Guide · legacy core modernization

Replacing a legacy core in 6–12 months, not 2 years

Core replacement is the highest-stakes project an insurer runs. The method that de-risks it: go live on standard configuration first, customize on a working system, migrate with validation, and keep the old core running in parallel until the numbers reconcile.

Why replacements stall

Typical core programs run 12–24 months because they start with customization and end with migration. Inverting the order — standard configuration first, parallel running throughout — is how we deliver transitions in 6–12 months, with the old system as a safety net until the new one proves itself.

The method

Legacy core to live system, step by step

01

Standard configuration

Go live on proven modules aligned to your processes — days to weeks, not quarters.

02

Customization & development

Specific modifications and features layered on the working standard, in 2-week sprints with demos.

03

Data migration

Validated, audited, reconciled — see our migration guide for the discipline.

04

Parallel operation

Old and new run side by side across full business cycles until results match.

05

Cutover & evergreen

Controlled switch — and from day one you are on continuous releases, never facing an upgrade project again.

Proof

This is how Baltic market leaders did it

BTA (VIG)

Implementation in Latvia in 2010, extended to Estonia and Lithuania — delivered as BTA grew into a Baltic market leader.

Compensa Life (VIG)

Started in Latvia, expanded across the Baltics — became a leading health insurer in its market on this platform.

Common questions

FAQ

Why do typical programs take 12–24 months?

They customize before going live, so nothing works until everything works. Standard-configuration-first inverts that: a working system in weeks, then targeted customization in sprints — risk drops at every step instead of accumulating.

What if our products are too complex for standard configuration?

Complex products are configuration on PINS — objects, risks, attributes, rules, Groovy scripting. The Baltic implementations included full health portfolios with clinic pricelists and automated settlement, configured rather than coded.

What happens after go-live?

Evergreen: continuous releases, included in maintenance. The 3–5-year version-upgrade project that plagues this industry does not exist on PINS.

Related

Where to go next

Stuck on a legacy core?

A scoped modernization assessment: realistic timeline, migration risks, and a transition plan for your portfolio.