Insurance · Core policy, claims and billing platforms
The RFP reads like your competitor wrote it.
You sell policy administration, claims or billing platforms to carriers and Lloyd’s managing agents. Selection advisers narrow the field before the RFP goes out, so many deals you lose were decided before you heard of them. The rest wait on a peer reference, legal and the board.
- Typical deal
- €250k or more a year Illustrative
- Sales cycle
- 6–24 months Illustrative
- Selection to go-live, average
- 17–35 months
Updated 5 October 2026 · Based on Panelhop research, October 2026
At a mid-size carrier replacing its core system10–16 people Illustrative
The short answer
How do core insurance platform vendors sell to carriers?
Core policy, claims and billing platform vendors sell to insurance carriers through formal selections that a carrier runs only rarely. Selection advisers and analyst reports shape the shortlist before the RFP, so vendors win by watching pre-RFP triggers at named carriers. Deals then clear security review, EU or UK supervisor notification and board approval, then grow line by line.
Core policy, claims and billing platforms · How a deal really moves
Core deals are shaped before the RFP. Then they stall on references, DORA clauses and board dates. The same selection, seen before the RFP. Reference gaps, the CISO and board dates on every deal.
One carrier, 10–16 people, an estimated 6–24 months to signature and 17–35 months on average to go-live.
What opens a deal
- End-of-support notice: Technology
- Carrier merger completes: Consolidation
- Core contract nears expiry: Contract
- New CIO, modernisation brief: Leadership
- DORA exit-plan rules: Regulation · EU
- Home-built core at its limit: Technology
Signal Desk · weekly: In-market accounts, scored and mapped
Your buyer and who decides
A carrier replacing its core
Carrier group or Lloyd’s managing agent
Panel Check · coverage baselined
- Line-of-business head, can Veto: A late core programme that hits claims in a catastrophe peak.
- CIO and architecture, can Veto: Migration work that was underestimated at selection.
- Board or Vorstand, can Veto: A large write-off or an outage the market notices.
- Finance, can Veto: Premium-indexed fees that outgrow the carrier’s use.
- Procurement, outsourcing, can Veto: A contract the supervisor or a losing bidder can challenge.
- CISO, third-party risk, can Veto: One core provider and no workable exit plan.
- Selection adviser: Recommending a core platform that fails in implementation.
- Works council (DE, AT), can Veto: A core rollout that skips co-determination.
How the deal moves
Business case Typical time: 1–3 months
Longlist and RFI Typical time: 1–2 months
- Where it stalls
- The adviser built the longlist without you
- With Panelhop: Signal Desk
- A weekly brief on each in-market carrier and its buying group
RFP or tender Typical time: 5–8 weeks
Demos and references Typical time: 1–4 months
- Where it stalls
- No reference customer in the buyer’s line
- With Panelhop: Leak Fix
- Exit criteria: a confirmed peer reference before the finalist stage
Security and outsourcing Typical time: 1–3 months
- Where it stalls
- DORA and PRA clauses reopen legal late
- With Panelhop: Leak Fix
- CISO, outsourcing officer and DORA or PRA steps before commercial terms
Board approval Typical time: 1–3 mo + board
- Where it stalls
- The close date moves with the board calendar
- With Panelhop: Leak Fix
- Close dates set against each carrier’s committee and board dates
Implementation discovery Typical time: 1–3 months
Go-live
Expansion and renewal
- Where it stalls
- Revenue stops at the first line of business
- With Panelhop: Panel Ops
- Monthly plays for the next line, with evidence from the first go-live
Panel Ops · monthly: Scores and plays tuned against the baseline
Illustrative Source: Stages, seats, triggers and stalls from Panelhop research, October 2026; Coretech Insight; the services as described on the Services page. Note: Durations, panel sizes and cycle lengths are Panelhop estimates from our research, not measurements.
At a glance
| Typical deal | €250k or more a year Illustrative |
|---|---|
| Sales cycle | 6–24 months Illustrative |
| Selection to go-live, average | 17–35 months |
| Motion | Adviser-shaped RFP, then board approval |
Source: Panelhop research, October 2026; Coretech Insight. Note: Values marked Illustrative are Panelhop estimates from our research, not measurements.
