Insurance carriers waste an average of 28% of their operational budget on manual data entry and system reconciliation, according to Accenture's 2023 Insurance Technology Vision report. At FreedomDev, we've spent two decades building custom software that eliminates these inefficiencies for regional carriers, MGAs, and brokers across Michigan who can't force their unique business rules into off-the-shelf policy administration systems.
The insurance technology landscape presents a unique challenge: you're managing 30-year-old legacy systems that contain decades of policy data, while simultaneously trying to meet modern customer expectations for digital service and real-time quotes. Commercial insurers we've worked with often run 5-8 disconnected systems—a policy admin system from the 1990s, a separate claims system, Excel spreadsheets for commission calculations, QuickBooks for accounting, and various agent portals that don't talk to each other. Every new submission requires manual data entry across multiple platforms, creating bottlenecks and error rates that can reach 15-20% in high-volume periods.
Our [custom software development](/services/custom-software-development) approach focuses on solving specific operational problems rather than replacing everything at once. A regional property and casualty carrier in Grand Rapids came to us processing 200+ renewal policies monthly with a workflow that required printing PDFs, manually comparing coverage, re-keying data into their rating system, and manually calculating premium adjustments. We built a targeted automation layer that sits between their legacy policy system and rating engine, reducing renewal processing time from 45 minutes per policy to 8 minutes—a workflow improvement that paid for the software development in 11 months through staff reallocation alone.
Insurance operations generate massive amounts of data that rarely gets used for decision-making because it's trapped in siloed systems. We've built data warehouse solutions for Michigan insurers that aggregate policy data, claims history, loss runs, premium accounting, and external data sources into unified reporting platforms. One specialty lines carrier we worked with had claims adjusters manually pulling data from four different systems to compile loss reports for their reinsurance treaties—a process taking 6-8 hours per treaty layer. Our [database services](/services/database-services) team built an integrated reporting system that generates the same reports in under 10 minutes with real-time data.
The regulatory compliance burden in insurance creates another layer of complexity. State filing requirements, NAIC reporting, data call responses, and audit trails require precise data management and documentation. We've developed compliance automation tools that extract data from policy systems, apply state-specific business rules, and generate required filings automatically. A Michigan-based workers' compensation carrier reduced their quarterly data call preparation time from 80 staff hours to 12 hours using our custom compliance reporting system.
Modern insurance customers expect the same digital experience they get from Amazon or their banking apps, but insurance products are fundamentally more complex than most e-commerce transactions. We build customer-facing portals and quote systems that handle this complexity—multi-step underwriting questions, conditional logic based on previous answers, document uploads, payment processing, and integration with backend rating engines and policy systems. These aren't static web forms; they're sophisticated applications that can handle commercial general liability quotes with 30+ underwriting questions, real-time premium calculations based on complex rating algorithms, and seamless handoff to underwriters when quotes fall outside automated acceptance criteria.
Agency management systems represent another common pain point. Independent agents and MGAs need to manage relationships with multiple carriers, track commissions across different payment structures, maintain producer licensing, and provide their own customer service portals. We've built custom agency management platforms that centralize these workflows, including API integrations with carrier systems for real-time policy status, automated commission reconciliation against carrier statements, and producer licensing expiration tracking with automated renewal reminders.
Claims processing automation delivers immediate ROI because claims represent your largest expense category after loss payouts themselves. We've developed intake automation systems that extract data from FNOL (First Notice of Loss) submissions—whether they come via web form, email, or phone system integration—route claims to appropriate adjusters based on configurable business rules, automatically initiate reserve requirements, and trigger workflow steps like sending acknowledgment letters and scheduling inspections. One property claims team we worked with reduced their average FNOL processing time from 35 minutes to 6 minutes, allowing them to handle 40% more claims volume with the same staff.
Integration between insurance systems and accounting platforms creates substantial operational efficiency. Our [QuickBooks Bi-Directional Sync](/case-studies/lakeshore-quickbooks) expertise extends to insurance premium accounting, commission payables, and loss payment reconciliation. Insurance accounting has unique requirements—unearned premium calculations, statutory accounting principles, and complex commission structures with overrides and bonuses. We build integration solutions that handle these specialized requirements while maintaining accurate financial records and audit trails.
The most successful insurance software projects start with deep operational analysis. We spend time understanding your specific workflows—how quotes move through your organization, where data gets re-keyed, what reports you generate manually, and which processes create bottlenecks during high-volume periods. This discovery process typically reveals 3-4 high-impact opportunities where custom software can eliminate 60-70% of manual work within 6-12 months. Our approach focuses on solving these specific problems rather than proposing massive system replacements that take years to implement and often fail to deliver expected value.
