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Reinsurance broker software: what it should cover before you choose one
Choosing software for a reinsurance broker is nothing like choosing a direct insurance system. Reinsurance has its own logic: a deal starts with a commitment, is placed, settled, collected, paid to the reinsurers and, if there is a claim, a new cycle opens that can last months. A system that does not follow that path forces the team to finish the job in spreadsheets. This guide walks through, in the order the operation actually runs, what is worth checking before you decide, wherever the software comes from.
01Commitments
What to ask: Does the system record commitments and follow them up before they become business?
How Smart-RE handles it: It includes a commitments module, already in production.
02Business: proportional, non-proportional and facultative
What to ask: Can contracts be recorded with their addenda, terms and type? Does facultative have its own cycle? In general, a facultative placement goes through these stages: receipt of the cedent's request, quotation, placement with reinsurers, confirmation of cover, issuance and follow-up.
How Smart-RE handles it: It handles all three types of business in a single module, with their addenda, terms and type.
03Settlement, collections and reinsurer payments
What to ask: Can the deal be settled inside the system, checking its conditions and that the figures add up? Are payment terms, such as instalments, handled? Are collections from cedents and payments to reinsurers linked to the deal? Does it work in several currencies?
How Smart-RE handles it: For contracts and facultative business alike, the step after recording the deal is to settle it: conditions are verified, figures are checked and payment terms are set, including instalments. Collections from cedents and payments to reinsurers follow, with bulk account upload and multi-currency handling.
04Claims
What to ask: Can a claim be opened and followed with its reserve, activities and status? Does it also cover recoveries from reinsurers and payments to cedents?
How Smart-RE handles it: It supports the whole claim: opening, follow-up, collections from reinsurers and payments to cedents.
05Invoicing
What to ask: Is invoicing recorded in the same system where the business is managed, or is the information duplicated?
How Smart-RE handles it: It records the date and number of each invoice and provides control reports, so the accounting team can post them in its own system. Where an integration with the accounting system exists, that step is automated (see point 9).
06Reporting and operational visibility
What to ask: Can I see how much has been placed, by line, cedent and month, without asking anyone to prepare a file?
How Smart-RE handles it: It provides a reporting module and an executive dashboard showing closed and unclosed deals.
07Budgets
What to ask: Does it let you track commercial progress against budget?
How Smart-RE handles it: It manages control and commercial budgets, with month-by-month follow-up.
08Document management
What to ask: Where do each deal's documents live, and how easy are they to find?
How Smart-RE handles it: Document management runs on SharePoint / Microsoft 365, the environment many organizations already use.
09Integration and accounting
What to ask: Does it include its own accounting module? Does it connect to the accounting system and the other tools the broker already uses?
How Smart-RE handles it: It has no accounting module of its own. It integrates through API with the broker's accounting systems, on the broker's request, and stays open to connecting with other tools according to what each organization needs. These integrations are defined with each broker as additional services.
10Adoption and security
What to ask: How long does implementation take? Where is the data hosted? What documentation can my IT team review?
How Smart-RE handles it: A standard implementation takes approximately one month, depending on scope and data quality. It is offered as a cloud service, with periodic backups. Technical documentation is provided under confidentiality.
The questions in this guide are general evaluation criteria. The answers describe only what Smart-RE does today.