If the work we do at CastleBay Consulting is in any way a representative microcosm, the p&c industry remains a vibrant and evolving technology market. Having spoken with dozens of carrier clients and  representatives, participated in various trade groups and vendor user conferences, read industry research, and written these regular columns, here is my take on 2012 from the viewpoint of core systems technology.

Carriers bought more systems in 2012 than in 2011 (or in any prior year in Shop Talk's now six-year history). The consensus, because there are no official or verifiable numbers, is that about 70 core system deals had closed by the end of October.  That is an average of seven per month; projected through year end that totals 84 deals.

Assuming some slowdown because of the holidays and year end, that still gives a deal count of about 80 for the year. This is a 15 to 25 percent increase over 2011. No breakdown is available within this total as to how many are suite sales, policy, claims or billing but the consensus is that at least half are suites and that many of the major point solutions are either policy sales or add-ons from the same vendor as the carrier follows a best-of-breed build-out of what might ultimately be a suite install.