Celent has released a report titled Group and Voluntary Life Insurance Policy Administration Systems: 2016 North American Vendor Spectrum. The report was written by Karen Monks, analyst in Celent’s Insurance practice.

Group and voluntary life products are now critical components of most employee benefit packages. The evolution of these products, due in part to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), ratchets up pressure on insurers to make dramatic improvements to their supporting core systems. Competition among vendors in this space is fierce.

This report is part of a series on policy administration systems (PAS) in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It profiles the majority of the systems available in North America for insurers that sell group and voluntary life, health, ancillary and annuities products.

“Voluntary benefits are evolving quickly,” says Monks. “Responding to this and other drivers, insurers find they need to update or replace their core systems. This includes policy administration systems because legacy versions of these systems are often not flexible enough to meet the needs of employers, distribution channels, or consumers.”