When data migration fails, the consequences are significant. A missed go-live results in lost time and money, and in the worst case, it can lead to overall failure of the transformation effort. thewave has developed a comprehensive and holistic method to systematically approach migration projects, leaving nothing to chance. It’s always a challenge because the devil is in the details. Even though things may seem consistent, there’s always something different. Challenges arise when moving data from one structure to another, especially when dealing with data quality issues that have persisted for many years. Rather than migrating flawed or corrupted data to the new platform, we address these issues upfront.

A holistic approach

For the insurance sector in particular, identifying data quality issues early is critical. thewave can rely on the deep insurance industry knowledge present at Ensur. Prior to tackling the technical aspects of data migration, having an integrated delivery approach is essential. Bringing extensive experience beyond migration to the table, helps to answer the critical question: what data do you truly need and what are the critical data elements to be considered in the first place?

The migration of the classic life portfolios have the particular challenge of a lot variation in actuarial calculation methods (interpolation methods, Zillmerisation…), exotic riders, complex fiscal rules over the years and generation of commission systems. With these legacy systems, documentation is also scarce and incomplete and thus you need to rely on a robust reconciliation process that detects anomalies and reconciles the critical attributes such as reserves, premium and commissions.

In non-life portfolios, a particular attention is needed for car insurance (with the different bonus malus systems in place over the years), fire insurance with the different evaluation methods and corporate non-life portfolio that requires sometimes also manual approaches given the tariffication has been set-up case by case.

Customer data (insured persons, drivers, payments beneficiaries) is also a particular attention point in terms of data completeness and data accuracy with elements such as de-duplication in order not to create a customer twice, compliance & AML aspects (identify card presence, land of origin for beneficiaries related AML checks), address checks (which can be taken on by specialized external vendors).

thewave’s success factors for data migration

• Unique combination of both functional knowledge of the Insurance industry and technical knowledge of migration tools.
• Pragmatic and hands-on approach focusing on delivering tangible results in line with business objectives.
• Experienced data migration team with knowledge in all areas covered with the target data model (front-office, back-office, Finance & Risk Management, Compliance…).
• Knowledge of the most used policy administration system including privileged relations with vendors & third party vendors.
• thewave can support with migration tools for the migration itself and reconciliation processes.
• Being able to work on other aspects of a business transformation in parallel.
• Collaborative and pro-active attitude towards other work streams. Silo mentality is a big risk in implementation projects especially with the different expertise required in the data migration workstream.

Facts & Figures

thewave directed in the last 5 years data migration projects in 5 different insurance companies migrating successfully 2M policies (life & non-life) and by doing so helped in the decommissioning of 8 policy administration systems.

Ready to embark on your digital transformation journey? Let's connect and explore how we can tailor our expertise to your unique needs.

Contact us at kris@thewave.tech and let's make your business digitally fit for success.