Modernising Insurance Pricing & Underwriting

Modernising insurance doesn’t have to mean starting again.

For many insurers and Program Administrators, pricing and underwriting transformation can feel like a choice between keeping the systems they know or replacing them with entirely new technology.

But decades of actuarial expertise, pricing logic and intellectual property are already embedded in the models insurers use every day. The opportunity is to make that expertise easier to govern, scale and connect, rather than throw it away.

In this episode of Target Topics, John Willemsen of the Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA) speaks with Jon Shapiro, Co-Founder of Optalitix, about how insurers, carriers and Program Administrators can modernise their pricing and underwriting operations while building on what already works. For MGAs and Program Administrators, this can provide a practical route to scaling pricing and underwriting without replacing the models and expertise they already rely on.

Do insurers need to replace existing pricing models to modernise?

No. Modernisation can start with the pricing models and methodologies insurers already trust.

Across the industry, valuable actuarial IP remains embedded in Excel spreadsheets and established pricing models. Moving those models into governed, scalable, cloud-based environments allows insurers to retain their existing logic while improving accessibility, control, integration and performance.

It provides a more practical route to pricing modernisation, particularly for organisations that want to improve their technology without rebuilding years of proven actuarial work.

How can insurers prepare their systems for AI?

The conversation also explores how AI could change the way people interact with insurance systems.

Rather than viewing AI only as a tool for generating content or automating individual tasks, insurers can use it as an interface between people, data, pricing models and operational systems.

Natural language interfaces could allow users to ask questions, retrieve information and interact with complex insurance platforms in plain English, making systems easier and faster to use.

But AI can only work effectively with the systems and information it can access.

Why do data and governance matter for AI?

Insurers need pricing models, underwriting data and processes that are structured, accessible and appropriately governed before they can take full advantage of emerging AI capabilities.

Modernising those foundations now can help organisations adopt AI without sacrificing the control, transparency and auditability that insurance requires.

Key takeaways

Build on what already works: modernisation does not require replacing decades of actuarial expertise.
Unlock existing pricing models: move valuable actuarial IP into governed, scalable and cloud-ready environments.
Think differently about AI: use AI to help people interact with business systems, models and information.
Get the foundations right: structured data, governance and connected technology are critical to effective AI adoption.
Modernise on your own terms: organisations that improve their foundations now will be better positioned for the next generation of insurance technology.

How can insurers modernise without starting again?

Listen to Jon Shapiro and John Willemsen discuss how insurers and Program Administrators can unlock existing pricing expertise, modernise their underwriting technology and prepare their systems for AI.