Sutherland Helps Diversified Reinsurer Unlock Value by Transforming Legacy Processes and Scaling Underwriting Operations

Industry: Insurance | Services: Automation, Business Operations, Data and Analytics, Digital Consulting, Digital Operations

Client Overview

A global top 10 diversified reinsurer with more than five decades of industry presence, this company offers property, casualty, and specialty products through operating affiliates across major insurance markets worldwide. 

With a strong reputation for financial stability and expertise in underwriting complex risks, it has established itself as a trusted partner for insurers and brokers seeking tailored reinsurance solutions.

The Challenge

Scaling Underwriting Operations to Support Rapid Growth

As the reinsurer expanded into Europe and APAC under a new service model, its underwriting operations struggled to keep pace.

Manual quote and slip entry across more than 15 lines of business, handled through multiple platforms and channels, created a colossal volume of administrative work. Specialized products demanded complex workflow management, which stretched already inefficient processes. The result was extended turnaround times, rising operational costs, growing backlogs, and a higher risk of errors and inconsistencies in underwriting output.

The company’s reliance on unscalable manual processes was also a barrier to its competitive positioning. Brokers expected faster and more reliable decisions, but lengthy processing limited the reinsurer’s ability to match competitors on speed and agility. At the same time, its geographic expansion required new underwriting support operations that could scale quickly and handle multiple languages – an additional complexity the existing model wasn’t designed for.

To maintain growth momentum, reduce time-to-market for new products, and stay ahead of the competition, the reinsurer needed a strategic partner that could reimagine its underwriting support model with speed, efficiency, and scalability at the core.

Sutherland Solution

Establishing Processing and Language Centers of Excellence for Underwriting Support

• Shared Service Model for Scalability
  Sutherland designed a shared service model with a hub-and-spoke delivery approach. A Processing Centre of Excellence in India managed underwriting, delegated authority, and exposure management, later extending to credit control and claims. To support European expansion, a multilingual Centre of Excellence was established in Bulgaria, delivering underwriting support in English, German, French, Spanish, and Dutch, with the capacity to scale to 12 European languages. Together, these hubs created a resilient model capable of supporting global growth.
• Comprehensive Underwriting Support
  Dedicated teams handled end-to-end underwriting support, including quote and slip entry, exposure management, and delegated authority. This relieved underwriters of administrative burdens and accelerated time-to-market for new products.
• Risk and Portfolio Management
  Bordereaux processing and risk aggregation services were introduced to improve oversight of delegated authority contracts. These capabilities ensured more accurate premium income estimates and enabled stronger portfolio management.
• Advanced Analytics and Automation
  Sutherland built real-time dashboards with predictive analytics, using statistical process control and trend analysis to improve KPI visibility and decision-making. Automated data cleansing and mapping reduced errors and streamlined reporting, further increasing efficiency across underwriting workflows.

The Outcome

Faster, Smarter, and Scalable Reinsurance Operations

Sutherland’s transformation enabled the reinsurer to support more than $750 million in annual gross written premium, giving it the capacity to process a larger volume of submissions without sacrificing quality. 

Turnaround times improved dramatically. Core underwriting and servicing processes were completed 40% faster, while quote entry turnaround time dropped by 84% thanks to automation and redesigned workflows. Tasks that once took days were now completed in hours, enhancing competitiveness, improving broker experience, and accelerating access to market opportunities.

Operational quality reached consistently high levels, with 97% accuracy across underwriting support activities. Coupled with predictive dashboards and real-time analytics, underwriters gained clearer visibility into risk exposure, handling times, and performance trends – reducing rework and enabling proactive decision-making.

Expanded operational capabilities and a shared service model created a platform for global expansion, allowing the reinsurer to capture new business opportunities across diverse markets and extend its presence into Continental Europe and APAC.

These results reshaped how the reinsurer competes: a scalable operating model that combines speed, accuracy, and global reach – enabling profitable growth with greater confidence and resilience.