec sheet free of marketing language? How will you integrate with my current systems? What kind of IT skills will my team need to support your system? Do you offer your product under an ASP or outsourced model? Do you support ACORD XML Standards? What is the TCO (total cost of ownership) for your system? How is ROI on your product different from that of other products in your class? |
| Know the company | What kind of resources does your company have? What's your support organization like? How will your strategic partnerships affect me? Can we talk to your current clients? |
| Know the process | What is a typical implementation timeline like? What is your project management methodology? How do you ensure technology transfer? What kind of training support can you give us? What contractual guarantees do I have about timelines and service levels? What is your approach to keeping your goals aligned with mine? |
| Source: Celent Communications | |
Celent advises insurance executives making technology decisions to make sure their potential suppliers address these issues as early as possible. Celent also advises technology vendors to ensure that they have clear and concise answers to all of these questions.