Launching a New Business Line in Pet Insurance
Project Overview
Duration
12 months
Technologies
- Java
- Kotlin
- TypeScript
- React.js
- Spring
- ArchUnit
- Amazon ECS
- DynamoDB
- Amazon S3
- Amazon Redshift
- Kinesis Data Streams
- Athena
- Event Streaming
- AWS KMS
- OpenSearch
- Serverless
- IAM
- AWS Lambda
- Amazon CloudWatch
- SNS/SQS
The main goal of this project was to grow our client’s portfolio by adding a new business line: Pet Insurance. The task on our hands? Develop a robust, end-to-end solution that would enable the client to enter the pet insurance market with a strong foothold, meeting both customer expectations and market standards.
The project’s scope encompassed designing and implementing a full suite of systems and services, covering customer-facing platforms, back-office tools, and core operational infrastructure.
Client
Policy Expert
An esteemed InsurTech player holding a position at the forefront of the UK insurance market. They successfully leverage proprietary technology and data analytics to revolutionise the home and car insurance industry.
Challenge
Launching a new business line for our client within a tight timeframe involved facing a number of challenges:
- MVP scoping: Balancing the varied needs of stakeholders across the business, compliance, and technical domains was no easy task. The risk of scope creep was high. Defining what truly qualified as a “minimal viable product” (MVP) meant thoughtful evaluation and setting clear priorities.
- Time-consuming product design: A new business line means new products for customers. We wanted to make sure our client had the right tools in hand to develop their product strategy in parallel with the technical build. The process of tweaking the insurance offers was time-consuming, but being no strangers to the industry, we expected nothing else.
- Stakeholder alignment: Making sure everyone—from business teams to technical experts—saw eye to eye on priorities and deadlines meant regular workshops, clear documentation, and iterative feedback cycles to stay on track.
- Payment handling complexity: Designing solutions that supported both annual and in-house monthly payment plans, along with handling cancellations and refunds, was essential to ensure a smooth user experience.
- Decentralised data management: The project involved shifting from a centralised data architecture to a Data Mesh approach. Ensuring data consistency, quality, and traceability—while also enabling self-service capabilities for reporting and analytics—was no small task.
- Technical integrations: It was crucial to make sure our systems worked smoothly with external ones, allowing real-time data sharing while maintaining high standards of reliability and performance across all platforms.
Our Approach
Clear plan. Teamwork. Flexible mindset. These are what we approached the project with to stay in sync with the client’s goals and adjust as their needs shifted.
Starting Strong with Collaboration
We set the project in motion with hands-on workshops and tight-knit collaboration with stakeholders to carve out the MVP scope. By transforming big-picture business goals into actionable technical roadmaps, we avoided scope creep and ensured focus. With Agile methodologies as our backbone, we mapped out the project into manageable sprints, unveiling features gradually. Constant reviews and demos ensured we were always moving in the right direction.
Bringing Business and Tech Together
Confronted with the intricate demands of pet insurance, we turned to domain-driven design (DDD) to bridge the gap between business and tech teams, creating a shared language everyone could rally around. This strategy allowed us to develop tiered product offerings like Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans—with tailored terms for each. When it comes to tricky integrations like a pricing engine and leading aggregators, we handled them through quick prototyping and iterative testing, refining our solutions with each cycle.
Tech That Scales
Tech-wise, we went with an API-first approach and a modular architecture so it’d be easy to plug into existing systems and grow later on. In addition, as for the challenges around payment handling, we ensured our solution was flexible enough to work smoothly with payment providers. The client was thrilled with how quickly and seamlessly everything came together, sharing great feedback about the quality of the integration.
Ensuring System Resilience
We used an event-driven setup to make the system more resilient. To keep reliability high, we focused on strong validation and automated testing. Thanks to proactive monitoring, we stayed on top of performance.
Keeping Stakeholders Engaged
We made stakeholder engagement a key focus, using regular feedback to fine-tune features and address concerns as they came up. This hands-on, collaborative approach led to a polished solution that paved the way for the client’s successful launch into the pet insurance market.
Optimising Data with Data Mesh
Thanks to implementing the Data Mesh approach, we streamlined complex, data-heavy processes like periodic data reconciliation, ensuring consistency across the entire insurance platform. Business stakeholders now have near real-time access to KPIs, MI reports, and data monitoring, making it easier to spot areas for improvement. This empowers both internal teams and stakeholders to optimise decision-making processes. Speaking of, check out our case study on the Data Mesh approach in insurance.
Effects
The MVP delivery went as planned—on time and with all core features in place. In fact, the system performed even better than expected, offering fast response times and outstanding uptime. And early customer feedback pointed to both the ease of use and flawless integration with key platforms.
The reporting tools provided teams with valuable insights, making it easier for them to adjust their approach and make decisions grounded in real-time data.
Stakeholders were pleased with the outcome, appreciating how the solution bridged today’s goals with tomorrow’s vision.
Simply put, we stayed flexible and focused on what really mattered. This meant we went above and beyond, delivering a solution that not only offered customers a smooth experience but could also grow alongside the client’s business. Our secret? Hardly rocket science. It’s simple: clear focus on planning, trying things out, and making sure they work. That’s our rule of thumb.
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