Custom PARP file development for product approval
Every insurance product has to go through an approval process before it goes to market, and then be reviewed again periodically. That process is called PARP, and at many insurers and managing agents the file behind it is scattered across folders, emails and a spreadsheet. Appfront builds software that keeps the PARP file for each product in one place: target market, product test, distribution strategy, the review cycle and signals from distributors, with every decision recorded by name and date.
What is software for the PARP file of insurance products?
A PARP file is the file that shows how an insurance product was developed, who it is intended for, how it was tested and how it is monitored afterwards. The rules come from Article 32 of the Bgfo (the Dutch Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings) and, for those covered by the IDD, from the standards for product oversight and governance. For each product, the file should contain a target market, a description of what the product does for that target market, a scenario test, a distribution strategy and an agreement on when the product will be reviewed again. The software records this per product and keeps track of who decided what and when.
Without a system like this, the file sits in a folder on the network drive, an email thread with the actuary and a spreadsheet that tracks which products are due this year. That works until the regulator asks for the file on a single product, or until a review date slips by because the colleague who kept the list has changed roles. For a managing agent with dozens of products from different insurers, each with its own agreement on who the developer is, that quickly gets out of hand.
We build custom software because the process is set up differently in every organisation. Who sits on the product committee, which steps a new product goes through, which scenarios are tested as standard, how responsibilities are split between insurer and managing agent, and which signals from distributors you want to collect all vary. The software follows your process and your documents, and you stay in control of what goes into the file.
One record
Per product, complete.
Reviews on time
Reminders and planning.
Demonstrable
Decisions by name and date.
How we build your software for the PARP file of insurance products
We start with your current process: which steps a product goes through, who decides on it, which documents currently exist per product and how reviews are scheduled. Then we build a first version with the file per product and the approval steps, because that is what most of the supervisor's questions focus on. Your product team works with it for a while. Review scheduling, signals from distributors and integrations with your policy administration follow if that goes well. After that, we keep the software up to date as rules or your organisation change.
Steps, roles, documents.
The first version.
Scheduling and feedback.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What software for the PARP file for insurance products actually does
The components below appear in almost every PARP system. Which ones you need depends on your product portfolio and how you work with insurers and distributors.
Target market
For whom, and for whom not.
Product test
Scenarios and outcomes.
Approval
Steps with roles and decision.
Distribution
Strategy and agreements.
Review cycle
Scheduling and reminders.
Alerts
Feedback that feeds the review.
Who we build software for the PARP file for insurance products for
The software is intended for organisations that develop or manage multiple insurance products and want to be able to show the file per product immediately when the supervisor asks.
Insurers
Own products, own cycle.
Underwriting authorities
Products from multiple insurers.
Service providers
File for affiliated offices.
Compliance
Overview across all products.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we make your idea tangible in a single day for €1,150, so you know whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we deduct the cost in full.
View OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about the file per product. For managing the policies themselves, see our page on policy administration software, for the annual renewal our page on renewals, and for analyses of the portfolio our page on insurance analytics. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
Why Appfront for your software for the PARP file for insurance products?
A review date that slips by unnoticed, a target market that exists only in the product manager's head, or a supervisor asking for a file that has to be pieced together from six folders costs an insurer time and credibility. That is what we build on: one file per product, a review that is scheduled on time, and every decision traceable.
Complete
Nothing sits in a separate folder.
In time
No review is forgotten.
Demonstrable
Decisions by name and date.
Security and privacy for software for the PARP file for insurance products
The file contains product information, test results and sometimes customer signals. Access is set up per role: a product manager works in their own products, the product committee approves, compliance sees everything. Every change and every decision is recorded with name and time and cannot be altered afterwards.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted connections and storage and daily backups. Documents are stored with versions, so you can show which version belonged to which approval.
Frequently asked questions about software for the PARP file for insurance products
Questions that product managers and compliance officers ask before getting started.
The file in which an insurer or authorised agent records how an insurance product was developed and tested, which target market it is intended for, how it is distributed and when it is reviewed again. The basis is set out in Article 32 of the Bgfo (Dutch Financial Supervision Decree) and in the POG standards from the IDD.
In practice, yes. PARP is the Dutch term from the Bgfo, POG the term from the European IDD. Since the IDD came into force, both are used interchangeably for the same process.
Yes. For each product you record who the manufacturer is: the insurer, the delegated authority (managing agent) or both for their own part, and what has been agreed. The file follows that split.
Through a form, an integration with your policy administration system or a periodic upload. Signals are linked to the product and added to the agenda of the next review.
Yes. You set a review period for each product. The person responsible gets a timely reminder, and a review that has not been completed stays visible until it is closed.
Yes. The complete file for a product, including documents, decisions and log, can be exported as a single package for the regulator, an auditor or an insurer.
For insurers and delegated authorities with several products and several parties involved per product. For an agency with one or two products of its own, a well-organised folder is often enough.
Is the PARP file for each product in order?
Tell us how your product approval currently works and where the file stands now. We will show you how the software can bring it together in one place.