Benefits of a SaaS Solution for Insurance Statutory Reporting

Find out how much time and money your business can save with SaaS.

Before Software as a Service (SaaS), software applications were installed, managed and maintained onsite. The business that purchased the software was responsible for maintaining it when changes, updates, outages and errors occurred.

With SaaS, businesses no longer have to bear that burden. SaaS solutions are fully managed, and all maintenance, upgrades, integrations, optimization and troubleshooting are included. Additionally, your SaaS solution will provide precisely what your company needs to meet your specific insurance statutory reporting requirements.

Public/Shared ConfigurationSaaS applications can deliver service through a public/shared configuration. This provides all the benefits of customized software application plus all the benefits of SaaS. This means multiple users split the same hardware, software, aggregate development, management and deployment costs. Your business subscribes to the desired application and it delivers to the access point of your choice.

SecurityDoes your organization have stringent compliance controls when it comes to SaaS?

• Protect your organization by delivering SaaS applications as private/dedicated services.• Get all the same services available in the public/shared version, but installation of the software and the

servers that it runs on are solely dedicated to your business.• Add managed security and administrative services a la carte’ and receive a fully dedicated and

customized SaaS solution.

Reusable InterfacesReporting via SaaS enables you to create reusable interfaces from any data source quickly and easily thanks to a host of interfacing models, including:

• Reusable Excel workbook templates are pre-configured for cell referencing to your own personal worksheet data. This enables you to upload worksheet data directly into the correct location on any statement page or tax return simply by placing range names on selected data.

• Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) allows you to use Extensible Markup Language (XML) tags that upload your trial balance to your annual statement. XBRL also makes your information available to other systems that consume XBRL formatted data.

• Customized cross-check calculations, source-system reconciliation and transferring year-to-date numbers all help to streamline and simplify your quarterly and annual filings.

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• Automated task-scheduling expedites pre-scheduled data imports, exports, file monitoring and adjustment. This allows you to configure and apply the dedicated security attributes required to export data to a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server as part of your business continuity plan. Another option is to select an alternative to standard backup procedures which takes care of all of these needs in one.

• API connectors enable you to programmatically read and write data in the relational database, which instantly updates your annual and quarterly statement data. This would ensure complete data synchronization with source systems to improve accuracy and reduce reconciliation efforts.

Relational DatabasesSaaS databases are relational, dynamic and capable of finding connections that make data even more valuable. The tables are aware of other tables and communicate readily, making it possible for users to locate related material across multiple sources automatically.

Because relational databases use a Structured Query Language (SQL) that delivers prompts in plain English, users get the benefit of SQL-based development. Relational databases expand to meet growing needs. They offer enhanced privacy with as many levels of security as needed. This is especially valuable for companies handling sensitive information like financial numbers that have not been made public.

A Collaborative EnvironmentWith SaaS solutions, there is an integrated module for every reporting need. For example, you can prepare annual and quarterly statutory financial statements and state compliance forms faster and with fewer resources by connecting all users and reporting locations in one real-time, collaborative reporting environment. This environment will then enable you to:

• Log all user and statement activity to show who did what, where, and when. You can also see before and after values to help identify errors and reconcile data.

• Save pages as Excel workbooks with cell references that map to your data so it can be read back into the reporting system.

• Update dependent and precedent formula references automatically when statement pages, filing forms and tax returns open.

• Embed statements with perfectly formatted notes to financials, organizational charts and secured PDF files. This gives you back the time you spend editing and reviewing.

• Run multiple tasks, including validations, at once and in real time. You can also check for errors during this time and correct them early in the preparation cycle.

• Display National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Statements on screen to enhance accuracy and reduce reconciliation time.

• File in a single step. This includes pre-file audit reports, which enable you to produce cost-efficient, print-ready electronic files and ensure timely delivery of completed statements.

• Stay on top of changes with state filing dates and forms delivered right to your inbox.

State Financial Filing FormsWith a SaaS solution, you will easily complete state financial filing forms with immediate access to more than 3,900 state forms and compliance reports, including premium tax forms, all provided by the respective Departments of Insurance (DOIs). Forms even comprise all lines of business, including surplus lines, with values populating from data entry, formulas and linked cells, enabling you to trace origins within the statements. These forms can also be modeled after your organization, entering amounts at a department level and consolidating to the final state form. You can lock these forms so external-linked values don’t update and unexpected changes don’t occur. And you are able to store the finished forms in a completely locked state.

Premium and Municipal Tax ReturnsSaaS makes filing premium and municipal tax forms effortless because relational databases allow the pertinent data to flow to and from the annual statement state pages and other related pages. This updates and populates pages automatically. Additionally, you can:

• Save returns in Excel workbooks to edit later.• Display returns, along with the work papers that populate them, in a PDF allowing you to adjust with new

data.• Override data elements and add cell comments to any field.

Back-end Export IntegrationSaaS enables you to export data in the same file formats you used during the import process. This allows you to create templates for reconciliation, custom reporting purposes and repurpose those templates for other applications or services.

Substantial time and effort are dedicated to ensuring the data in your financial statements matches the data in your general ledger. However, with SaaS, you can simply load your original general ledger data into Microsoft Excel, then export the data from the annual statement into the same worksheet for a quick and accurate comparison. The same is true for Schedule P when you are trying to validate your premiums and losses back with your source data. This way, auditors can easily tie your annual statement data back to the general ledger.

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Integration for Management ReportingIntegration for management reporting is extremely complex. SaaS can help to simplify this process. With a SaaS solution you get:

• Rating agency models that provide financial data to CFOs.• Board reports that provide key financial statistics, with specific driving variances in operating performance.• Projection models that provide a comprehensive analytical review of the statutory financial statements so

potential errors can be corrected.

Building ReportsWith SaaS, you are able to load annual statement information from the NAIC data file and produce multiple Microsoft Excel reports on demand, including:

• Fluctuation reports that analyze balance sheet and income changes for the entire period of the examination.

• Maps that track all trial balance accounts in a general ledger to each applicable line item on pages two through four of an annual statement.

• Risk-based capital reports to complete analysis.• Key functional activity reports that supply asset, liability and income statement data directly from the

annual statement.• Planning memorandum reports that tie each key functional activity to the associated fluctuation analysis

result.• Reports that assist examiners with substantive testing for premiums, investments, reinsurance, claims,

reserves, other assets and liabilities, related parties and surplus key activities.

Summary of BenefitsFor many businesses, the number one benefit of moving insurance statutory reporting from on-premise to SaaS is that it eliminates the need for IT involvement and costly infrastructure. Not only is there no hardware to worry about, but with one-touch software deployment there is no patching, upgrading, troubleshooting or technical maintenance of any kind. However, SaaS also:

• Ensures disaster recovery and business continuity.• Improves data accuracy and minimizes errors.• Maximizes productivity reporting efficiency.• Reduces IT, infrastructure and operational expenses.• Provides greater control of your business processes.• Delivers immediate ROI.

Learn more about the Sovos insurance statutory reporting SaaS solution.

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About SovosSovos is a leading global provider of software that safeguards businesses from the burden and risk of modern transactional taxes. As VAT and sales and use tax go digital, businesses face increased risks, costs and complexity. The Sovos Intelligent Compliance Cloud is the first complete solution for modern tax, giving businesses a global solution for tax determination, e-invoicing compliance and tax reporting. Sovos supports more than 7,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, and integrates with a wide variety of business applications. The company has offices throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Sovos is owned by London-based Hg.

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