Operations team spending significant time each week processing certificate requests, address changes, and payment queries that policyholders could handle themselves if there was an online channel?
Policyholders with no way to check their claim status without calling the insurer, so every open claim generates inbound call volume that adds nothing to the claim's resolution?
Policyholder Self-Service Portal Development
Most insurers manage policyholder enquiries through a call centre or a broker intermediary. That model works until the inbound volume of certificate requests, address changes, and mid-term queries becomes a material servicing cost that a self-service portal would eliminate.
We build policyholder portals that give commercial and personal lines customers direct access to their policies, documents, and claims without routing every routine enquiry through a handler or a broker.
Policy viewing and certificate download on demand without contacting the insurer or broker
Mid-term change requests submitted through the portal with automatic premium calculation and policy schedule update for changes within the automated appetite
Claims notification through the portal with status tracking visible to the policyholder throughout the claims lifecycle
Renewal management with renewal offers presented online, payment processed, and new policy schedule issued without a call centre interaction
RaftLabs builds custom policyholder self-service portals for insurance carriers and MGAs who want to give policyholders online access to their policy documents, certificate downloads, mid-term change requests, claims notification and tracking, renewal management, and payment self-service. Most policyholder portal projects deliver in 8 to 12 weeks at a fixed, agreed cost.
100+Software products shipped
·FixedCost delivery
·8-12Week delivery cycles
·24+Industries served
When self-service reduces servicing cost without reducing service quality
Policyholder portals are primarily a cost reduction tool, not a customer experience tool. The customer experience benefit is real -- policyholders prefer being able to download a certificate at 10pm without calling anyone -- but the business case is built on the reduction in inbound call and email volume for routine transactions. Certificate requests, address changes, payment queries, and claim status checks are the highest-volume, lowest-complexity transactions in most insurers' servicing operations. Each of these can be handled by the policyholder without staff involvement if the right information is accessible through a portal connected to the live policy and claims system.
We build policyholder portals for carriers with direct-written commercial and personal lines books, for MGAs who want to offer a digital servicing channel to their policyholders, and for insurers replacing a call-centre-heavy servicing model with a self-service first approach. The portal's scope is agreed during discovery based on which transaction types generate the highest inbound volume and which can be automated without underwriting risk -- typically certificate issuance, address changes, and payment management in phase one, with mid-term endorsements and claims self-notification in a subsequent phase.
What we build
Policy viewing and document access
Policy summary view showing the policyholder's current coverage, the policy period, the insurer and any additional insureds, and the key terms and conditions at a level of detail that answers the questions policyholders actually ask -- what am I covered for, what is my excess, and when does my policy expire. Policy document download giving policyholders access to their full policy wording, the policy schedule, the certificate of insurance, and any endorsements issued during the policy term, without requiring them to contact their broker or the insurer's servicing team. Document history showing every document issued for the policy from inception through to the current date -- the original policy schedule, each endorsement schedule, and renewal documents for previous policy periods -- accessible in a single view. Multiple policy management for commercial policyholders with more than one policy, showing all policies within the same portal login without requiring the policyholder to log into a separate account for each policy. Search and filter within the document library for policyholders with a large policy portfolio or a long history of endorsements, allowing them to find a specific document by type and date without scrolling through the full document list.
Certificate of insurance issuance
Certificate of insurance generation on demand from the in-force policy data, with the policyholder selecting the certificate holder's details and any specific additional insured requirements within the terms the policy permits. Certificate format configuration producing the certificate in the format required by the policyholder's contract -- an ACORD 25 for US commercial lines, a certificate in the insurer's house format for UK commercial lines, or a bespoke format required by a specific client or facility agreement. Additional insured and certificate holder management allowing the policyholder to store frequently requested certificate holders -- landlords, clients, lenders -- for reuse without re-entering the details on each occasion. Certificate delivery options emailing the certificate directly from the portal to the specified recipient, downloading a PDF for the policyholder to send themselves, or storing the certificate in the portal's document library. Certificate log recording every certificate issued, the recipient, the date, and the policy state at the time of issue, so the insurer has an auditable record of what was certified to whom and when.
Mid-term change requests
Change request form capturing the details of the mid-term change the policyholder wants to make -- an address change, an addition to the scheduled items, a change to the insured's risk profile, or an additional insured request -- in a structured format that gives the underwriting system the data it needs to assess and process the change. Automated change processing for changes within the defined appetite that don't require underwriter review, with the endorsement premium calculated, the policy schedule updated, and the new policy document issued to the policyholder within the portal session. Referral routing for changes outside the automated appetite -- changes that exceed an underwriting threshold, changes in risk categories that require individual assessment, or changes that have a material impact on the premium -- sent to the insurer's operations team as a task with the policyholder notified that their request is under review. Change status tracking giving the policyholder visibility of where their change request is in the process -- received, under review, approved, and processed -- with the estimated turnaround time shown for referred changes. Payment handling for changes generating an additional premium, presenting the policyholder with the payment request and processing the additional premium before the endorsement is applied to the policy.
