Digital transformation in commercial insurance is being held back by inflexible standard software. This article demonstrates how a digital workshop powered by low-code technology makes it possible to efficiently model custom insurance products: Underwriters can design their own business logic directly, while IT transitions into the operator of a digital product factory.

You wouldn’t build a Lamborghini on the same assembly line as a VW Polo. The idea is absurd. Yet, in the IT landscape of commercial insurance, this exact absurdity is the norm. Highly customized, complex commercial insurance policies are either mapped out in unstructured Office documents (like Word or Excel) or forced into rigid standard software.

Most agency management systems and insurance software solutions are designed for the mass-market personal lines business. They simply can’t provide the flexibility that commercial lines demand.

It’s time for a paradigm shift: toward an automated digital workshop tailored for the commercial sector.

The Systemic Issue: Why Standard Software Fails in Commercial Insurance

The core challenge in commercial insurance is its individuality. Each insurance product reflects the complexity of risk assessment and underwriting. Traditional software approaches can’t capture this DNA. Standard software is efficient at scale—but it falters when flexibility is needed. To fit custom product or coverage features into pre-defined processes, workarounds or hacks are needed—or they’re left out entirely. The outcome is a compromise: a software solution that pleases neither corporate clients nor underwriters. Software thus becomes an obstacle, even though it should be an enabler.

The Paradigm Shift: Modeling by Underwriters, Not Programming by Developers

The answer lies in an approach that combines standardization with individuality—offering the flexibility of a workshop alongside the efficiency of industrial production. As an experienced IT partner for commercial insurers, brokers, and managing general agents, mgm technology partners has a name for this: the automated digital workshop, implemented consistently using the low-code platform “A12.”

How does this digital custom-build way work as a low-code approach in A12?

Thanks to the low-code features of the mgm A12 platform, subject matter experts become the architects of their own digital insurance products and processes. Instead of writing requirements that then need to be interpreted and implemented by developers, underwriters and product owners model their business logic directly in the system:

Visual building blocks for data, rules, and processes.
Seamless mapping of complex interrelationships, without loss of information.
Instantly executable results that can be tested and refined iteratively.

A deeper look at how underwriters can bring business expertise into software is provided in the article: Efficient risk assessment: the transformative power of low code in underwriting.

Transforming the Role of IT in Commercial Insurance

IT’s role shifts from that of an implementer (programmer/developer) to operator of a digital product factory. IT provides the platform on which business experts can quickly, securely, and efficiently create high-quality, customized products and processes.

The Result: Digital, Custom Insurance Products at Scale

When business units are empowered to independently design their digital products, digitalization becomes a powerful accelerator—not an obstacle. The advantage: digital “one-offs” produced at scale, meaning individualized solutions can be delivered with industrial efficiency. The outcome is measurable acceleration: new coverage concepts and adjustments can reach the market much faster. Innovation is promoted by freeing your top talent from bureaucratic IT processes and enabling them to translate their expertise directly into market-ready solutions. In the long run, this secures a lasting competitive edge by turning your company’s unique strengths into a digital hallmark.

FAQ

Why does standard software fail in commercial insurance?

Because it’s designed for standard personal lines business and simply can’t accommodate the flexibility required for commercial insurance.

What does “digital workshop” mean in commercial insurance?

An approach that combines individuality and standardization, making it possible to digitally model and automate highly customized policies.

What role does the A12 low-code platform play as a digital workshop?

It enables experts—like underwriters—to model their products and processes directly, without relying on traditional software development cycles.

How does low code change the role of the IT department for commercial insurers and brokers?

IT shifts from developer to operator of a digital product factory, where business departments independently build out products.

What’s the benefit of the digital workshop approach for companies?

Customized products can be developed and adapted faster, more efficiently, and with higher quality—digitally.

Interested in an exchange?

Interested in discussing low code and the digital workshop in commercial and business insurance?

Connect directly with Ansgar Knipschild on LinkedIn to discuss best practices and solutions.