The leaks sit before the RFP and after go-live.
Where do core insurance platform pipelines leak?
Core platform pipelines leak before the RFP, where vendors learn of projects too late, and after the first go-live, where selling stops. Panelhop research flagged integration with the carrier’s existing systems as a likely bottleneck for 8 of the 9 core and suite vendors studied. The same research flagged expansion beyond the first line of business for 7 of the 9.
Where the pipeline leaks: 5 points across 9 stages.
Reps chase carriers unlikely to switch this year
- What you see
- Reps chase carriers whose current core, contract dates and integrator make a switch unlikely this year.
- Why it happens
- The CRM has no field for a carrier’s installed core, contract expiry, system integrator or the integrations a switch would break.
Stage Business case
You hear about the project at the RFP
- What you see
- Core RFPs arrive with requirements that mirror a competitor’s product, and win rates on them are low.
- Why it happens
- Nobody tracks pre-RFP signals at named carriers: a new CIO, an end-of-support date, a merger or adviser engagement.
Stage Longlist and RFI
References run out before deals do
- What you see
- The same core customers take every reference call, and deals wait for a peer in the right line.
- Why it happens
- No structured reference programme, and the earliest core customers sit outside the target segment.
Stage Demos and references
Core revenue stops at the first line of business
- What you see
- Core revenue per carrier is flat after the first line of business goes live.
- Why it happens
- No account plan by line of business and no benefit evidence for the next business case.
Stage Expansion and renewal
Your own renewal turns into a competitive tender
- What you see
- An RFP arrives months before the core contract ends, and procurement benchmarks the vendor against new entrants.
- Why it happens
- Value is not tracked during the term, so the core vendor reaches renewal without evidence.
Stage Expansion and renewal
Forced migrations open more core deals than pitches.
What triggers an insurer to replace its core system?
End-of-support dates, mergers, contract expiries and new CIOs open core system decisions at carriers. Each of these events is dated and public. Watch them across every named carrier, including carriers with no open deal.
The 6 events that open or close the window for a deal.
Technology
End of support for an installed platform
- What happens
- A core, billing or finance platform moves to maintenance-only, forcing the carrier into a migration decision.
- Where to spot it
- Maintenance announcements, user communities and insurer job ads for legacy skills.
- Window
- Carriers re-evaluate the whole function 12–36 months before support ends (illustrative estimate).
Consolidation
Merger completion
- What happens
- Merged carriers commit to one core platform per function to meet a cost-saving target.
- Where to spot it
- Completion announcements and integration updates in results presentations.
- Window
- Core platform decisions typically land 6–24 months after legal completion (illustrative estimate).
Contract
Core contract expiry
- What happens
- A multi-year core term approaches its end date, and the carrier tests the market.
- Where to spot it
- Board papers and solicitations of public insurers, and known go-live dates plus the typical term.
- Window
- Disciplined carriers re-tender 12–24 months before expiry (illustrative estimate).
Leadership
New CIO with a modernisation brief
- What happens
- A new technology leader at a carrier reviews the core roadmap and the vendor portfolio.
- Where to spot it
- Insurer press releases and trade-press appointment news.
- Window
- The first 3–9 months in the role, before the next budget closes (illustrative estimate).
Regulation
DORA exit and concentration rules
- What happens
- EU insurers must map the ICT providers behind critical functions and hold workable exit plans for them.
- Where to spot it
- BaFin and EIOPA guidance and the annual register submission.
- Window
- Remediation clusters around core contract renewals and the spring register cycle.
Technology
Home-built core at its limit
- What happens
- A carrier’s home-built or legacy policy system can no longer keep up with new products and rate changes, and the carrier opens a replacement business case.
- Where to spot it
- Insurer job ads for legacy core developers and trade-press reports of selections under way.
- Window
- Before the longlist forms, while the carrier writes its target architecture.
A core system decision goes to the board.
Who decides on a new core system at a carrier?
A core system decision at a carrier belongs to the COO or line-of-business head and the CIO, and the board approves it. Selection advisers and system integrators run much of the process. German insurers often add a group IT subsidiary and the works council.
