Mediation services : Mediators between systems

In the following article, we'll look at an architectural idea that fits wonderfully in the in|sure Ecosphere and supports the greater use of automated processing. Today's advanced system architectures are built in a distributed manner and with the use of microservices. The goal is to decouple systems from one another in order to stabilize processes. This also changes the way information is passed between components in the system landscape. Instead of forcing coordination between interfaces, more and more applications tend to provide information in its own inherent form so as not to become dependent on other components.

Implicit or explicit filtering

One way to achieve this is via the publish-subscribe pattern ("pub/sub" for short). With pub/sub, information on marked "topics" (i.e., themes or subject areas) is made available to a channel which can be subscribed. Since other components do not need all the information in the channel, the topics can be filtered. This is done either implicitly ("content-based") or explicitly ("topic-based").

One example of implicit filtering involves social media channels, where the software sets and prioritizes topics based on the behavior of users. An example of explicit filtering involves message channels, where you can specify preferences such as "insurance" and "IT" and then receive messages on these topics. Any chat system can also be implemented via pub/sub.

What does this look like with in|sure software? How do our systems handle such an architecture? This technology can be effective for managing insurance policies.

Relevant topics in the context of insurance

A practical insurance-related example involves the use of payment and partner system information:

Among other things, the payment system provides information on the following topics:

• Incoming payments
• Collection proceedings
• Chargebacks

And among other things, the partner system provides information on the following topics:

• Change of date of birth
• Change of gender
• Change of title
• Change of address

In addition, the insurer can set up the system (that manages the links between policies and sales partners) to provide information on new or modified links.

All these topics are relevant for the management of policies. Which processes should be triggered by the above-mentioned events? It depends on the topic. Let's have another look at the examples above:

• If payments are received for a policy that has been cancelled by the insurance company, this cancellation can be reversed. A noncontributory policy may be reinstated into a premium policy. Moreover, all process-related information should be sent to a workflow system.
• In the event of ongoing collection proceedings (and depending on the stage of the proceedings), the policy can be terminated, the premium can be suspended, or the sales department alone can be informed in order to prevent cancellations. Here, too, the workflow system should receive the information.
• A direct-debit policy may be subject to a collection type adjustment in the event of a chargeback.
• A change of address may be relevant to the sales department and generate a notification to the agent linked to the policy, or result in a new link to the agent assigned to the new zip code.
• A change in the agent linked to the policy can be used to update the commission system.

Automated processes

The best way for insurers to reduce costs in the long term is to increase their use of automated processes. These processes take place in systems without any human intervention whatsoever. If a system subscribes to the aforementioned topics, then it can initiate the relevant processes within the framework of existing rules. Such a system allows these processes to run automatically, and thereby serves as a mediator. The components of the in|sure ecosphere work with automated processing services to help insurance companies save costs and automate processes so they can focus on other pressing issues. In order for these services to be used, you need business process triggers as well as software that recognizes and responds to such triggers.

Domain separation

With the mediator or the mediation service, systems do not need to provide special adapters that participate in pub/sub procedures. If they did, then knowledge foreign to the domain would be implemented in the software components, making them heavier. With the help of a mediation service, the domain separation remains intact. In addition, several systems can be queried for a relevant topic automatically, instead of storing the necessary business logic in all these systems.

Conclusion

in|sure software allows for automated processing to keep pressure from rising costs in the insurance market to a minimum. The use of distributed systems and microservices is helpful for reducing operational costs. Pub/sub allows for precise domain separation and the increased use of automated processes.

adesso insurance solutions can help its customers to program such a mediation service. Since pub/sub is used by various insurers, we can take advantage of this knowledge to help our customers develop customized solutions. In the long run, a standard system that serves as a mediation service providing for lightweight automated processes can prove beneficial to your business.