The Future of European Life Insurance: Overcoming IT Challenges with INSTANDA

The European life insurance industry is at a pivotal moment, with insurers facing mounting pressures to drive growth, enhance cybersecurity and meet evolving regulatory demands. According to the February 2025 "Dimensions Europe Life Insurance IT Pressures & Priorities" Celent report, 53% of insurers cite growth as their top IT investment driver, followed by cybersecurity (50%) and regulatory compliance (38%). IT budgets are set to increase, with key investment priorities centred on underwriting, analytics and cloud transformation. However, as insurers navigate these shifts, they must overcome legacy system limitations, budget constraints and the complexities of open insurance ecosystems.

At INSTANDA, we recognise these challenges and provide a modern, agile SaaS-based policy administration platform that empowers life insurers to respond swiftly to market demands. By embracing a no-code, cloud-native approach, we help insurers optimise underwriting, leverage predictive analytics and enhance cybersecurity resilience—key areas of focus in the report.

Growth, Cybersecurity, and Regulatory Compliance: The Three Pillars of IT Investment

The report highlights that growth acceleration is the top driver for IT investment among European life insurers. However, this growth must be achieved while reinforcing cybersecurity measures and complying with stringent regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and Solvency II. Notably, 41% of insurers are expanding distribution channel digitisation, while 29% focus on cost reduction and efficiency gains.

Will Wood, Director of Life & Health at INSTANDA, offers a valuable perspective on the understandable misconception insurers often have about IT investments. "There’s this assumption in the market that quality technology inputs must come with exorbitant costs," Will shares. "Coming from a background where multi-million-pound IT investments were the norm and then transitioning to Insurtech, I’ve first-hand experience of how equally robust, modern solutions can be delivered at a fraction of the cost."

He also highlights how even modern ‘legacy’ systems negatively impact the cost and speed of change stating, " I’ve heard time and time again stories of small product updates taking months and costing tens of thousands of pounds. With INSTANDA, these changes can happen far more quickly and cost a fraction of what insurers are used to."

INSTANDA helps to overcome these challenges in the following ways:

• Agile product launches: Our platform enables rapid configuration of new life and health insurance products, allowing insurers to capture market opportunities without lengthy development cycles.

• Built-in compliance tools: INSTANDA helps insurers rapidly adapt to evolving regulatory requirements, reducing the burden of compliance management.

• Robust cybersecurity frameworks: With cloud-based security protocols and data encryption, INSTANDA enhances cyber resilience to mitigate emerging threats.

Underwriting and Analytics: The New Frontiers in IT Investment

A striking insight from the report is the growing emphasis on underwriting optimisation, with 65% of insurers planning investments in underwriting workbenches and 56% focusing on analytics and AI-driven risk scoring. European life insurers are actively seeking to refine their risk assessment models and integrate alternative data sources to enhance pricing strategies and customer experience.

Transforming Customer Experiences

Discussing the transformative impact on customer service, Will explains, “When people think about customer experience in insurance, they often picture online services such as buying or managing policies. While these are crucially important, modern technology takes it further by streamlining internal operations and enabling self-service.”

For instance, offering customers a simple way to self-serve—like updating their address— is just one example of enhancing their experience while boosting operational efficiency. Will adds, “It’s equally vital to empower internal teams, such as claims handlers and call centre agents, with the digital tolls to enable swift responses.” Whether during a call or addressing other customer needs, this behind-the-scenes efficiency plays a crucial role in the overall customer experience, just as much as visible, front-end interfaces.

INSTANDA enables insurers to lead in these areas with:

• Streamlined underwriting workflows: Our no-code platform allows insurers to tailor underwriting rules dynamically, improving efficiency and accuracy.

• AI and analytics capabilities: By integrating third-party data sources and leveraging AI-driven risk scoring, insurers can refine pricing strategies and enhance customer segmentation.

• Standout customer experiences: With self-service portals and digital application capabilities, insurers can reduce turnaround times and improve policyholder engagement.

Cloud and Open Insurance: A Roadmap for Digital Transformation

The report spotlights a growing shift towards cloud and SaaS adoption, with 29% of insurers planning a high shift to SaaS for core backend systems and 32% prioritising cloud adoption for data and analytics. While insurers recognise the flexibility and scalability of cloud-native solutions, many still face concerns regarding integration with legacy systems and ensuring compliance in a cloud-first environment.

INSTANDA supports cloud transformation with:

• Seamless cloud migration: Our platform is designed for fast, cost-effective deployment, reducing reliance on outdated infrastructure.

• Open API architecture: INSTANDA facilitates integration with third-party services, enabling insurers to build interconnected digital solutions.

• Lower total cost of ownership: By minimising IT maintenance needs, insurers can allocate resources toward innovation and growth initiatives.

Beyond technical capability, Will advises insurers to take extra care when selecting technology vendors to support with IT modernisation. He shares, "It's imperative to evaluate the vendor’s integrity and long-term vision. By asking the right questions early on, insurers can avoid potential challenges such as unexpected costs or differing objectives. Partnering with transparent technology providers who prioritise your organisation’s success is key."

The Path Forward: Transforming IT Strategy with INSTANDA

Shifting to no-code technology can feel like a leap of faith, but Will reminds us that, “The rewards are enormous,” for those that have the bravery to do it. "Absolutely, there’s a change of mindset required. But once organisations truly grasp the agility and speed-to-market a fully configurable platform provides, the hesitation quickly turns into excitement. I've witnessed first-hand the moment of realisation from insurers when they see how dramatically INSTANDA can simplify their operations."

As European life insurers strive to balance growth, security and compliance, they require agile, scalable IT solutions that can support these evolving needs. INSTANDA’s no-code, cloud-native platform is uniquely positioned to meet these challenges while driving cost efficiency, innovation and customer satisfaction.

For insurers looking to transform their IT strategies with a modern, cost-effective solution, INSTANDA stands ready to help.

Contact us today to explore how INSTANDA can accelerate your digital transformation.