At a mid-size carrier replacing its core system, 10–16 people sit on the panel and 7 seats can stop the deal.
At a mid-size carrier replacing its core system: 10–16 people
COO or line-of-business head
Can Veto
COO · Head of Commercial Lines · Bereichsleiter Betrieb
- Cares about
- Launching products and changing rates without a long system freeze.
- Worries about
- A late core programme that interrupts claims service in a catastrophe peak.
CIO and enterprise architecture
Can Veto
CIO · Head of Enterprise Architecture · IT-Vorstand
- Cares about
- A standard core with predictable upgrades and a run cost IT can carry.
- Worries about
- Migration and integration work that was underestimated at selection.
Board or Vorstand
Can Veto
Board of Directors · Vorstand · Managing agency board
- Cares about
- Strategic fit and total cost over the full core contract term.
- Worries about
- A large write-off or an outage the market notices.
Finance
Can Veto
CFO · Head of Controlling
- Cares about
- Core subscription fees that fit opex and track the book fairly.
- Worries about
- Premium-indexed fees that grow faster than the carrier’s use of the system.
Procurement and outsourcing
Can Veto
Head of Procurement · Outsourcing officer · Vergabestelle
- Cares about
- A documented selection that survives audit and, for public buyers, bid challenge.
- Worries about
- A core contract the supervisor or a losing bidder can challenge.
CISO and third-party risk
Can Veto
CISO · DORA officer · Head of Third-Party Risk
- Cares about
- Assurance evidence and a tested exit plan for a critical or important function.
- Worries about
- Concentration on one core provider with no workable exit.
Selection adviser and system integrator
Selection adviser · Programme partner · System integrator
- Cares about
- A selection method that holds up and an implementation they can staff.
- Worries about
- Recommending a core platform that fails in implementation.
Works council (Germany and Austria)
Can Veto
Betriebsrat · Konzernbetriebsrat
- Cares about
- What the new core system records about how staff work.
- Worries about
- A core rollout that skips co-determination.
You sell a system the carrier will run for years.
What do core insurance platform vendors sell, and to whom?
Core platform vendors sell policy administration, billing and claims systems to carrier groups and Lloyd’s managing agents. Terms run for several years and are often priced on direct written premium. The decision runs through IT and the board, with supervisor notification at EU and UK carriers.
What vendors of this type sell
- Policy administration and rating systems
- Claims management systems
- Billing and premium accounting
- Lifecycle suites across policy, billing and claims
Which carriers, MGAs and brokers buy it
- P&C and specialty carriers, from regional mutuals to national groups
- Life, annuity and pension carriers converting legacy books
- MGAs and programme administrators, on faster, owner-led cycles with a capacity provider behind them
- Lloyd’s managing agents and London market insurers
- German Versicherer, and statutory health funds that tender by EU rules
A core selection runs for months before signature.
How long does a core system selection take at an insurer?
A core system selection at a carrier takes 6–24 months from business case to signature, an illustrative range from Panelhop research. Go-live follows 17–35 months after selection on average, depending on carrier size. Selection advisers set the early pace; the board calendar and, at EU and UK carriers, supervisor notification set the late one.
Stage by stage: what you do, what the insurer does, and what changes at the 5 stages where deals stall.
