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I am looking for publicly traded companies, in the software industry, whose technology is used to give services for insurance companies, preferably using an application.
OVERVIEW
Focus was on publicly traded software companies based in the U.S. that operate globally and provide software (as applications or services) to insurance companies; five of these include: Guidewire Software, Inc. (GWRE), Ebix, Inc. (EBIX), Sapiens International Corporation N.V. (SPNS), Majesco (MJCO), and Oracle Corporation. SAP SE, is an additional software company that offers such services to insurance companies worldwide, based in Europe. Although 6 companies are discussed here, other companies to have in mind are emerging on the market. Below I have broken down the different insurance software applications and solutions offered, and provided a summary for each listed company.
SEVICES OFFERED
The marketplace for insurance companies is rapidly changing, and insurance software is greatly influenced by this digital revolution. Most software companies look to tailor their insurance software to the needs of insurance companies and keep in speed with the IT progress. Insurance companies operate with various business functions (such as claims and billing), and different forms of insurance (property, life insurance, automobile, etc.). Accordingly, insurance software is developed to focus either on specific insurance aspects of the business or have a broader scope.
Digital innovation is best captured by the development of cloud-based applications; these are new all-in-one solutions that work in real-time, thereby saving time and reducing cost. Companies will need to be quick to adapt to the new demands of customers in the age of digital innovation. They are putting emphasis on the ease interacting and integrating their applications with the existing systems, quick modifications, data security, user-friendly interfaces, and enhanced customer service.
COMPANY SPECIFICS
Guideware Software, Inc.: Operating in more than 30 countries, this company is serving over 300 insurers. Guideware's revenue for 2017 was $598.5 million. Their focus is exclusively on property and casualty insurance (P&C), offering both cloud and on-premises solutions. Their applications can support thousands of simultaneous users and are compatible with insurance industry's IT systems. Guidewire InsuranceNow™ is a cloud-based app that combines all solutions into one and provided support from beginning to end of insurance lifecycle.
Ebix, Inc. : This company had a $298.3 million revenue 2016, and Q3 2017 revenue of $92.8 million. They state that they are "ranked as the 4th Fastest Growing Technology Company by Fortune Magazine." The range of the services they offer is quite broad, covering all insurance business aspects (P&C, life insurance, annuities, and risk management), consulting, outsourcing, and integration. Health management for health and employee benefits is an additional service, as their business also extends to the financial and healthcare industries. Their insurance software applications can be custom-developed. One of their basic offers is an admin P&C system that puts most of the workflow into one.
Sapiens International Corporation N.V.: This company has about 400 clients, annual revenue in 2016 of $216.2 million and Q1 in 2017 of $56.5 million. They offer a web-based application that can be integrated with other systems, but satisfies all business needs in one along with mobile device support. This application performs data checks and validation, has easy maintenance, e-signatures, and tracking. The company covers life insurance, pensions, annuities, reinsurance, as well as training and consulting.
Majesco: With $121.8 million revenue in 2017, this company offers P&C and general insurance and serves about 140 insurance carriers. They aim to optimize systems, improve flexibility and speed. Their software solutions focus on policy, billing, claims, and business analytics, among others — covering health, pension, and group insurance. The cloud platform under this company is Majesco CloudInsurer.
Oracle Corporation: This multi-billion business serves 430,000 customers in 175 countries, with a total revenue in 2016 of $37.7 billion. Their Oracle for Insurance division caters specifically to the insurance industry. This division has created flexible and rules-based apps for risk prevention, life, group, and health insurance with the aim of increasing efficacy. Unsurprisingly, they also offer several cloud-based solutions, as well as one integrated cost-effective cloud-based platform that greatly increases business productivity.
SAP SE: A software giant based in Europe, their total revenue in 2016 was $22.07 billion with 365,000 customers worldwide. Dealing with claims, reinsurance, billing, and other insurance industry needs, SAP SE is on the frontier of digital transformation. They additionally offer outsourcing and financial planning. Their most innovative software is SAP S/4HANA — a cloud-based platform working in real time with big data. On the other hand, the SAP Insurance Analyzer is their analytic application for legal and accounting matters. They also offer mobile applications.
CONCLUSION
The six listed publicly traded software companies that offer services to insurance companies are characterized by a diversity of applications available to their clients. The two biggest companies from the list - Oracle Corporation based in the U.S., and SAP SE based in Europe - are good examples of the speed of innovation in adapting to the needs of the insurance industry. Companies look to tailor their services both to specific business functions and to provide integrated services to clients in the industry. Among the innovations coming forth, the most notable are cloud-based applications which integrate all solutions into one in real time. Smaller companies will perhaps need only several basic applications to satisfy their needs, while mid-size and large companies may greatly benefit from the new cloud-based platforms.