We specialize in building custom software for your industry. Tell us what you're dealing with.
Most insurance carriers run policy administration systems built in the 1980s or 1990s that can't adapt to new product lines or modern business requirements. These AS/400 or mainframe systems lack APIs, require specialized technical knowledge to modify, and force workarounds using Excel spreadsheets and manual processes. Adding a new coverage option can take 6-12 months and cost $200K+ in vendor fees, making product innovation nearly impossible. The systems work for basic policy management but can't support modern customer expectations like real-time quotes, online policy changes, or mobile-first experiences.
Insurance operations typically involve 5-8 disconnected systems that don't communicate—separate platforms for quoting, policy management, claims, commission accounting, document management, and financial reporting. Underwriters manually re-key data from quote systems into policy systems, premium accounting staff manually enter policy transactions into accounting software, and claims adjusters manually update loss information in multiple databases. This redundant data entry consumes 20-30% of staff time and creates error rates of 10-15% that lead to billing disputes, commission errors, and compliance issues. One Michigan carrier we worked with had staff spending 15 hours weekly just reconciling policy counts between their policy system and accounting system.
Insurance commission structures involve base commissions, contingent commissions, overrides for managing general agents, bonus structures tied to loss ratios, and variable rates by product line and premium volume. Calculating accurate commission payments requires aggregating data from multiple systems, applying complex business rules, and maintaining detailed audit trails for dispute resolution. Most carriers handle this with extensive Excel spreadsheets that become error-prone as complexity grows. Commission errors create agent relationship problems, and manual calculation processes mean commission payments lag 30-45 days behind policy effective dates, creating cash flow issues for agencies.
Claims departments operate with fragmented workflows where information lives in multiple places—claim details in the claims system, documents in shared drives, emails in Outlook, photos in adjuster laptops, and vendor communications in separate portals. Adjusters spend 40% of their time gathering information rather than evaluating claims. Supervisor oversight becomes difficult when claim status information requires checking multiple systems, and reporting on claim metrics like average closure time or reserve adequacy involves manual data compilation. Fast-track simple claims that could close in 48 hours take 2-3 weeks because the workflow requires multiple manual handoffs and status updates.
Insurance carriers face extensive regulatory reporting requirements—quarterly and annual statements to state insurance departments, NAIC data calls, surplus lines filings, workers' compensation unit statistical reports, and various state-specific filings. Each report requires extracting data from policy systems, applying specific business logic and data transformations, and formatting outputs according to detailed specifications. Carriers often dedicate 2-3 full-time staff to compliance reporting, and quarterly close periods involve 60-80 hour work weeks to meet filing deadlines. The manual nature of these processes creates high error risk, and state insurance departments increasingly impose fines for late or inaccurate filings.
Managing reinsurance relationships requires detailed data about policies and claims that fall within treaty terms—tracking premium ceded by treaty layer, monitoring aggregate retention limits, calculating loss development for claims that may pierce reinsurance attachments, and generating bordereaux reports for reinsurers. This data typically lives across multiple systems and requires specialized knowledge to compile accurately. Many carriers handle reinsurance accounting with Excel spreadsheets, creating errors that lead to delayed reinsurance recoveries and disputes with reinsurers. Quarterly bordereaux preparation can consume 40-60 hours of manual work compiling data and generating reports.
Independent agents and customers expect modern self-service capabilities—online quote requests, policy document access, certificate of insurance generation, billing inquiries, and claims status checking. Legacy systems can't support these features without extensive custom development, forcing carriers to handle routine requests via phone and email. Customer service staff spend 60-70% of their time responding to questions that could be answered through self-service portals. Agents working with multiple carriers must navigate different systems and processes for each carrier, creating friction that influences which markets they quote with first.
Insurance premium accounting involves unique complexities—earned vs. unearned premium calculations, mid-term endorsements that adjust premium, audit premiums that true up estimated exposures, installment billing with various fee structures, and agency bill vs. direct bill arrangements. Reconciling premium between policy systems and accounting systems reveals discrepancies in 15-25% of transactions due to timing differences, manual adjustments, and system limitations. Many carriers run extensive reconciliation spreadsheets and dedicate staff to investigating and resolving variances. Month-end close processes take 8-12 business days largely due to premium reconciliation complexity, delaying financial reporting and management decision-making.