| Stage | What you do | What the insurer does | Today | With Panelhop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business case Typical time: 1–3 months | Stays close to its installed base and waits for news of a programme. | A merger, an end-of-support date or a new CIO prompts a business case and a target architecture. | News of a core programme reaches sales by chance. | Named carriers scored weekly on end-of-support dates, mergers, public contract expiries and new CIOs. Signal Desk In-market accounts, weekly |
| Longlist and RFI Typical time: 1–2 months | Answers an RFI it did not see coming. | Builds a longlist with a selection adviser from analyst reports, peers and events, then sends a short RFI. | The vendor learns of the longlist when the RFI lands. Stalls: The longlist is built without you. Selection advisers and analyst vendor reports narrow a carrier’s core longlist before the RFP, so a core vendor missing from them rarely reaches the shortlist. | A brief on each in-market carrier and its buying group while the target picture is still open. Signal Desk In-market accounts, weekly |
| RFP or tender Typical time: 5–8 weeks | Writes a detailed response and price sheet against fixed deadlines. | Issues an RFP, ITN or EU tender with requirements, reference demands and a price sheet. | RFP win rate is a feeling, not a number. | Win rate and cycle length by segment, rebuilt from your own closed-won and closed-lost records. Panel Check GTM audit · 2–3 weeks |
| Demos and references Typical time: 1–4 months | Runs scenario demos scripted by the carrier or its adviser, then finds willing references. | Narrows the field to finalists, then calls or visits peers in the same line or country. | Reference gaps surface when the carrier asks for a peer. Stalls: No reference in the buyer’s line. Large carriers often refuse to be named, so the same few core customers take every reference call and some deals wait for a peer. | Stage exit criteria that require a confirmed reference in the buyer’s line before the finalist stage, with any gap flagged on the deal risk score. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Security and outsourcing Typical time: 1–3 months | Answers questionnaires and supports the carrier’s outsourcing notification. | Assesses third-party risk, logs the contract in the DORA register or notifies the PRA or BaFin. | Security and outsourcing questions start after the verbal yes. Stalls: Regulatory clauses reopen legal. DORA Article 30 and PRA outsourcing terms on audit, access and exit conflict with standard SaaS paper late in a core deal. | Stage exit criteria that require the CISO, outsourcing officer and DORA or PRA steps before the commercial stage. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Board approval Typical time: 1–3 months, then 2–8 weeks for approval | Negotiates a multi-year term, often priced on direct written premium. | Committee and board approve on the governance calendar; German public buyers observe a standstill before signing. | Close dates move with the board calendar, unseen. Stalls: The board meets on its own calendar. Core approval follows fixed committee and board dates, and a core deal that misses the budget year waits for the next plan. | A mutual action plan with each carrier’s committee and board dates, and close dates set against them. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Implementation discovery Typical time: 1–3 months | Runs a discovery phase that ends in a go or no-go decision. | Confirms scope and plan, sometimes with a runner-up kept on a contingent contract. | What sales promised lives in one person’s head. | A handoff document from the deal, with what sales promised written down. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Go-live Typical time: 17–35 months from selection, on average by insurer size | Migrates the book line by line with a system integrator. | Runs old and new systems side by side until the first lines are live. | Customer health is judged by the loudest ticket. | A health score and renewal tasks on the account from the go-live of the first line of business. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Expansion and renewal | Waits for the next line of business to come up. | Moves more lines only with a new business case, and may re-tender at renewal. | Each new line waits for a new business case and sponsor. Stalls: Expansion stops at the first line of business. Each extra line or book on the core needs a new business case and often a new sponsor, and nobody at the vendor owns that plan. | Expansion plays for each next line, carrying evidence from the first go-live, reviewed monthly against the baseline. Panel Ops We run it monthly |
Every named carrier is watched before the RFP.
How does Panelhop help core platform vendors win insurer selections?
Panelhop helps core platform vendors work upstream of the RFP: named carriers watched weekly, buying groups mapped and expansion planned by line. A Panel Check (GTM audit · 2–3 weeks) baselines win rate and cycle by segment first. Analyst relations and RFP writing stay with your team.
What we baseline and report
- Share of RFPs received from carriers already tracked before the RFP
- Win rate and cycle length by segment, against the baseline
- Expansion opportunities opened per live carrier, against the baseline
Other vendor types in insurance.
What other vendors sell to carriers, MGAs and brokers?
The same carriers, MGAs and brokers buy from these vendor types too, through different panels and pipelines.
- Vendor type
Underwriting, submission intake and claims AI
AI for submission intake, underwriting, claims triage and fraud, sold to carriers, MGAs, brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates.
Read the pipeline - Vendor type
Distribution and producer network platforms
Producer management, comparative rating, carrier connectivity and agency workflow platforms sold to carriers, MGAs, brokers and agencies.
Read the pipeline - Vendor type
MGA and delegated-authority platforms
Policy administration, rating, bordereaux and data platforms sold to MGAs, coverholders and programme administrators.
