Insurance operating models have changed substantially over the past decade, yet workplaces haven’t kept pace with new ways of working.
In the past, tools, access models and support processes were built for centralized teams, predictable workflows and clear functional boundaries. Today, work is more distributed, customer interactions are more frequent and complex, and regulatory expectations continue to increase. As a result, there’s a gap between how insurers operate and what their workplace environments can support.
This gap does not usually appear as a single breaking point. Instead, it shows up in day-to-day friction that slows work, increases risk and makes it harder for teams to operate consistently across functions and regions.
Operating realities shift faster than workplace design
For many insurers, traditional workplaces — designed around stable locations, predictable access patterns and clearly defined roles — are no longer the reality. Their teams are spread across locations and time zones, work moves between functions more often and their employees are expected to handle a wider range of tasks with fewer hand-offs.
At the same time, the volume and pace of customer interactions have increased. Claims teams manage more complex cases, service teams respond to digital inquiries more frequently and underwriters collaborate across markets to access specialist insight. These activities rely on fast access to systems, information and colleagues, often across organizational boundaries.
When the workplace is not designed to support this, employees spend time navigating limitations rather than focusing on outcomes. Access delays, inconsistent tools and fragmented workflows become part of their everyday reality.
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Hybrid work has exposed structural weaknesses
Hybrid work has made these misalignments more visible. Employees need reliable, secure access to systems and information regardless of where they are working. They also need consistent collaboration and support experiences, whether they are in an office, at home or moving between locations.
Legacy workplaces often struggle to deliver this consistency. Access models may vary by region, device standards may differ across teams, and support processes may not scale effectively in distributed environments. To compensate, employees and teams adopt workarounds that introduce inconsistency and risk.
Now that hybrid work has become a permanent feature of insurance operating models, workplaces designed for a simpler world are increasingly constraining performance.
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Misalignment affects more than productivity
When workplace design lags operating reality, the impact extends beyond efficiency:
Inconsistent access and fragmented tools make it harder to enforce governance and maintain compliance.
Support teams are drawn into resolving issues caused by design gaps rather than technical failures.
Knowledge becomes harder to share, which increases employees’ reliance on informal networks and individual expertise.
Over time, these conditions affect service quality and resilience. Delays in internal collaboration can slow claims handling and underwriting decisions, while inconsistent ways of working make it harder to scale shared services or apply standard controls across regions. In a regulated industry, these issues carry both operational and risk implications.
Modernization is about alignment, not novelty
Addressing these challenges does not require the constant adoption of new tools. The core issue is alignment between workplace design and how the business actually operates.
A workplace that is fit for today’s operating reality supports distributed work by default. It provides consistent access, clear support models across regions and predictable ways of working. Employees can move between roles, teams and locations without having to relearn how basic tasks are performed.
Importantly, as operating models continue to change, this kind of workplace must be able to evolve without repeated disruption or reinvention.
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A workplace that’s fit for purpose
For many insurers, the challenge is recognizing when their workplace has fallen out of step with operating reality. Because change happens gradually, misalignment is often accepted as normal. Their employees adapt, workarounds become embedded and inefficiencies are absorbed into daily routines.
Assessing workplace fitness requires stepping back and looking at how work actually flows across the organization. It means examining whether employees can access what they need quickly, collaborate effectively across boundaries and operate consistently regardless of location.
It also requires considering governance, security and support together rather than in isolation. A workplace that works well in one area but creates friction in another is unlikely to support sustainable performance.
Align your workplace with today’s operating needs
As insurers continue to modernize their core platforms, rearchitect applications and adjust operating models, the workplace increasingly determines whether those changes deliver their intended impact.
When your workplace supports how people work today, you can move faster, respond more effectively to change and operate with greater consistency. When it does not, progress elsewhere becomes harder to sustain. Let us help you make that assessment.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Read NTT DATA’s ebook, Shaping the future of work in insurance, to explore how insurers are assessing workplace readiness and creating a workplace foundation that supports the new operating reality.