Joy Agwunobi
As insurance risk landscapes become increasingly complex and customer expectations rise, carriers and Managing General Agents (MGAs) are recognising that relying on manual processes and outdated systems can no longer sustain profitable growth. Inefficiencies in workflows, slow quote turnaround, and fragmented data are not only frustrating underwriters and brokers but also creating a tangible competitive disadvantage.
Against this backdrop, IntellectAI, an insurTech company, has published a comprehensive guide designed to help insurers and MGAs make informed decisions when selecting underwriting software in 2026. The guide aims to improve operational efficiency, reduce errors, and maximise return on investment, highlighting how outdated processes are holding teams back.
According to IntellectAI, many underwriting teams are still stuck with working out of inboxes, PDFs, spreadsheets, and outdated systems that do not communicate effectively. This approach, it noted, increases errors, slows decision-making, and forces underwriters to spend valuable time tracking information rather than assessing risk. For brokers and agents, the result is delayed responses and inconsistent answers, negatively affecting client satisfaction and retention.
The guide, titled “How to Choose the Right Insurance Underwriting Software for Your Team: The 2026 InsurTech Guide”, outlines the shortcomings of “good enough” underwriting processes and demonstrates how modern software can transform operations
Defining goals before technology selection
IntellectAI stresses that insurers must first identify key bottlenecks and set clear, measurable objectives before implementing any software solution. Common challenges include chaotic submission intake, slow data validation, difficulties accessing critical insights, and workflow delays waiting for approvals.
The guide recommends setting targets such as increasing straight-through processing (STP) rates by 40 percent, reducing quote turnaround times to 24 hours, or improving underwriter productivity by 30 percent. Engaging all stakeholders early including underwriting, IT, and operations teams, is also essential to ensure adoption and long-term success.
Seven features shaping modern underwriting software
The guide identifies seven core features essential for insurance underwriting platforms in 2026, warning that any platform missing even one risks becoming tomorrow’s technical debt.
It highlights intelligent workflow automation and low-code rules engine, noting that workflow automation should go beyond basic rules to manage task routing, data validation, follow-ups, and communications with agents and brokers. A low-code or no-code rules engine allows underwriting managers, not just IT professionals, to update rules as risk appetites, products, or loss trends evolve.
AI analytics for risk assessment is another cornerstone. Modern platforms use AI to score risks in real time, triage submissions so low-complexity cases can be auto-approved, and flag complex risks for human review. By leveraging natural language processing, these tools can extract and standardise data from emails, reports, ACORD forms, inspections, and third-party sources. This reduces manual touchpoints and gives underwriters better insights earlier in the process.
Robust integration and API-first architecture ensures seamless connectivity with policy administration systems, CRMs, rating engines, and third-party data sources through strong, open APIs and pre-built connectors. Without these capabilities, insurers risk creating new data silos on top of old ones.
A modern underwriting platform should also offer automated submission intake and data ingestion, processing ACORD forms, PDFs, emails, and scanned documents automatically. Structured data is extracted, mapped accurately, and missing or inconsistent information is flagged, saving hours of manual rekeying while reducing errors.
Underwriters benefit from a unified underwriting workbench, where quote details, documents, risk scores, guidelines, communication tools, and task lists are consolidated into a single interface. This unified view reduces friction and allows teams to work with clarity and focus.
Comprehensive analytics and portfolio reporting provide real-time insights into submission volumes, capacity, quote-to-bind ratios, loss trends, and portfolio risk distribution. These analytics empower leaders to make faster, more informed decisions and steer underwriting strategy effectively.
Finally, security, compliance, and audit trails remain top priorities. Platforms must include full audit trails, role-based permissions, regulatory compliance controls, and certifications such as SOC2 or ISO. Data residency options ensure adherence to local regulations while protecting sensitive information.
A five-step approach to choosing software
Once goals and features are defined, IntellectAI outlines a clear process for narrowing down software options. The first step is to create a shortlist of vendors that support the insurer’s specific lines of business, such as property and casualty (P&C) for commercial or specialty underwriting.
Next, insurers must decide whether to build, buy, or tailor a solution. Buildings offer high control but can be slow, expensive, and difficult to maintain. Buying a ready-made platform is faster but often rigid, particularly when workflows or risk appetite change. Tailoring a platform provides a middle ground, combining enterprise stability with the flexibility to adapt, a strategy where many modern platforms excel.
Once potential vendors are identified, insurers should schedule live demos rather than relying on generic walkthroughs. Providing vendors with two to three real use cases and evaluating the demonstrations against core software features ensures a practical understanding of how the platform will perform in day-to-day operations.
Validating both technical and cultural fit is equally important. This includes assessing the technology itself and understanding the vendor partnership. Conversations with existing customers can reveal insights about implementation smoothness, responsiveness of support, frequency of product updates, and post-go-live customisation.
Finally, insurers should conduct a thorough assessment of total cost of ownership and return on investment. This goes beyond license fees to include integration, implementation, training, and ongoing maintenance. These costs should then be weighed against potential benefits, such as faster quotes, higher STP, fewer errors, improved client experience, and increased new business, to quantify the platform’s true value.
Don’t eliminate your underwriters, empower them
The guide stresses that the goal is not to replace underwriters but to equip them with the tools to perform at their best.
“A strong insurance underwriting software foundation gives teams the speed, visibility, and consistency they need, while a flexible digital underwriting workbench ensures workflows stay aligned with how underwriters actually work,” IntellectAI said.
For underwriters in Nigeria, this shift has significant implications. Embracing modern underwriting platforms means local professionals can reduce time spent on manual tasks, improve the accuracy of risk assessments, and respond faster to client needs.
It also positions Nigerian insurers and MGAs to compete more effectively with global counterparts, offering streamlined processes, better data insights, and a more agile approach to emerging market risks. Ultimately, technology empowers underwriters to focus on complex, high-value decisions, enhancing both productivity and client satisfaction in a market that is rapidly evolving.
