Underwriting Controls vs Operational Efficiency
Conduct evidence-based control reviews to retire redundant checks while ensuring remaining controls satisfy Solvency II system-of-governance requirements.
CyberTRIZ analysis · Insurance contradiction UW019 · one of 8,235 worked contradictions published by CyberTRIZ.AI
Regulations
Business Context
Underwriting controls protect authority, risk appetite, pricing integrity, compliance, and portfolio quality. Over time, however, insurers can accumulate approvals, validations, checklists, and reviews that apply equally to low-risk and high-risk transactions. Removing controls indiscriminately can increase risk, while retaining every historical control creates processing cost and delay.
Insurance TRIZ Resolution
Controls can be embedded and differentiated according to the risk they address. Automated validations can replace manual checks where rules are deterministic, while stronger review remains concentrated on transactions with material financial, regulatory, or portfolio consequences. Controls that no longer influence outcomes can be removed after evidence-based review.
Applicable TRIZ Principles
Principle 2 – Taking Out removes controls that no longer provide material risk reduction.
Principle 10 – Prior Action embeds preventive validations before transactions reach manual review.
Principle 25 – Self-Service allows systems to perform routine control activities automatically.
Expected Outcome
Stronger risk-focused control
Lower underwriting processing cost
Reduced cycle time
Fewer unnecessary approvals
Decision Indicators
Early indicators that this contradiction is limiting underwriting efficiency include:
Controls rarely change underwriting outcomes.
Multiple employees verify the same information.
Low-risk transactions require extensive manual approval.
Underwriting cycle time increases as controls accumulate.
Employees create workarounds to bypass cumbersome procedures.
Monitoring these indicators helps insurers preserve necessary control while removing activities that no longer provide meaningful protection.