FreedomDev built our commission calculation system that processes payments to 200+ agents across 15 states. What used to take our team 60 hours monthly now runs automatically in under 4 hours, and commission accuracy improved from 87% to 99.8%. The ROI was achieved in 9 months, and we've since expanded their work to automate our regulatory reporting.
Rather than replacing entire legacy systems, we build modern policy administration modules that handle specific product lines or workflows while integrating with existing systems. A specialty insurance carrier came to us needing to launch a new cyber liability product but their core system couldn't accommodate the unique rating factors and coverage structures. We built a standalone policy administration module with modern web interface, flexible rating engine, and automated document generation that integrates with their legacy system for premium accounting and renewals. The module went live in 5 months vs. 18+ months for a core system enhancement, and they can modify rating algorithms and coverage forms without vendor involvement.
We develop [systems integration](/services/systems-integration) solutions that automatically move data between insurance platforms, eliminating manual re-keying and ensuring data consistency. Our integration approach uses APIs where available, database-level integration where necessary, and file-based transfer when working with legacy systems. For one Michigan carrier, we built real-time integration between their rating platform and policy system that automatically creates policy records when quotes bind, eliminating 2 hours of daily data entry. The integration includes error handling, data validation, and a management dashboard showing transaction status, reducing errors from 12% to under 1%.
Our commission automation systems extract policy and premium data from multiple sources, apply complex commission structures, calculate amounts due to each agent and sub-producer, and generate payment files for your accounting system. We've built commission platforms handling tier-based commissions, contingent commission calculations based on loss ratios, override structures with 3-4 levels, and product-specific commission variations. One MGA reduced their commission processing time from 60 hours monthly to 4 hours, improved accuracy to 99.8%, and cut commission payment timing from 45 days to 15 days after policy effective date, significantly improving agent satisfaction.
We build integrated claims platforms that centralize all claim information—adjuster notes, documents, photos, communications, payments, and recovery activities—in a single system with configurable workflows. Our claims solutions include automated task assignment based on claim characteristics, document OCR to extract data from submitted forms and invoices, mobile apps for field adjusters to upload photos and update claim status, and supervisor dashboards showing claim aging, reserve changes, and adjuster productivity metrics. A property insurance claims department using our custom system increased their claims-per-adjuster capacity by 35% while reducing average claim closure time from 45 days to 28 days.
Our compliance automation solutions extract data from policy and claims systems, apply state-specific business rules and data transformations, and generate formatted reports matching regulatory specifications. We build systems handling annual statements, quarterly data calls, surplus lines filings, and workers' compensation statistical reporting. One carrier reduced their quarterly data call preparation from 80 hours to 12 hours using our automated system that pulls data directly from source systems, applies required filters and calculations, and generates submission files in the required format. The system includes validation rules that identify potential issues before filing, reducing rejected submissions from 30% to under 5%.
We develop branded portal applications that give agents and insureds secure access to policy information, documents, billing details, and claims status. Our portals integrate with backend policy systems in real-time, showing current data rather than outdated snapshots. Features include certificate of insurance generation with customizable templates, premium finance agreement access, policy document downloads, endorsement requests with automated routing to underwriters, and claims photo uploads. One carrier saw customer service call volume decrease 40% within six months of launching their portal, with 65% of certificate requests now self-service vs. requiring staff involvement.
We build specialized premium accounting solutions that handle insurance-specific requirements—earned vs. unearned premium calculations, audit premium processing, mid-term adjustments, and reconciliation between policy and accounting systems. Our [database services](/services/database-services) expertise enables building data warehouse solutions that aggregate premium data from multiple sources and identify discrepancies requiring research. A Michigan carrier using our reconciliation platform reduced their month-end close time from 10 days to 4 days by automating variance identification and investigation, with the system flagging items requiring manual review and providing drill-down detail to source transactions.
We develop underwriting platforms that consolidate information from multiple sources—application data, loss history, third-party data providers, internal guidelines, and pricing models—into unified workbenches that streamline decision-making. Our underwriting solutions include automated risk assessment scoring, comparison of submission details against underwriting appetite, integration with external data sources like ISO and LexisNexis, and workflow automation routing submissions to appropriate underwriter skill levels. One commercial lines underwriting team increased their quote capacity by 45% using our custom workbench that reduced time gathering information from 25 minutes per submission to 6 minutes, allowing underwriters to focus on risk evaluation rather than data collection.
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