Publicis Sapient

NEXT-GEN DIGITAL INSURANCE PLAYBOOK

Strategies for rapid and effective modernization of your organization.

Insurers are at a crossroads:

Customers expect more value for less
Colleagues demand instant access to actionable data
Partners seek seamless, data-driven solutions

Meanwhile, the explosion of data and mounting regulatory pressures are fueling the rise of agile digital competitors—leaving insurers with slow, siloed, expensive, and inflexible legacy systems behind.

In this high-stakes environment, modernizing technology isn’t just a choice—it’s an opportunity.

Your Call to Action

This playbook dives into how embracing new methods of modernization—as proven by other industries—can significantly enhance your insurance firm’s speed, capability, and cost efficiency.

At Publicis Sapient, we adopt these modern ways of working to help you build next-generation technology and data platforms, so that you can drive down costs, increase agility and innovation, and delight customers.

Current Hurdles for Insurers

Slow launch of new propositions
High and unpredictable costs of change
Fragmented and slow digital transition
Difficulty in converting data into meaningful insights
Challenges in shifting call center traffic to digital channels
Struggles with implementing innovations like Gen AI
Increasing competition from digital-native companies

Core Reasons Behind the Challenges

Legacy complexity: processes, tech debt, and costs
Platforms nearing end of life
Skills gaps in modern technology
Limited experience with modern ways of working
Siloed and fragmented data
Organizational structure misaligned with tech-driven operations

How Technology is Powering Solutions

More affordable and accessible modern tech and data platforms
Abundance of inexpensive, real-time data
Enhanced ability to personalize experiences with data
Advanced analytics and AI providing rapid, deep insights
Gen AI boosting speed and reducing costs of tech delivery
Low-cost assembly models proven by other industries
Tools offering transparency in delivery

Key Stakeholder Perspectives

Customers

Expect more value, less friction, and more personalization
Want digital-first, seamless experiences
Demand transparency and trust

Financials

Cost of change is high and unpredictable
Legacy systems drive up operational costs
Slow time to market impacts growth

Change

Digital transformation is slow and fragmented
Innovation is difficult to scale
Data is underutilized

Colleagues

Need instant access to actionable data
Seek modern tools and ways of working
Desire to focus on value, not admin

Risk

Regulatory pressures are mounting
Data privacy and security are critical
New entrants are increasing competition

Modernization is Not Just About Technology

To deliver rapid, effective, and sustainable change, insurers must modernize across three dimensions:

Operating Model
People
Tech & Data

Operating Model

Governance and leadership hold teams accountable and inform delivery and change organizations, ensuring efficient execution and agile transformation. Delivery and change organizations own the process and inform software development, resulting in robust and scalable technology solutions.

People

Move away from change teams driving multiple technology teams. Shift to dedicated domain teams focused on improving agreed measures on a weekly basis.

Who cares about what:

Product owner: The team and their outcomes
Domain architect: The architecture and its costs
Domain teams: Building the right solutions

These teams require a balanced mix of domain knowledge and technical skills, enhanced by training and strategic partnerships.

Tech & Data

Engagement services for customers and partners include:

Customer management services
Partner management services
Marketing services
Finance services
Digital services

Core services to implement lines of business:

Motor quote, policy, and claims services
Home quote, policy, and claims services

Technology services to support the business:

Cloud services
API management services
Identity services
Data streaming services
Data science services

All services are supported by API and real-time streaming and event management.

INFO BOX: Tech & Data

Self-Contained Microservices
- Performs a specific business task with a clearly defined owner
- Capable of evolving its technology stack without disruptions
- Maintains full control over its own data
- Supplies APIs, events, and data products to consumers
- Integrates seamlessly with other services
Single Data Platform
- A data marketplace that facilitates an integrated view across all services
- A single source of truth, organized by customer for consistency and accuracy
- Enables owners to publish data easily and frequently
- Supports powerful analytics and comprehensive reporting
Rapid Data Flow
- Data is central to all business operations
- Event-driven and real-time, with batching as an exception
- Available for self-service across all levels of the insurer
- Adaptable APIs support each service and seamlessly integrate its data

What Happens When Modernization Goes Wrong—and How to Get it Right

Common pitfalls:

Long delivery timelines with no visible value until late in the roadmap
Transformation happens in name only, with teams adhering to outdated delivery practices
Poor visibility for business and executives, leading to uncertainty about deliverables and timelines
Higher-than-expected costs and extended timelines resulting in worse outcomes
Numerous projects initiated but rarely completed, with benefits perpetually 1-2 years away

How to get it right:

Deliver innovative “steel thread” products to market quickly, generating revenue, followed by rapid incremental releases
Set ambitious goals and invest in a dedicated shaping effort to align objectives and rally support for transformation
Implement data-driven governance to bring transparency across all functions and levels, with the business as an equal partner in delivery
Employ modern tools throughout the software delivery lifecycle to accelerate production and scaling
Define clear criteria for completion at each interim transition state, with a strategic approach to migration and decommissioning from the outset

INFO BOX: Proven technology, tooling, and approaches also reduce cost and time to value.

A Proven Approach to Platform Modernization

A successful modernization program is not a big-bang replacement. Instead, it is a series of rapid, incremental steps that deliver value early and often, while reducing risk and cost.

