Insurance has changed. So have your customers. Today’s policyholders don’t just want digital self-service—they demand it. They expect to pay premiums in no more than two clicks, review their policies while sipping coffee, and open a claim using natural language, not from filling out a form. And if your organization can’t deliver that seamless, on-demand experience? They’ll find one that will.

According to JD Power’s 2025 Insurance Digital Experience Study, 74% of policyholders now prefer handling routine insurance transactions online or via mobile apps.

But as carriers and MGAs push to modernize, a key question emerges: Should you build your own self-service portal or leverage a proven solution?

The answer isn’t always “either/or.” The smartest insurers are blending the control of custom solutions with the speed of pre-built platforms to deliver seamless policyholder experiences.

Why Some Insurers Build Their Own Self-Service Portals

Building in-house gives carriers complete control over design, branding, and workflow customization, allowing them to align every feature with their processes.

The Challenges:

• Long development cycles (often over a year)
• Internal resource availability crunch and other priorities
• High upfront and ongoing IT investment
• Maintenance burden for updates, compliance, and security
• Risk of low adoption if not optimized for user needs

A Novarica 2025 report found that insurers building portals in-house spend an average of 15–20% more on implementation and maintenance compared to configurable platform alternatives.

Why Others Choose Ready-Made Self-Service Platforms

Pre-built solutions allow insurers to deploy quickly, reduce IT burden, and begin serving policyholders digitally in weeks, not months.

The Benefits:

• Fast implementation with lower total cost of ownership
• Vendor-managed security and compliance updates
• Mobile-ready and user-friendly design out of the box
• Automatic updates to keep the systems running all the time
• Ability to add new features and drive greater adoption with immediate capacity
• No risk of losing resources, re-hiring and transition

The Trade-Offs:

• Limited flexibility to tailor workflows fully
• Generic design may not reflect your brand
• Potential challenges integrating with legacy systems

McKinsey’s 2025 Digital Insurance Report notes that insurers using pre-built self-service platforms can reduce call center volumes by up to 40% within the first year of deployment.

The Balanced Path: A Flexible Self-Service Strategy

Rather than choosing between control and speed, leading insurers are leveraging flexible, configurable platforms that deliver fast time-to-value while aligning with their workflows and brand identity.

Xemplar Engage offers a best-of-both-worlds approach, empowering carriers and MGAs to launch digital policyholder engagement quickly while customizing features as needed.

With Xemplar Engage, you get:

• Branded mobile apps or web portals or AI Chatbots tailored to your look and feel
• No need to do it all at once. Start with one channel and add the others to drive up adoption
• Configurable modules for payments, policy changes, claims, and more
• Seamless integration with your policy admin and payment processors
• Deployment in 6–10 weeks with ongoing support
• Analytics to track adoption and engagement

Deloitte’s 2025 Insurance Outlook reports that insurers implementing modular self-service platforms have seen a 25% improvement in customer satisfaction within the first six months.

Key Questions to Guide Your Self-Service Strategy

Before moving forward, consider:

• Is 24/7 self-service functionality critical for your business?
• What specific inquiries and transactions can be offered as self-service?
• How quickly do you need to launch to deliver customer value?
• Do you have the IT resources for in-house development and maintenance?
• How will you measure adoption and success?
• What channels should these self-services be available in?

Gartner’s 2025 insurance technology survey found that 68% of policyholders cite mobile-friendly experiences as a deciding factor in retaining or switching carriers.

Transform Policyholder Engagement, One Touch-point at a Time

Today’s policyholders expect easy, secure, and on-demand access to their insurance information. Meeting these expectations requires a smart, flexible approach to self-service.

With Xemplar Engage, we help carriers and MGAs modernize customer experience while reducing operational friction, allowing policyholders to manage policies, make payments, and file claims anytime, anywhere.

Is your self-service strategy meeting modern expectations – or still stuck on hold?

Talk to us today to see how Xemplar Engage can accelerate your digital transformation without the complexity of building from scratch.