July 2021 – Novarica’s tenth annual Impact Awards program reviewed 66 examples of insurer IT initiatives that delivered real business impact. This volume includes 20 case studies of digital initiatives. Companion volumes include core, data/analytics, and IT practice initiatives.

Each case study details business goals, project sponsors, team structure, project timeline, tools and technology used, challenges faced, success factors, and business results delivered.

More than 60 insurer CIO members of the Novarica Research Council voted to select the winners of the 2021 Novarica Impact Awards.

2021 Digital Winners

• National Life for creating electronic policy delivery capabilities in 23 days
• QBE for establishing a marketplace for digital APIs
• Columbia for implementing an agent portal with straight-through processing in the cloud

Key Points and Findings

Life insurers emphasize digital distribution. Electronic application, delivery, and self-service capabilities were major areas of focus in this year’s case studies.

Digital initiatives are often about sales and efficiency. Many insurers created value by leveraging technology to create new sales channels or more efficient workflows.

Bottom-line impact is generally not formally measured. Only a small proportion of insurers correlate their project outcomes in terms of real-dollar or person-hour value.