Insurance Contract Management Made Transparent and Efficient

The insurance industry is facing significant challenges. This includes new market competition, resource shortages, and increased customer demands for digitization.

Insurers like Audeo Groupe have turned to low-code development to bridge the gap between business needs and IT delivery – a gap that traditional programming struggles to bridge efficiently.

With a rich 120-year history, Audeo is comprised of 500 employees and five companies providing diverse insurance services, from advising small-to-medium enterprises to managing third-party contracts. In 2022, they recognized a need for a new approach to development that would:

  • Optimize internal processes
  • Improve their user experiences
  • Bolster digitalization efforts

After adopting the Mendix low-code development platform in 2022, Audeo swiftly rolled out their first application, JuriDesk, and are actively developing two additional solutions.

Low-Code Beginnings

Audeo faced resource constraints due to a focus on building client-specific IT tools.  Moreover, the development team had to dedicate most of its efforts to a business information system for a subsidiary, leaving them short of resources to pursue traditional development. This left Audeo struggling to address internal team needs alongside its digitalization projects.

To overcome this challenge, Audeo’s IT department explored various low-code platforms in 2022, including Simplicite, OutSystems, and Mendix.

“We had the choice between buying solutions from the market or going with low-code,” said Baptiste Courtot, whose background in traditional development and project management serves him well as the Head of Digitalization at Audeo. “We chose Mendix because it appeared to be the most advanced platform. It was the obvious choice.”

With the introduction of Mendix, Audeo prioritized its legal team’s desire for a digitized, traceable, and efficient contract management solution.

Contractual Clarity

Previously, Audeo’s legal team grappled with manual processes and disjointed systems, hindering audit trails and internal transparency.

“The contract process was inefficient, causing delays and complicating traceability,” Courtot noted. “The involvement of numerous stakeholders made the process cumbersome. Boosting productivity, traceability, and data retrieval became imperative.”

Armed with the broad functionality of Mendix, Courtot worked alongside a project manager skilled in SQL and configurable software services to develop an application for the legal team. In just four months, the team created JuriDesk—a web-based application for managing service and management contracts.

JuriDesk streamlines contract proposals through an approval workflow initiated by employees and managed by the legal department. The application features integrations with:

“We streamlined director-level approval for crucial validations, expediting decisions,” Courtot highlighted.

To Courtot, Mendix’s rapid delivery and enhanced user experience were pivotal in the project’s success. “Our employees appreciate the enhanced usability, ergonomic design, and improved traceability,” he shared.

Critical Collaboration

At Audeo, the digitalization team has always collaborated closely with business stakeholders to gather IT project management requirements, fostering deeper involvement and alignment between teams.

Following this model, Courtot involved not only business counterparts in the development process but also other internal teams. “For example, we learned the importance of UI/UX in Mendix projects. Now, we work closely with our UX team to ensure we deliver on that front,” he said.

Looking ahead, Courtot aims to expand his team by introducing designer profiles and support consultants, aiming for increased productivity without compromising quality. With a strong emphasis on collaboration, the team remains dedicated to tackling processes to drive growth and cater to a broader range of business demands.

Future-Ready Development Strategy

Today, thanks to Mendix, Audeo can effectively prioritize internal requirements to deliver innovative systems. This grants them a competitive edge in a historically risk-averse industry where customers seek modernized experiences.

As Audeo continues its focus on internal needs, Courtot highlighted two key developments: “We’ve created an application to update insurance product rates using diverse indexation criteria, replacing an outdated automated Excel file. This internal application assists our brokerage management service,” he said.

“We also built an application to reference, manage, and track fraud cases detected by our internal control service, further addressing audit feedback and ensuring secure and traceable actions.”

Presently, Audeo is engaged in a significant internal project: redeveloping a CRM system for their brokerage company.

By seamlessly integrating Mendix into their IT landscape, Audeo can use a mix of traditional and low-code development to address its internal operations efficiently.

“We have set up an IS arbitration committee to guide technology choices aligned with our expressed needs,” Courtot said.

With low-code, Audeo’s team can now tackle challenges that were unattainable solely through traditional development. “Our imagination is limitless, and our agility sets us apart from the competition,” Courtot concluded.

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