Underwriting Workbench: A Must-Have Or An Unnecessary Expense?
Marcin Nowak, board member at Decerto, has 20+ years in insurance, focusing on automation, technology impact and software solutions.
Underwriters often point out in conversations with the business that they typically use between seven and 15 different systems and data sources when assessing a single risk. According to Accenture, on average, an underwriter spends 40% of their time on administrative tasks, 30% on negotiations and sales support and just 30% on actual underwriting. So, is it really worth investing in yet another tool?
The answer is yes—but only if it supports and optimizes business processes. That's where the concept of the underwriting workbench comes in. But what exactly is it, when is it truly needed and does implementing one lead to real business benefits? That's what I'll explore in this article.
An underwriting workbench is a specialized tool designed to streamline and organize the work of underwriting teams. Its core features include:
• Consolidation and organization of all data needed for risk assessment in one place
• Team management (hierarchies, competencies, work schedules)
• Monitoring and optimization of team performance
• Automation and standardization of the underwriting process
In practice, this means that instead of jumping between a patchwork of tools (CRM, spreadsheets, email, notes), the entire risk assessment process takes place in a single, integrated environment. This not only saves time but also reduces errors, improves compliance and enables faster decision-making.
The answer depends largely on scale. If your team consists of two underwriters handling a few inquiries per week, an underwriting workbench might not be essential. But if your company is handling hundreds of submissions weekly, with underwriters specializing in various areas, the need for such a tool becomes nearly unavoidable.
Modern underwriting workbenches often come with prebuilt integrations for popular systems and data sources, significantly reducing implementation time and allowing your business to scale without a proportional increase in staffing.
It's also worth noting that many companies assess the need for a workbench using a business case approach: weighing the implementation and maintenance costs against potential gains from increased efficiency and smarter data usage.
That's one of the most common objections to implementing yet another system. It seems reasonable; if you already have a policy administration system (PAS) and a modern CRM, why invest in something else?
The answer lies in modern IT architecture philosophy: It's not about having one tool that does everything, but a suite of specialized, integrated tools, each best-in-class at what it does.
PAS and CRM systems are not designed with the unique complexity of underwriting in mind. The underwriting process can vary significantly—not just between companies but even between different product lines within the same organization. An underwriting workbench offers:
• Flexible risk assessment workflows tailored to specific products
• Easy rule and workflow configuration
• Centralized access to internal and external data
• Integration with risk evaluation tools (e.g., medical databases, credit scoring, actuarial models)
Implementation is often done in partnership with experienced tech vendors who can design cost-effective, high-efficiency solutions.
While it's hard to pinpoint universal ROI figures, numerous industry reports and case studies highlight the benefits of digitizing and integrating the underwriting process.
Experts from McKinsey & Company stress that modern underwriting tools—including integrated data/workflow platforms—are key to gaining a competitive edge in both P&C and life insurance sectors. Centralized data access, automated decision-making and flexible rule management lead to better decisions and improved customer experiences.
Companies that have adopted workbenches also report improved regulatory compliance, better documentation of decisions and easier auditability—critical in highly regulated markets like Europe, where transparency requirements in underwriting decisions continue to grow.
The answer isn't black and white. For a small insurance company operating in a niche market, an underwriting workbench might indeed be an unnecessary luxury. But for most mid-sized and large insurers, it's far from a luxury—it's a strategic asset that can significantly boost operational capacity, competitiveness and underwriting quality.
In a world that's rapidly automating and personalizing processes, having a dedicated tool for managing underwriting may be the key to success.
It's no coincidence that more and more insurers are including workbenches in their strategic IT investment roadmaps. It's not just another system; it's a way to bring order to the chaos that often surrounds the underwriting process.
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