Why Insurance Companies Should Embrace Shift-Left Testing

“Patience is a virtue.” 

“One minute of patience. 10 years of peace.” 

“Anything worth having is worth waiting for.”

That all sounds well and good. But for this topic, forget patience. Forget waiting. They’re not virtues.

The early adopter–- and tester–– gets the rewards.

A study by Ovum, now part of Omdia, found that only 27% of insurers believed their policy administration system implementations were successful. In the insurance industry, software isn't just a tool—it’s the foundation for managing policies, securing sensitive data and delivering elevated customer experiences. But traditional testing methods often wait until the later stages of development to catch errors, making fixes costly and delaying deployment. How costly? According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fixing defects during the production phase can cost up to 30 times more than fixing them during the development phase.  

Enter shift-left testing—a proactive, “catch-it-early” approach that moves testing earlier in the software development life cycle to help prevent bugs and glitches that can be extremely costly.  When insurers adopt shift-left testing, they’re better able to directly implement software faster in the short term and indirectly reduce costs and enhance customer satisfaction in the long term. In a highly competitive market where every efficiency counts, this added edge is crucial. 

What Is Shift-Left Testing?

Instead of waiting until a product is nearly finished to uncover defects, teams bake quality control into every stage of development. 

Think of it like a car assembly line. Would you wait until the car is fully assembled to check for issues? Shift-left testing ensures quality at each step, catching issues before they compound into bigger problems. 

For insurance companies, where digital transformation is key, shift-left testing helps ensure that software is secure, compliant and functional before it reaches customers. It minimizes the risks associated with large-scale implementations and accelerates time to market. And it instills a “catch-it-early” mindset that can go beyond software testing. 

Why Shift Left? The Business Case for Insurers 

A P&C insurance company decided to replace its legacy claims system with a modern platform. During the data migration process, teams found multiple data inconsistencies and errors, which adversely impacted claims processing and customer service. Not only that, the integration with the existing systems of provider networks and billing platforms led to technical challenges, which further tarnished the implementation's success and value.  

Insurance software is complex and is used to support policy management, claims processing and regulatory compliance. Just about every step in the policyholder’s online process is in some way affected and driven by software systems. A single glitch can disrupt operations, delay service and erode customer trust. With shift-left testing, insurers can: 

• Accelerate deployment: Catching and fixing defects earlier leads to faster software rollouts, keeping up with evolving customer needs.

• Cut costs: Bugs found late in development are exponentially more expensive to fix. Addressing issues early reduces costly rework and downtime. 

• Enhance security and compliance: The insurance industry faces strict regulatory requirements. Proactively testing for vulnerabilities ensures compliance and protects sensitive customer data. 

• Improve customer experience: Customers expect seamless, hassle-free digital interactions. Early testing prevents frustrating glitches and disruptions. 

• Boost your competitive advantage: In a sector where efficiency and reliability are everything, being able to launch products faster and with fewer issues is an enviable edge. 

Implementing Shift-Left Testing in Insurance 

Transitioning to shift-left testing isn’t just about testing earlier—it’s about fostering a culture of quality throughout development. It may be easier said than done, but these steps can help ensure that you’ll get implementation right:  

1. Automate testing: Utilize automated tools to continuously test functionality, security and performance. 
2. Build cross-team collaboration and open communication: A McKinsey survey says that only 20% of senior leaders believe their teams have been kept fully in the loop. Developers, testers, product owners and other applicable stakeholders should work together from day one to identify risks early, with the autonomy to speak up. 
3. Adopt continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD): This ensures that every software update undergoes rigorous, real-time testing. 
4. Implement test-driven development (TDD): Write tests before code to help teams verify functionality upfront, preventing major defects later. 

Best Practices for Shift-Left Testing 

In addition to a smart implementation strategy, consider doing the following to maximize the impact of shift-left testing: 

• Involve QA early: Engage quality assurance teams from the beginning to maintain high standards throughout the development process. 

• Automate key tests: Implement automation for unit, API and integration testing to detect defects early. 

• Leverage AI for smarter testing: In addition to the many ways AI is revolutionizing the insurance industry, AI-driven testing can optimize execution, identify patterns and predict defects before they occur. 

• Integrate security from the start: Security testing should be part of early development, not an afterthought. 

• Prioritize risk-based testing: Focus testing efforts on high-risk areas to ensure critical features function flawlessly. 

A Nice Side Effect: A More Unified Team 

Beyond cost and efficiency gains, shift-left testing encourages collaboration between development, testing, and operations teams. By breaking down silos and promoting shared accountability, insurers’ IT departments can drive better project outcomes and build a culture of continuous improvement.

A commitment to outcomes isn’t just reserved for policyholders.

It’s for teams as well.  

The Bottom Line 

Shift-left testing isn’t just a best practice—it’s a necessity for insurance companies striving for efficiency, security and customer satisfaction. Insurance companies that fail to utilize shift-left testing risk higher costs, security vulnerabilities and slower time to market. And isn’t it a core goal of insurance to minimize risk? 

The time to act is now—make a plan and start integrating shift-left testing into your software development lifecycle today.

Having the right insurance IT services partner, experienced in quality assistance such as INFORCE is crucial not only in developing a strategy for shift-left testing, but in delivering counsel that ensures the system works best for your needs. As insurance software continues evolving, shift-left testing will become an industry standard. Companies that embrace it early will lead the way in innovation and security.

Start early. Start now. It’s time to shift left and move forward. Talk to our team today!