Systems were built as far back as the 1960s — inherited, band-aided together, siloed. IT departments should be focused on development, not endless linking, maintenance and support. Being competitive today means consolidating applications. That's a vendor's role, not IT's.

Multiple policy-admin systems and correspondence, payment through multiple channels in multiple forms, inputs from both captive and independent agents, claims and exceptions, disputes and cancellations: slow processing and inefficiency keep driving costs up.

Consumers today expect flexibility in how they want to pay, plus immediate access to records, in any location or channel, for quick, stress-free account resolution. Failure to consistently provide smooth, satisfying interactions obstructs today's key competitive benefit, great customer service.

Lack of IT integration and poor coordination drive a multitude of costs, from paying too many separate vendors, to losing payments, to hiring FTEs and PTEs for manual handling.