Claims notification and tracking
Claims notification form capturing the incident details, the loss date, the estimated loss amount, and the contact details for the person dealing with the claim from the policyholder's side in a structured format that pre-populates the claim record in the insurer's claims system. Policy verification at the point of notification confirming that the policy is in force and the reported incident is within a covered category before the claim is registered, with a message to the policyholder if the coverage confirmation requires further investigation. Claim reference generation and handler assignment confirmation sent to the policyholder immediately after notification with the claim reference, the contact details for the assigned handler, and the next steps in the claims process. Claim status tracking showing the policyholder the current stage of their claim -- registered, under investigation, liability decision made, settlement agreed, payment in progress, closed -- with the last update date and the next expected update. Document upload for claims where the policyholder needs to submit supporting documentation -- photographs, repair estimates, receipts, or survey reports -- with each document linked to the claim record in the insurer's claims system.
Renewal management and payment
Renewal offer presentation showing the policyholder their renewal premium alongside the expiring premium with any coverage changes or rating adjustments highlighted, and the option to accept, query, or decline the renewal through the portal. Renewal questionnaire for products where the risk data needs to be confirmed at renewal, presented to the policyholder with pre-populated answers from the current policy for the policyholder to review and amend rather than completing from scratch. Online renewal payment processing the renewal premium by card or direct debit within the portal, with the renewed policy schedule issued immediately after payment without the policyholder having to contact anyone. Renewal reminder sequence sending automated reminders at the configured lead times before expiry -- the first reminder when the renewal offer is available, subsequent reminders as the expiry date approaches -- with each reminder including a direct link to the renewal in the portal. Lapse management for policyholders who don't renew by the expiry date, with the lapse recorded and a reinstatement offer available through the portal within the product's reinstatement window if the insurer's underwriting rules permit.
Payment management and account access
Payment method management allowing policyholders to update their card or direct debit details for premium payments without contacting the insurer's accounts team. Premium finance and instalment management for policyholders paying by instalments, showing the payment schedule, the next instalment date, and the outstanding balance, with the ability to make a manual payment against the balance or change the payment method between instalments. Payment history showing every premium transaction on the policy -- inception, endorsement adjustments, and renewals -- with the payment date, amount, method, and reference, downloadable for the policyholder's own records. Failed payment recovery for policyholders whose direct debit or card payment fails, presenting the policyholder with a payment request through the portal and giving them the option to update their payment method and retry without the policy lapsing immediately. Account management for the policyholder's login credentials, contact preferences, notification settings, and linked policies, with the policyholder able to add or remove authorised users for commercial policies where more than one person manages the insurance account.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Commercial lines policyholders often have a higher demand for self-service than personal lines because the transactions they need to perform -- certificate requests for multiple contracts, mid-term changes to scheduled items, claims involving multiple parties -- happen more frequently. The portal design for commercial lines typically includes multiple policy management, certificate holder management for recurring certificate requests, and account-level access controls allowing the policyholder's broker and internal insurance manager to both have access to the same account. The scope is agreed during discovery based on the insurer's policy portfolio and the transaction types that generate the highest servicing volume.
The portal reads policy data from your policy admin system in real time so the coverage, document, and payment information the policyholder sees reflects the current state of the policy rather than a snapshot from a data extract. Claims data is read from your claims system with the same real-time approach. For mid-term changes and claims notifications submitted through the portal, the data is written back to the policy and claims systems either through a direct API integration or through a workflow queue that your operations team processes. The integration approach is agreed during discovery based on what your systems support.
Yes. For commercial groups with policies across multiple legal entities, the portal supports a group account structure where an authorised user can see all entities' policies within a single login. Access controls within the group account can restrict individual users to the entities relevant to their role. For personal lines, multiple policies under the same policyholder are shown within the same account without requiring a separate login for each policy. The account structure is designed during discovery based on the insurer's book composition and the typical policyholder profile.
A portal covering policy viewing, document download, certificate issuance, and claims notification typically runs $25,000 to $50,000. Adding mid-term change processing, renewal management, and payment self-service brings the total to $50,000 to $90,000. Fixed cost agreed before development starts.
Talk to us about your policyholder portal project.
Tell us your lines of business, your servicing volume, and which transaction types generate the most inbound calls and emails. We'll scope a portal that removes that volume without removing the service.
