Pentacle Data
Denise Kelly of Pentacle Data talks about her new ready-to-use insurance platform and highlights why it is important captives continue to innovate to meet client needs
What is the latest for Pentacle Data?
We are just about to launch an insurance software platform, which is designed specifically for the captive industry, risk retention groups (RRGs), and small insurance entities.
It is an affordable ‘out-of-the-box’ system that will warehouse data and produce all the necessary documents, such as policy forms, declaration pages, invoices, renewal letters, mid-term adjustments and certificates of insurance (templates can be tailored for each client’s specific needs).
It will allow clients to move away from manual processes and excel spreadsheets. Excel has many benefits, but maintaining insurance data is not one of them. Maintaining ever-changing policy information through spreadsheets leaves clients prone to human error and ensuring underwriting profit is vital to the success of insurance companies.
Our passion is data integrity and finding solutions to workflow and data inefficiencies. As the old saying goes: garbage in, garbage out. Why not be guaranteed that what data you put into your system will give accurate reporting and be available to use across multiple processes. Our ‘out-of-the-box’ platform will provide that certainty and mitigate human error.
What was the motivation behind setting up Pentacle Data?
We believe there is a huge gap in the market for a simple, automated solution. While there are some alternate insurance software platforms out there today, there isn’t a foundation model specifically tailored to the captive industry. Captives need an affordable option, along with something to help them become more efficient, in order to help grow their business.
I was an underwriter for many years both in the US and Europe, working in both captives and reinsurance. In my many years spent working with data, I saw there was an issue maintaining accurate data and it was very frustrating.
There are so many different spreadsheets and systems that are kept, and data is going in and out. It is hard to say whether data is accurate and up to date. Our product is going to solve that issue because it offers workflow efficiency and reliability of data.
It is affordable and it can function as their foundation. It is literally ‘out-of-the-box’ and ready to go.
What are your targets for the next year?
We are hoping to help captives, RRGs, self-insureds, and other small insurance entities with their workflow and data needs. Their success is our success, so we really want to see the captive industry become efficient and confident with their data, and to see us grow together.
With the emerging solutions offered by technology, do you think we are going to see more solutions that offer to move captives forward and out of excel spreadsheets?
We hope so. We are going to see that many of the people that have turned to the technology side of insurance have industry expertise–we are underwriters, we are accountants in the captive industry, we know the frustration.
The consumer is getting more tech savvy too.
Clients have started to voice their concerns to their service providers–that if they don’t get out of spreadsheets they will go elsewhere for their data management needs. We need to constantly innovate and meet client needs.
Do you think 2019 could be a landmark year for insurtech?
Definitely. It has to be in order for the captive market to engage and keep up with technology developments.
It has to evolve with the times. The world is going that way, so captive insurance has to.
The captive market is ready to be receptive to this new technology but only if it is affordable. It has to be affordable.
What are your predictions for the captive market in 2019?
We are going to see a growth in captives, regardless of technology.
Cannabis is going to be an interesting topic, especially in the US. More states are making it legal.
One of our clients is providing medical malpractice for physicians who recommend cannabis to their patients, as the traditional carriers will often exclude this coverage.
We are going to see more emerging markets like cannabis and autonomous vehicles, creating a niche within the insurance world. Without a doubt, technology must be up to scratch.
