Without a doubt, the pandemic spurred digital investment and CIOs started spending money on updating old technologies. Celent’s ongoing conversations with insurers and our research have shown that investments in digital technologies, often in the cloud, increased dramatically since 2020. Life insurers are investing in technologies to improve customer engagement, digitize the sales process, and allow for policy holder self-service. However, many continue to struggle with a backdrop of legacy policy administration platforms that make their digital goals extremely difficult and, at times, impossible to achieve.

While deal volume dropped a bit in the last two years, mainly due to inflationary pressures and the fact that so many insurers bought PAS over the last few years, the life PAS market is still thriving. With over two dozen deals per year over the past two years, the market has continued its steady state of deals—reaching from the large Tier 1 insurers who are often “greenfielding” a new system with new products down to the Tier 5 insurers who are struggling to stay competitive in the market.

Celent's 2023 LIfe PAS deal trends report provides a view of deal trends in PAS in the individual and group/voluntary life, annuity, and pension market in North America.