Insurance companies from different sectors are striving to automate and streamline policy management, their critical business aspect, so insurance policy management software is now gaining momentum. The insurance policy software market, which was estimated at $4.03 billion in 2024, is going to reach $ 7.58 billion by 2031, according to Verified Market Research.
An insurance policy management system can provide many useful functionalities to help insurance companies operate more efficiently, such as centralized policy document repositories for convenient data storage, templates for quicker policy creation, and analytics for policy performance tracking. Since a system stores policyholder data, it should also have robust cybersecurity capabilities to resist different types of threats.
This article highlights four security features you should look for when selecting an insurance policy management system to implement.
The importance of secure insurance policy management software
Insurance policy management systems process and store vast volumes of data belonging to policyholders or related to their policies, ranging from policy sign-up documents to endorsement documents and insurance claims payout records. Data breach and loss of sensitive information can cause many negative consequences:
•Regulatory fines
If an insurer fails to maintain the security of policyholder data, the company risks receiving a multi-million fine from a regulator, which can negatively affect its financial health. In 2023, for example, the Swedish regulator IMY fined an insurance company Trygg-Hansa for more than 3 million euros due to IT security violations that put the data of 650,000 customers at risk.
•Identity theft
Compromised or stolen policyholder data can be utilized by malefactors for various unlawful purposes. For instance, criminals can use personal or financial information belonging to policyholders to open new credit cards, take over user accounts, or make purchases online.
•Reputational damage
Maintaining customer trust is critical in the insurance industry, as customers will simply not put their assets and health in the hands of an insurer they cannot rely on. Unfortunately, customer trust is very easy to lose. To maintain it, insurers should protect policyholder data by all means, which is why investing in secure insurance policy management software is critical.
Which security features to consider in an insurance policy management system?
To ensure the security of a policy management system, an insurance company needs to look for the following features in platform solutions or make sure to equip their custom software with them:
Secure login and authentication
User authentication is a critical element of an insurance policy management system’s security architecture, helping to protect sensitive data and functionality from unauthorized access. Insurance policy management systems can be equipped with single-, two-, and three-factor authentication.
Single-factor authentication can be considered relatively weak in terms of security, as it requires only one confirmation (such as entering a digital password). Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds one more security layer and can require additional verification (via biometrics, SMS, etc.) beyond simple password entry.
Nonetheless, we recommend companies from security-sensitive industries, such as the insurance sector, consider implementing three-factor authentication (3FA). It involves using one more identity factor (such as a crypto key) so that an insurer can maximize the security of policyholder data.
Role-based access control
Implementing role-based access control (RBAC) is another way to prevent unwanted parties from accessing the insurance policy management system’s functionality and policyholder data. This security mechanism involves setting permissions granting or restricting users’ access and ability to use the software.
The idea behind RBAC is to provide users (such as insurance agency employees) with the minimum access level required to do their jobs. For example, a user with the role of “an underwriter” can only use underwriting tools and necessary data, while “an agent” can only have access to policy management functionality, and so on. Even if some user account gets compromised, a malefactor will not be able to get access to an entire system, but only its part, which will help minimize the attack’s consequences.
One of the efficient ways to implement the RBAC mechanism and put it into work is to integrate an insurance policy management system with identity and access management (IAM) software, such as AWS IAM or Oracle IAM. By using IAM solutions, insurance companies can manage the access of even thousands of users easily.
Digital signatures
Digital signatures are becoming increasingly widespread across multiple industries, and the insurance sector is no exception. A digital signature is a virtual cryptographic stamp that stores a unique hash of a document that it’s bound to. Just like a handwritten signature, a digital one is used to provide legal validity for documents. Moreover, a digital signature has an additional security function.
Digital signatures allow insurers to track all actions taken with a policy document from when this signature was created. They record all critical information – who initiated the document, who signed it, and who edited it, so they can be used to track any unauthorized access attempts. Since this allows an insurer to track data security violations more closely, using an insurance policy management system complemented with a digital signature is recommended.
User account lockout
Hackers who want to penetrate the insurance policy management system can use a simple yet effective brute-force attack. It involves “guessing” the correct login credentials, passwords, or encryption keys to take over a user account.
Automated user account lockout functionality allows insurers to reduce the risk of a successful brute-force attack. This feature can trigger the automated lockout of an account after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts to log in to the insurance policy management system. If necessary, a locked user account can be reopened automatically after a specific waiting period.
Final thoughts
A robust insurance policy management system can provide many valuable capabilities, ranging from policy issuance and endorsement features to policy analytics and reporting. It should also include cybersecurity functionalities to be able to protect policyholder data against breach and theft. User authentication, role-based information access, digital signature, and automated user account lockout are just some capabilities that can be useful in this regard.
To select a policy management system that would suit its unique security needs, an insurance company can turn to experienced third-party developers. If there is no suitable solution on the market, developers can help an insurer build an insurance policy management system with tailored security mechanisms from scratch.