Read the pipeline
The words your buyers use, defined.
What do terms like “Policy administration system (PAS)” and “Direct written premium (DWP)” mean?
Plain definitions of the terms that come up when you sell core policy, claims and billing platforms to carriers, MGAs and brokers.
- Policy administration system (PAS)
- The core system that quotes, issues, endorses and renews policies for a line of business. Replacing it touches billing, claims and every distribution channel.
- Direct written premium (DWP)
- The premium an insurer writes on the policies it issues itself in a period, before any reinsurance. Core vendors often price subscriptions on it.
- ITN (invitation to negotiate)
- A US public procurement format in which the buyer negotiates with shortlisted bidders before it awards the contract. Some US residual-market insurers use it instead of an RFP.
- Premium-indexed pricing
- Pricing a core subscription on the direct written premium the system manages, so the carrier’s fees rise as its book grows.
- Scripted demo
- A demo run against scenarios that the carrier or its selection adviser writes, so every core vendor is scored on the same cases.
- Works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung)
- The agreement a German employer signs with its works council before productive use of a system that can monitor staff.
Answers before your next insurer deal.
What do vendors of core policy, claims and billing platforms ask about selling to carriers, MGAs and brokers?
How long does it take to sell a core system to an insurance carrier?
Selling a core policy, billing or claims system to an insurance carrier takes 6–24 months from business case to signature, an illustrative range from Panelhop research. Go-live then took 17–35 months from selection on average, depending on carrier size, across 61 US and Canadian P&C core implementations in a 2022 Coretech Insight study. Cloud deployments there averaged 17 months, against 29 for on-premises deployments.
How do selection advisers affect insurance core system deals?
Selection advisers run many insurance core system selections: they build the carrier’s longlist, write the RFI, script the demos and arrange reference calls. Carriers replace a core system rarely, so they lean on advisers and analyst vendor reports, and the shortlist often forms before the RFP. Core platform vendors need to be known to the carrier before that point.
What does DORA mean for vendors selling core systems to EU insurers?
DORA means an EU insurer under Solvency II must record a core platform contract in its DORA register of information. Every ICT contract needs Article 30 terms, termination rights included. If the system supports a critical or important function, the contract also needs full service levels, audit and access rights and an exit strategy, and the supervisor may need advance notice. Core platform vendors that raise these terms at the shortlist avoid reopening legal in the final month.
Why do core platform renewals with insurers turn into tenders?
Insurance carriers re-tender core systems at renewal when procurement policy requires a market test or the incumbent cannot show value. Public and residual-market insurers often must re-tender, and some carriers keep a runner-up warm. A core platform vendor that tracks benefit evidence through the term goes into the renewal with evidence of value as well as a price.
How do German insurers choose a core system?
German insurers choose core systems through structured selections with knockout criteria, documented proofs of concept and comparison studies, often run by a group IT subsidiary or an IT service partner. The works council must agree before productive use of a system that can monitor staff. Statutory health funds tender by EU rules with fixed bid windows. Core vendors need German-language material and local references.
How do core insurance platform vendors get references when carriers refuse to be named?
Core insurance platform vendors get references from carriers that refuse to be named by running a structured reference programme instead of asking deal by deal. Large carriers often restrict vendor publicity, yet reference calls are a standard step in core selections, and selection advisers arrange them. Recruit willing customers in each line and country, rotate the calls so the same few customers are not overused, and offer private calls alongside anonymous case studies.
Where the numbers come from.
Sources
Sourced figures link to their source below. Figures marked Illustrative, and figures given as estimates, are inferred from Panelhop research. Vendors appear only as types, never by name.
- Coretech Insight, How Long Do P&C Core System Implementations Really Take? (2022)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (DORA) (2022)
- Bank of England (PRA), SS2/21 Outsourcing and third party risk management (2021)
- Bundesministerium der Justiz, Section 87 BetrVG (co-determination rights) (2026)
- Panelhop research, October 2026: our analysis of the vendors, buying panels, pipelines and triggers for core policy, claims and billing platforms in insurance, from public sources. Vendor names are not published.
Find where your pipeline to carriers, MGAs and brokers leaks.
