Why is the insurance industry increasingly banking on IT nearshoring?

Why the insurance industry is increasingly banking on IT nearshoring 

Digitization of customer paths, automation of underwriting flows, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, redesign of broker extranets… 
The insurance industry, and brokerage in particular, is undergoing rapid change. This transformation relies heavily on the ability to deliver reliable, secure and scalable IT projects. 

However, the reality on the ground is more complex. Many brokers, mutual insurers and business solution providers are struggling to meet deadlines or stabilize their platforms.  
Why? Because the IT development is becoming a strategic bottleneckand the resources available are no longer aligned with ambitions. 

A sector under pressure: the 5 major obstacles encountered by brokers 

1. A chronic shortage of technical profiles.

Recruiting an experienced developer in back or full-stack technologies takes several months, and the best profiles are already captive. In-house teams have to compensate, at the cost of chronic overload.  

2. Dependence on inflexible IT partners.

Some traditional service providers (ESN or software publishers) impose heavy, unresponsive or costly models that are ill-suited to the agile structures of the brokerage sector. 

3. Increasing compliance challenges.

RGPD, DDA, Solvency II… every IT project in the insurance industry needs to integrate these constraints from the outset. This slows down development and requires highly specialized skills.  

4. Increasingly demanding user expectations.

Brokers want intuitive portals, policyholders demand smooth processes, and partners expect stable interfaces. CIOs have to juggle priorities.  

5. A budget that doesn’t always follow.

Resources are limited. Bringing a senior IT team in-house is costly; outsourcing without losing quality or control is a headache.  

What successful players do: two case studies from the insurance industry 

Two companies in the sector have recently opted for an alternative path: to rely on outsourced technical resources, while retaining control over project management, quality and compliance. Here’s what they have to say on the subject. how to overcome these obstacles without altering the company’s methods or diluting its corporate culture. 

Case n°1 – Cleva: industrializing development without compromising quality 

Background : 
Cleva is a software publisher specializing in management solutions for the insurance industry. For over 25 years, the company has been supporting insurers, mutual insurers and brokers with a modular software suite, integrating contract, claims and underwriting management.  

 The problem : 
With an ambitious roadmap, numerous parallel customer projects and increasing pressure on deadlines, Cleva needed to rapidly increase its development capacity. But without diluting software quality or lengthening training cycles. 

 The solution : 
Cleva has set up nearshore teams to complete its internal agile squads. These teams are integrated into the project rituals (daily, sprint planning, QA) and quickly gain expertise in the insurance business.  

 The results obtained : 

• Accelerated delivery of new features. 

• Reduced burden on in-house teams. 

• Improved project velocity without loss of quality. 

🎥 See their video comeback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXDCXge9nL0

Case 2 – Ascentiel Groupe: delivering fast, well and flexibly

Background :

Ascentiel is an integrator and publisher of management solutions for mutual insurance companies and provident institutions. It acts both as a project management consultant and as a producer of IT tools tailored to the specific needs of the mutual insurance industry.

The problem :
The company has to juggle project workload variabilityThe company’s core business is to meet the needs of its customers, between invitations to tender, one-off integrations and upgrades requested by its customers. However, internalizing all the necessary skills would have frozen the organization, while increasing the cost structure.

The solution :

Ascentiel has mobilized a dedicated outsourced development teamWe have the capacity to scale up according to project needs. Profiles are selected for their business experience (insurance, personal protection) and autonomy.

The results obtained :

• Reduced lead times.

• Fine-tuned to project volume.

• Maintaining a high level of documentary and technical standards.

📄 Read their full report: Ascentiel Groupe customer case study

Key lessons

The Cleva and Ascentiel cases illustrate an observation shared by many IT decision-makers in the insurance industry: traditional delivery models are showing their limits. It is now necessary to deal with hybrid, distributed but coordinated teamsThey must be able to adapt to the rhythms of a highly standardized sector, often conservative but under pressure.

In this sense, nearshoring is not “low-cost” outsourcing, but rather a lever for agility The result is a more flexible, responsive project team, capable of delivering without overloading central structures.

Should you take the plunge?

For insurance brokers, the question is not so much whether whether outsource, but how outsource without losing control of quality, compliance and project management..

What works:

• Start small, with a well-defined scope (redesigning an extranet, automating an internal module…).
• Work with a partner who understands the challenges of the insurance industry.

• Include teams in project rituals from the outset.

• Keep centralized management (in-house or in France) to maintain governance.

📩 Want to talk about it?

Are you a broker, mutual insurer, publisher or partner in the insurance sector, and wondering how to organize your IT projects?
It’s possible to explore other, more flexible models, without sacrificing your business rigor.

👉 Contact us to discuss: https://www.goandev.net/nous-contacter