Need a Plan That Comes Together? Build Your Insurtech A‑Team

By Michael Schwabrow, EVP of Sales & Marketing, Cloverleaf Analytics

In the last episode, we retired the duct tape. MacGyvering your way through digital transformation might save a scene on TV, but in insurance it just sets up the next crisis. What works is what worked on another ’80s classic: a plan—and an A‑Team built to carry it out.

The A‑Team didn’t win because they had the flashiest gadgets. They won because each specialist knew their role, and the whole unit moved as one. That’s the model for a modern insurance stack: four roles, zero improvisation.

Missed the prequel? Read Don’t MacGyver Your Way to Insurance Digital Transformation.

Here’s the truth: many carriers are still stuck in the past. According to Earnix, 74% of insurers continue to run outdated legacy technology across pricing, underwriting, rating, claims, and other core functions — source.

To move forward, you don’t need another gadget—you need a unit. The examples below are illustrative, not endorsements. The point isn’t the logo; it’s the fit—and the insurtech interoperability that ties it all together.

Hannibal — your Cloud/Core system (the strategist)

Hannibal never rushed the mission; he orchestrated it. In insurance, that means a cloud‑delivered core that runs policy, billing, and claims with API‑first plumbing and room to scale. The goal isn’t a prettier front end over creaky workflows—it’s an operational backbone that’s calm under pressure and ready for change.

If you want the command‑tent experience, look to P&C purpose‑built platforms like Guidewire InsuranceSuite, Guidewire InsuranceNow, or Socotra—systems of record the rest of the stack can trust.

Face — your Insurance Analytics layer (the closer)

Face is the one you put in front of the room. Insurance analytics should do the same—turning raw data into stories leaders understand and act on. That’s where Cloverleaf Analytics fits: an insurance‑native analytics platform that stitches into your ecosystem, surfaces real‑time operational insight, and gives teams dashboards they actually use. The job isn’t just to inform—it’s to persuade the organization to move. Done right, analytics becomes the communication layer for insurtech interoperability, underwriting analytics, next‑level fraud prevention, and elevated executive decision‑making.

B.A. Baracus — your Security posture (the enforcer)

B.A. didn’t do subtle; he did certainty. Security should be the same: built‑in, not bolted‑on. In practice, that means strong identity verification, fraud controls, and investigation tooling integrated with claims and underwriting flows—so protection scales with the business. Many carriers pair their stack with providers like LexisNexis Risk Solutions (identity & fraud), SAS (fraud and financial‑crimes analytics), and FRISS (real‑time claims and underwriting fraud detection).

Murdock — your AI capability (the brilliant wildcard)

Murdock could fly anything—but he needed a flight plan. Treat AI the same way: give it clear problems, guardrails, and handoffs. In P&C, that often means document understanding, intake triage, repairability prediction, and photo‑based estimating—the building blocks of claims automation. Leaders you’ll see in production include Shift Technology (AI decisions across fraud, subrogation, intake), Tractable (visual AI for auto/property assessment), and CCC Intelligent Solutions (AI‑assisted estimating and broader claims orchestration). Let Murdock fly—Hannibal still calls the shots, with help from Face and B.A.

Here’s an illustrative example of the value of the Insurtech A-Team:

A summer hailstorm hits a Midwestern city. In two days, six times more people than usual report damage.

Hannibal (Cloud/Core) acts like the coordinator. New claims go to the right place right away. The team turns on its bad-weather playbook, and information flows cleanly to repair shops and partners without the system melting down.

Face (Analytics) gives everyone a live picture of what’s happening—how many claims are coming in, which ones look simple versus complex, which repair shops have room, and where delays might pop up.

B.A. (Security) quietly checks that people are who they say they are and blocks known scam patterns. Anything that looks fishy goes to the fraud team, but honest customers keep moving without extra hoops.

Murdock (AI) reads photos and documents, suggests “repair” or “replace,” and lets the truly simple, clearly covered claims get paid automatically.

Illustrative results:

• Faster automatic payouts on simple claims
• The average time to settle drops significantly
• Fewer good customers get flagged by mistake during the surge
• Customer satisfaction holds steady even with the sudden spike in volume

Why this team approach works

• Coordination — core, analytics, security, and AI move as one, so change in one area doesn’t topple the rest
• Speed — clear data lineage, fewer handoffs, more straight‑through outcomes
• Resilience — incidents get contained; missions keep running
• Credibility — the business sees a coherent story built by true experts instead of technical spaghetti cooked up by internal MacGyvers. The coherence then translates to world‑class customer experiences that wow existing and new insurance customers.

The real cost of playing hero instead of trusting the experts

Every day spent fighting integrations is a day competitors process claims faster, onboard customers smoother, and make better data‑driven calls. Manual workarounds add days to settlement. Fragmented data forces underwriters to decide with an incomplete picture. Meanwhile, leaders start questioning technology investments because recent “solutions” created more problems than they solved.

Every month you delay building a cohesive technology strategy, your technical debt deepens and your competitive position weakens. Winners aren’t the ones with the most tools—they’re the ones whose tools actually work together.

Ready for fewer heroics and more wins?

When the team is built for insurtech interoperability, the plan doesn’t just work—it comes together.