Underwriting Operations Expense Analysis and Process Evaluation

Two key performance indicators give a reliable measurement of success for an insurance company's underwriting operation: combined ratio and premium growth In the current climate marked by reduction of exposures and aggressive underwriting strategies, a combined ratio above 100 will ultimately result in unhealthy company performance. Underwriting management is challenged to streamline processes and uncover ways to achieve underwriting profit.

The Ward Group evaluation service for underwriting operations probes the real components of the entire underwriting process, integrating the expense analysis conducted in our benchmarking program with a detailed process evaluation of over 265 underwriting procedures. Decision makers can access practical, reliable data to help improve their underwriting results.

Benefits

Measure and compare staffing levels, expenses and operating practices of the underwriting function to other insurance company operations.
Analyze commercial lines and personal lines (individually and combined) from a staffing, expense, and service standpoint aligned with a company's system capabilities to better evaluate policy management processes and productivity.
Understand the cost and effectiveness of the sub-processes of your underwriting operation.
Identify operational hotspots, surface root causes of issues and quantify the cost of performance gaps.
Deploy a methodology and framework to diagnose, improve and monitor quality, efficiency and service of your underwriting operation.
Reassure Board of Directors and management with an external review.
Examine 19 areas of concentration in the overall underwriting operation and evaluate the effectiveness of over 265 procedures on a five-tiered scale