Report Summary:

Speed to market is a universal business priority for variable annuity writers, especially those competing for wallet-share among independent distributors. Inflexible core systems that require cumbersome modifications and extensive testing to manage changes are one of the biggest impediments to improvements, but effective IT process management and proper control of disparate, non-IT-related processes are equally important challenges.

This report, based on interviews with leading annuity writers, is designed to give annuity writer executives and staff a high-level holistic view of the new product introduction process, and to identify some of the key issues that they may want to consider in improving their own processes.

CONTENTS

Introduction…2
Measuring the Value of Speed to Market…3
Examining the Process…4
Technology Issues and Successful Initiatives…7
Organizational Issues and Successful Initiatives…8
Conclusions and Checklist for Improvement…9
About Novarica…10