The Problem

Insurers utilise a vast array of spreadsheets for complex calculations as part of their reporting processes or other calculation usages such as with-profit surrender values, benefit forecasting and complex allocations.

Spreadsheets (and other applications built, for example, in R and Python) have a tendency to rapidly expand beyond their original design parameters becoming increasingly difficult to control and prone to human errors.

Whilst spreadsheets, remain a valuable tool they create a host of issues in areas such as:

• Change Control
• Versioning
• Governance & Audibility
• Scalable Performance
• Visualisation & Analytics
• Dependency on key individuals

The Solution

Spreadsheets contain important IP and it is critical to effectively reuse that functionality but, within a performant, workflow driven environment which also provides governance, control, and multi-user access.  evo-insight can take existing spreadsheets, including VBA macros, and embedded them within a secure web application. The embedding process is very efficient  and rapid. It means that we can leverage the investment insurers have already made in their models and methodologies.

• Scaleable Compute Platform.  Cloud based, scalable compute infrastructure ensures that complex/stochastic spreadsheets can be efficiency run in rapid timescales.
• Existing VBA macro functionality can be easily integrated within the application. Stochastic and looped calculations for even the largest and most complex portfolios and sets of data points can run efficiently.
• Governance. Provides enhanced, governance, controls, versioning and audibility. For example via a web-application there would be no multiple versions of the same spreadsheet as is commonly the case in finance and actuarial domains.
• Changes to the underlying spreadsheets can be quickly absorbed into the application. If a client wishes to change the underlying spreadsheet (and hence the process and analytics) this is easily facilitated, securely by uploading a new version. The web-application can then call the updated spreadsheet.

• Links multiple spreadsheets together. Linking multiple spreadsheets together and distributing them across a scalable compute infrastructure significantly reduces run time for complex spreadsheets. Importantly this is undertaken in a controlled manner such that different versions of the same spreadsheet are not then stored as is normally the case i.e. on servers, Sharepoint etc

We have a number of client use cases that are illustrated below.

Client Use Cases

Complex spreadsheets are used by insurers for many purposes. With evo-insight those spreadsheets can be quickly and easily embedded within a more powerful and secure web application.  Examples of typical usages are:

• Product Pricing
• Persistency Analysis
• With-Profit Surrender Values
• Calculators
• Reporting Overlays
• Stochastic Product Development
• Stochastic Benefit Projections
• PRIIPs Illustrations
• With-Profit Illustrations
• Bonus Mailings