Legacy systems didn’t become a problem overnight. But today, they are one of the biggest brakes on growth in insurance. In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden is joined by Steve Abel, Partner at Oliver Wyman, to tackle one of the most difficult—and unavoidable—topics for incumbent insurers: legacy debt and system modernisation. Steve brings a calm, pragmatic lens shaped by decades of working inside complex insurance organisations. He starts by reminding us that legacy systems were once the right answer. A few decades ago, insurers ran on one or two core administration platforms that did almost everything. IT costs were lower, complexity was manageable, and long implementation cycles were simply accepted as the price of stability. Then the world changed. As insurance products diversified, regulations multiplied, and customer expectations accelerated, the technology landscape exploded. Systems proliferated. Customisations piled up. Spreadsheets became the glue holding processes together. And somewhere along the way, multi-year implementations became normalised—even though business speed kept increasing. Steve is refreshingly honest: many carriers made good technology bets in the past. Those systems delivered value. But success yesterday doesn’t guarantee fitness today. Modernisation programmes now fail at alarming rates—30–60% by most estimates—often because organisations underestimate complexity, over-customise, or pursue transformation without a clear business case. The key question Steve urges leaders to ask isn’t “Can we modernise?” It’s “Is this worth it for our business model?” If your business is relatively standardised, a modern core platform may work well with limited customisation. But if differentiation depends on constant tailoring—and you still end up relying on spreadsheets—then it’s time to rethink the approach. A major opportunity Steve highlights is the emergence of modular, cloud-based ecosystems. Instead of monolithic, all-in-one systems that take years to implement, insurers can now assemble capabilities—claims, pricing, finance, analytics—around shared data assets. In this model, data becomes an enterprise-wide resource, reusable across processes and calculations, rather than locked inside individual platforms. Speed is the new strategic constraint. Where insurers once paced decisions in decades, then years, they must now think in months. The ability to integrate, adapt, and evolve quickly—without destabilising the core—has become a defining competitive advantage. For incumbent insurers, this episode delivers: A grounded reality check on why so many modernisation programmes fail Guidance on when large-scale transformation does and does not make sense Insight into ecosystem-based architectures as an alternative to monolithic cores A framework for evaluating technology investments through a business-first lens For InsurTechs and technology partners, it offers a clearer understanding of: Why carriers move cautiously Where real opportunity exists in the modernisation journey 🎧 If you’re wrestling with legacy debt, planning a major system upgrade, or trying to modernise without losing momentum—this episode is essential listening. Because the goal isn’t to replace legacy for the sake of it. It’s to build speed, resilience, and relevance—without breaking the business.