Best Of

Author: Kyle Sakowski is a Certified Master Anaplanner and Director of Anaplan Center of Excellence at Everest.

In the realm of reinsurance and risk management, Everest Group LTD stands as a beacon of industry excellence. As the landscape evolves, Everest recognizes the imperative to not just adapt but actively seek new opportunities for optimization and growth. Enter Anaplan, a dynamic platform that offers Everest a versatile toolkit to identify and develop fresh use cases. In this blog post, we'll delve into Everest's strategies and best practices for uncovering novel use cases and maximizing Anaplan's capabilities.

Understanding the dynamics of new use cases at Everest

For Everest, new use cases are pivotal scenarios where Anaplan can bring unique value, addressing specific challenges or opportunities that might not have been immediately apparent. Whether streamlining complex risk assessment workflows, enhancing collaboration between underwriting and finance, or gaining deeper insights into emerging risk trends, new use cases are the key to unlocking Everest's full potential with Anaplan.

Strategies tailored for Everest

1. Engage with stakeholders in the reinsurance ecosystem.
   Foster open communication with key stakeholders across underwriting, finance, and risk management. Understanding their challenges and goals can unveil insights that translate into new use cases for Anaplan at Everest.
2. Regular training and updates for reinsurance teams.
   Keep teams at Everest informed about the latest features and functionalities of Anaplan. Regular training sessions can spark innovative thinking about how the platform can be applied to address specific challenges unique to the reinsurance industry.
3. Benchmark against industry peers in reinsurance.
   Explore how other reinsurance organizations are leveraging Anaplan. Benchmarking against industry best practices can inspire innovative applications tailored to Everest's specific business context.
4. Data-driven analysis for risk assessment.
   Leverage data analytics to identify areas of inefficiency or untapped potential in risk assessment. Anaplan's robust capabilities in data integration and analysis can help Everest pinpoint areas where improved planning and collaboration could yield significant benefits.
5. Cross-functional workshops for enhanced collaboration.
   Host workshops that bring together representatives from underwriting, finance, and risk management. Collaborative brainstorming sessions often lead to the identification of new use cases that span multiple functions at Everest.

Best practices for Everest’s use case development

1. Start small, scale gradually in reinsurance operations
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   Begin by piloting new use cases on a smaller scale within Everest. This allows for testing and refinement before full-scale implementation, minimizing potential risks associated with reinsurance operations.
2. Collaborative prototyping for underwriting and risk management.
   Engage underwriters and risk management professionals in the prototyping phase. Their insights are invaluable for refining the use case to better suit their needs and workflows at Everest.
3. Iterative approach to optimize processes.
   Embrace an iterative development process at Everest. Regularly gather feedback, make improvements, and iterate on the use case to ensure it remains aligned with evolving risk management requirements.
4. Training and change management tailored for reinsurance teams.
   Invest in comprehensive training programs and change management strategies. Smooth adoption of new use cases requires not just technological proficiency but also a cultural shift within the organization's reinsurance teams.
5. Measure and analyze performance metrics in risk assessment.
   Implement performance metrics specific to Everest’s risk assessment goals. Regularly analyze these metrics to ensure ongoing optimization and identify areas for further improvement in reinsurance operations.

Conclusion

As Everest Group LTD sets sail into new horizons, the company recognizes the power of Anaplan as a strategic partner. By identifying and developing new use cases tailored to the reinsurance industry, Everest is poised to unlock a world of possibilities for enhanced risk management, collaboration, and overall success. The journey towards innovation and efficiency begins with a curious mindset, industry expertise, and the right tools — and Everest, with Anaplan, is ready to navigate that journey with confidence and resilience in the ever-changing world of reinsurance.

A little bit late, but I will drop my 5 cents as well:

1.Workflows: This solution covers the most frequently asked for features that orbit around Approval flow, Comments, Feedback on the process and the Process flow itself
Really looking forward to introduce it to the users in the upcoming months.

2.Error checking on formula: Seems small but it saves so much time - especially in huge models where you can lock out other developers for longer periods of time.

3.Assets: Storing all your assets in one place which you can easily navigate? Sounds about right to me!

For me the top three items for 2023 have been…

1. Create your own colour palettes - no longer have to remember those codes
2. Error checking on formula - like @TimothyThomas mentions the amount of time being saved because of no longer getting the dreaded toaster time
3. And finally - being able to open UX pages in model. This has saved a lot of time with development and checking.