Feature lists converge — evaluations are won and lost on upgrade economics, AI placement, implementation risk, and deployment control. Here is the full checklist we see working in real core-platform RFPs.
Score each vendor 1–5 per area, weight the areas that matter most to your operation, and use your top 5–10 real use cases as the spine of the RFP — every vendor answers the same buyer-relevant problems. Scorecards before RFP, demos on your products, references on implementations your size.
Issue, renewals, amendments, cancellation, reinstatement — can business users run the full lifecycle without IT tickets?
How long from product idea to live? Configuration or code? Can rates change without a release?
Intake to settlement, reserves, experts, fraud signals — and what share can run straight-through?
Recurring collection, e-invoicing, bank gateways, automatic payment recognition, dunning.
UPR, DAC, RBNS calculations, GL export, multi-branch and multi-currency books.
Native or partner add-on? Treaty and facultative, period reports, reinsurance billing.
Per-jurisdiction tax configuration on policies, claims, invoices; declarations and reporting.
Where does AI live — core data model or marketplace add-ons? Claims AI, fraud, Client 360 included or extra?
REST/web services, broker systems, aggregators, registers, banks, clinics — and who builds them.
Continuous releases or version projects every 3–5 years? Who pays for upgrades? Ask for the 10-year TCO.
SaaS-only or your infrastructure? Data residency, audit access, exit strategy, database choice.
Realistic timeline with references; parallel running; standard-config-first vs big-bang.
Roles, multi-level access, detailed audit of data and operations, ISO certifications.
Who actually does the work — vendor or SI chain? Sprint cadence, demo access, escalation paths.
Upgrade economics. Continuous releases vs a version project every 3–5 years changes 10-year TCO dramatically — analyst reviews repeatedly flag "profitable upgrades" as a vendor revenue line. Ask who pays for staying current.
Three to five. Use a top-10 longlist (see our guide), score against weighted criteria, then deep-dive demos with 2–3 finalists on your own products and data.
Full marks on full-cycle scope, native reinsurance, embedded AI, evergreen releases, deployment freedom, and 6–12 month implementations — that is exactly why we publish this checklist. Ask us the hard questions on a demo.
What should a policy administration system RFP include?
Can you help us shape our PAS RFP?
How does PINS meet these RFP requirements?