Collaboration with CGI achieves Admiral results for top insurer

When Admiral Group, one of the UK's leading direct motor insurance experts, decided to upgrade its IT system it turned to CGI (UK) Limited for essential advice on the project. What transpired was a true partnership and the IT roadmap for Admiral's future business success – minus the pain of a complete system overhaul.

In the UK the Admiral Group operates under five distinct brands with Admiral as its core business. These include: Bell (for drivers with low no claims), Diamond (for female drivers), Gladiator (for commercial vehicles) and elephant.co.uk (for online insurance policies). Admiral specialises in affordable car insurance across its range of brands, and is widely regarded as a market leader.

The Cardiff-based company was launched in 1993 by Henry Engelhardt. A period of extended organic growth followed with Admiral Group becoming the second, and now the only remaining, Welsh company listed on the FTSE 100. Admiral has something of a unique work culture among insurance providers and prides itself on the vibrant, relaxed and informal environment it has created for its 2,500 staff.

The problem
The same IT applications had been in place for almost 15 years, since Admiral first started, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the company was outgrowing the system. Changes in the insurance industry were putting greater demands on IT to provide greater product flexibility and operational agility. The popularity of insurance aggregators, for example, had meant a massive increase in the number of quotes the system had to handle on a day-to-day basis.

The pressure to introduce new products quickly to meet customer demands and maintain a competitive edge in a crowded market was also taking its toll.

The launch of MultiCar, a major new insurance product released under the Admiral brand, served to highlight some of the difficulties inherent in the outdated IT system. The product was an outstanding success - but what should have taken weeks to develop took the best part of six months.

It was against this backdrop that Admiral sought to increase operational agility. Speed to market in a dynamic, fast-changing sector such as insurance is critical to success and Admiral's concern was that its IT was holding it back and limiting its growth.

Should IT stay or should IT go?
CGI's role was to guide Admiral through the options available and develop an IT roadmap that would support the company's future growth.

David York, CGI Director of Consulting said, "With any ailing IT system there are typically three options available: defer a decision and struggle on with the system as it is; improve and extend the system currently in place or embark on an extensive replacement programme.

"Doing nothing just wasn't viable - Admiral knew its IT had to change - and the course of action we ultimately recommended was to build on what was already there. I think a lot of companies fear that upgrading their IT system means a complete overhaul, but this doesn't have to be the case."

Steve Webster, Admiral IT Director, added, "Enhancing our current system made sense on a number of levels. Crucially, it allowed for the increased capacity and efficiency that we needed, while leveraging the IT investment we had already made - not forgetting utilising our existing skills. It also meant we would be able to realise the benefits of our improved IT within a number of months - whereas the ROI of a complete system replacement would take years to realise."

The solution
Together CGI and Admiral set on a course of discovery. This involved an in-depth assessment of what the business demands were likely to be in the future and how these demands could best be met by technology.

Unlike the other IT services companies it consulted, Admiral felt that CGI truly listened to what it was looking for and responded with a tailored proposition. The result was an inclusive, instructive, flexible and very hands-on approach, where CGI mentored the Admiral IT department so that they would have the necessarily skills to take forward the agreed IT strategy themselves. This extended to helping Admiral prepare to present the agreed roadmap to the company board.

CGI's David York said, "Admiral didn't want us to just give them the answer; they were looking for a consultancy team that would do more than simply advise their top executives behind the scenes. At Admiral we brought the whole IT department with us from day one and gave them the opportunity to be part of the team.

He continued, "In this instance, CGI demonstrated its ability to act as a partner in change as well as a facilitator of change. The success of the project was in part due to our willingness to adapt our way of working to mirror Admiral's own working practices and culture. Admiral is not your typical insurance company at all!"

As well as coaching Admiral, CGI set out to educate them on the importance of IT as a business enabler, not just a support function. They sought to reposition the value brought by technology to the business, demonstrating that a good IT infrastructure can help a business grow and the key to that is to know, as best as one can, the future challenges the business might face.

The results
The proposals developed by CGI and Admiral have won the unanimous support of the board and Admiral is now proceeding with the next phase of the roadmap: understanding how best to implement the changes.

Commenting on the experience, Admiral's Steve Webster said, "CGI really proved their worth, not just in terms of the technical expertise they provided but also in terms of the knowledge they imparted to our staff. But most significant of all is the fact that CGI worked with us as a true partner on the project. Rather than delivering a ubiquitous solution they took the time to understand and embrace the Admiral culture and delivered a service that addressed our needs and will have long-term benefits for our business."