Over one-third (37%) of firms in the insurance sector are unhappy with their financial planning tools, according to research from Accountagility, a leading solutions provider for the finance function.

The research also revealed that over half (57%) of insurance companies thought their planning tool did not have enough features to cope with the volume of data sets produced by the business, including internal functions like expense allocation, with four in five (80%) firms listing this as their biggest challenge.

The results show that firms need a planning tool that can accommodate multiple functions and different sets of data. With changing regulations, and businesses processing ever-increasing volumes of data, it is crucial that insurance firms have planning tools that are agile and can cope with more than one task. However, more than half (51%) of the firms surveyed felt that their current planning tool is inflexible.

To thrive in this competitive market, insurers are being urged to choose a planning tool that is flexible enough to process many different sets of data in one place. Having this functionality will not only ensure that the finance team’s planning and reporting reflect real time accounts and forecasts, but will also unlock accurate business insights that can help to drive performance more effectively.

Robert Gothan, CEO and Founder of Accountagility, comments: 

“The insurance sector is no stranger to the need to process and plan for large quantities of data. With the sector constantly affected by changes in regulation, it is vital that firms are using planning tools that can help them adapt to new policies, including any changes to Solvency II following the government’s inquiry. With a third of firms in this sector unhappy with their current planning tools, many companies will be feeling the need to consider their options and look for more innovative and automated options.

When it comes to planning, there are a large number of businesses still relying on spreadsheets, which are only really suitable for a singular purpose, since they cannot handle multiple users or large amounts of information. We are seeing firms wanting to move beyond the status quo and embrace the latest technology in this area, in order to stay one step ahead of the competition”.