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Zurich (Zurich) has rolled out two major new enterprise-wide solutions that streamline workflow for underwriters and transform user experience for 1.5 million customers; both solutions were built using the low-code platform from Mendix (Boston), a Siemens business, according to a statement from the vendor.
The global insurer used the Mendix software development platform to improve its applications development process, and iterate faster and more efficiently, the vendor says. Zurich has so far used low-code to rebuild a legacy-based policy application that calculates premiums and captures data for terrorism coverage. Zurich also leveraged low-code to build its “My Plans Portal.” This application enables 1.5 million customers to log on and obtain all their pension and investment information in one location.
Barrington Clarke, Head of U.K. DevOps, Zurich.
Modernizing Terrorism Coverage—In 12 Weeks
Many of Zurich’s customers require terrorism coverage, and that business generates millions of dollars of revenue in gross written premiums, representing about two-thirds (roughly 20,000) of Zurich’s coverage policies. The insurer’s execution of its terrorism underwriting process previously depended on a legacy application to calculate premiums and capture customer data, Mendix reports.
“Our first project with Mendix was to overhaul the legacy application that managed the terrorism underwriting process,” relates Barrington Clarke, head of U.K. DevOps, Zurich. “Using Mendix, we replaced the legacy system and built the Terrorism Data Capture (TDC) application in just 12 weeks. This new application provides a unified workflow to reduce manual processing, increases reporting accuracy, speeds up the preparation of terrorism submissions, and provides a better experience for the underwriting community.”
Creating the “My Plans Portal”
Mendix relates that Zurich is also using the vendor’s low-code platform to build applications that improve the user experience for customers. Mendix offers the example of the newly launched “My Plans Portal,” which allows customers to log on online and access all of their pension and investment information in a single location. This Mendix-built application communicates back to Zurich’s Salesforce platform, integrates to the back-end system, and ensures tasks or activities can be put into a workflow, the vendor says.
“We had a book of insurance business with around 1.5 million customers,” adds Zurich’s Clarke. “Although there was a digital portal for support, not all of the customer data and information was available. Sometimes a telephone call was needed to service a customer’s requirements. This was time-consuming for the customer and ultimately didn’t deliver a positive experience for them. Our new ‘My Plans Portal’ enables a more seamless experience for customers and is something we plan to expand further by using Mendix in the future.”
Lotus Notes Overhaul
The latest project that Zurich is working on is a complete overhaul of legacy Lotus Notes applications. Mendix notes that the insurer currently has more than 1,000 such applications handling business processes, from simple forms that can easily be converted using automated processes, to complex UI workflows that are more difficult to redevelop. “This is a long-term project that will continue into 2022, but it would have taken Zurich five times longer with Java and at a far more expensive cost,” says the Mendix statement.
Paul Fondie, Global Industry Principal, Insurance, Mendix.
“These Lotus Notes applications are very old. Some were developed more than five years ago and no longer fit the operating model of our business,” Clarke observes. “This has caused numerous problems, including shadow IT, as employees look for quicker workarounds. Mendix provides us with the ability to replace, amend, and update these applications, because low-code makes it so quick to do these sorts of activities.”
“Zurich is a great example of an insurer using technology to provide its customers and employees with the best experience possible,” comments Paul Fondie, global industry principal, insurance, Mendix. “Low-code can provide organizations in this industry with the tools they need to drive digital transformation. The pandemic has accelerated the need for these digital solutions, with more customers moving online than ever before.”
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