Underwriters often get left out of the digital conversation. In Specialty Insurance especially, tech is seen as a back-office fix — a way to help ops handle data, not something that touches underwriting. Underwriters just “do their thing” and pass it on, right?
Wrong!
That thinking is exactly why many underwriting teams are stuck in the past. Manual slips. Broker emails. Spreadsheets everywhere — even pricing tools! It all leads to bottlenecks, poor data quality, and endless handoffs between underwriting and ops.
Coming from a digital-first background, I’ve spent the last five years embedded in underwriting teams. And honestly? It’s been eye-opening. I didn’t expect so much reliance on people and manual processes. Attempts to “digitise underwriting” had either fizzled out or solved only a fraction of the problem. No one was thinking end-to-end.
Turning this around wasn’t about dropping in a slick platform and walking away. It took listening, understanding the blockers, and building trust. We introduced a digital, end-to-end underwriter journey — yes, with modern tools — but the real game-changer was how we worked.
It’s about the people
Embed the delivery team into the underwriter’s world. Let them feel the pain points. Help underwriters see what incremental delivery can do. It’s awkward at first, sure. But when you build mutual trust and really understand each other, that’s when the transformation sticks.
With broker portals and industry initiatives like Blueprint Two accelerating digital intake, underwriters can’t afford to be passengers anymore. But here’s the catch: if your downstream journey is still clunky and manual, you’re throwing away the benefits of digital intake.
Digitising underwriting isn’t just possible — it’s essential. And it starts by putting underwriters at the heart of the digital journey.