To draw a parallel between biology and technology, policy administration systems (PAS) started out as simple organisms, existing solely as systems of record for the business an insurer writes. Functionality has gradually evolved and become increasingly complex, and so has the definition of PAS, which—depending on whom you ask—may today incorporate rules-based underwriting and workflow, business analytics, underwriting desktops, document management, and external data exchange.
“Over time, the scope of policy administration has grown to the point where some definitions cover nearly all of the core systems an insurer has,” says Donald Light, senior analyst in Celent's insurance group.
What has also grown over time is insurers' appetite for PAS modernization and replacement. “Even though a policy administration system replacement project is generally the biggest, most expensive, complex, and riskiest endeavor of any kind of IT initiative there is, activity remains high,” says Light. “It may have slowed down just a bit in 2009, but now pipelines have definitely reopened. There is pent-up demand.”
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