Identify and prioritize the most valuable journeys and domains
Build and launch a new digital journey, powered by a modern platform
Incrementally migrate products, data, and processes to the new platform
Decommission legacy systems and scale the new platform

This approach enables insurers to deliver new value to customers and colleagues in months—not years—while building a foundation for continuous innovation.

Step 1: Case for Change

Platform modernization efforts fail when the ambitions are poorly defined or misdirected.

Critical success factors:

A clear case for change that fully unlocks potential and gains commitment from the full leadership team
Understanding key success factors or lessons from similar transformations
Clear principles and guidelines to steer the approach

Shape the case for change:

Confirm the changes required
Secure leadership commitment

Checklist:

[ ] Compelling case for change
[ ] Buy-in from the full senior leadership team
[ ] Clear understanding of major shifts required
[ ] Agreed-upon principles to guide design and delivery
[ ] Confirmed investment to initiate the program
[ ] Appointed delivery leadership team

Step 2: Foundations & Proof Points

Without the right preparation, modernization programs cannot succeed.

Critical success factors:

A delivery roadmap with surefire early value to return on high initial investments
A modern architecture that doesn’t recreate the issues inherent in the legacy platform
Essential elements like cloud and strategic data capabilities implemented from the start

Mobilize the program team:

Detail the product roadmap
Confirm the architecture
Fast-track critical enablers

Checklist:

[ ] Program team established
[ ] Foundational enablers in place
[ ] Roadmap confirmed
[ ] Critical milestones set and linked to benefits case/OKRs
[ ] Teams established with strong momentum toward initial launches

Step 3: Iterative Releases

The first release is pivotal to proving the modernization program and learning for subsequent releases.

Critical success factors:

Launch essentials such as an accurate delivery model, complete go-live requirements, and an achievable roadmap
Reducing integration complexity, often with non-technical solutions like product rationalization

Accelerate delivery:

Launch an initial release
Expand the platform through iterative releases

Checklist:

[ ] Innovative “steel thread” launched to prove the architecture and delivery model
[ ] Iterative release approach confirmed and proven through initial launches
[ ] Mechanisms in place to transform existing operations as the new platform expands
[ ] Value assurance mechanisms in place to track achieved vs. target outcomes
[ ] Sign-off for continued investment

Step 4: Scale and Sustain

Ensuring the safe shift from legacy to modern platforms is a real challenge. It’s critical to prepare appropriately and use a full spectrum of levers to mitigate risks.

Critical success factors:

Accurate migration sequencing to reduce risk and avoid disruption for customers and colleagues
Building and maintaining organizational understanding and support

Expand the new platform:

Scale the progressive modernization 'factory'
Sustain the change

Checklist:

[ ] Progressive modernization mechanisms established to de-risk migration
[ ] Majority of insurer services now operate on the new platform
[ ] Modernization has achieved its target ambitions
[ ] Organization can sustain change and is more adaptable to changing market conditions

Modernization Maturity States

Misaligned, requires unlocking
Mature, requires supercharge
Feeling the pain, opportunity to leapfrog
Great progress, but needs to scale

Unlock: Aggressively maximize returns on your investment
Optimize: Harness your platform’s power across the business
Modernize: Invest in cutting-edge tech to surpass competitors
Scale: Grow the platform while maintaining agility

Publicis Sapient is Here to Help

Modernizing your insurer’s platform can be challenging, but with the right planning and partnerships, success is within reach.

Choosing an experienced partner in modern platform solutions is crucial. They can help you set goals, accelerate your journey, and avoid common pitfalls.

While embracing digital transformation unlocks innovation, automation, and personalized services, true transformation requires a holistic view across data, people, and ways of working.

Publicis Sapient is here to help you explore platform modernization. With our deep insurance expertise and unique SPEED capabilities, we support you in navigating challenges, accelerating delivery, and realizing value—always keeping your customers in focus.

Whether you’re just starting or struggling with modernization, we’re here to help.

S Strategy: Confirming the value potential and the shifts required to unlock
P Product: Evolve propositions and services at pace and scale
E Experience: Create differentiated services for customers and colleagues
E Engineering: Build modern solutions to achieve your ambitions
D Data: Put ‘data-at-the-center’ of how your bank operates

Get In Touch

Dan Cole
Senior Managing Director, EMEA & APAC
daniel.cole@publicissapient.com
Abhishek Bhattacharya
Group Vice President Technology, Financial Services
abhishek.bhattacharya@publicissapient.com
Vandana Ohri
Senior Director of Technology
vandana.ohri@publicissapient.com
Ben Ruddle
Senior Principal, Insurance
ben.ruddle@publicissapient.com

Publicis Sapient is a digital transformation company. We partner with global organizations to help them create and sustain a competitive advantage in a world that is increasingly digital.

Our clients and their customers derive value and impact from our combination of expert SPEED capabilities—Strategy and Consulting, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data—and a culture of curiosity and deep industry knowledge. This holistic, agile, and data-driven approach empowers our clients to reimagine their products and experiences and embrace change by putting digital at the core of how they think, organize, and work.

As the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, with 20,000 people and over 50 offices worldwide, we connect our clients to an extensive network of customer data, media and advertising services, and more.

For more information visit www.publicissapient.com.