Purpose-built, zero compromiseA new software model for specialist insurers

The problem

The Veterinary Professional Insurance Society (VPIS) had been using the same policy administration system for a number of years. While the platform had served the organisation well enough, increasing licensing and development costs were making it progressively less practical to maintain and develop.

Like many specialist insurers, VPIS found itself caught between two imperfect options. Large enterprise insurance platforms offered extensive capability, but their cost and complexity were difficult to justify for an organisation of VPIS’s size. At the other end of the spectrum, adapting simpler off-the-shelf systems would mean fitting the business around the software (rather than the other way around).

The challenge was therefore not simply to replace the existing system as a cost-effective, functional equivalent. VPIS needed a modern, secure and compliant policy administration platform that could accommodate the unique requirements of its growing business, at a cost that made sense for a specialist insurer.

It is a challenge that extends well beyond veterinary insurance. Many specialist insurers, mutuals and underwriting agencies have highly complex products and workflows. They still need robust policy administration, strong security and regulatory compliance, but at a cost appropriate to the scale of their business.

Adding to the challenge, any new solution needed to be ready for VPIS’s annual policy renewal process starting 1 August 2026 – leaving just 5 months for the entire project.

The goal

The immediate priority was to replace VPIS’s existing policy management system in time for the 2026 renewal cycle.

Given the scope, complexity and development required, all within an extremely tight timeframe, this would have been a challenging technology project for a Big Four consultancy, let alone a compact but highly experienced team like Fill The Gap.

VPIS also came to the project with a clear idea of what it did not want to repeat. CEO Gavin Rutherford had previously been involved in replacing an insurance policy management system in an earlier role, and the experience had not been a positive one. This time, VPIS wanted more than a conventional client-supplier relationship. They wanted a true working partnership, with open communication, responsiveness and a shared commitment to getting the right outcome.

Beyond replacing the existing system, VPIS also wanted the new platform to provide much more than like-for-like capability. It needed to form the foundation for future development, giving VPIS greater control while removing the cost barriers that had previously made relatively straightforward enhancements difficult to justify.

The solution

VPIS investigated several alternatives, including a platform provided by one of its major insurance partners, but after a rigorous technical procurement process, they engaged Fill The Gap in March 2026.

The commercial case was compelling too. Fill The Gap’s quoted project cost was highly competitive compared with the alternative supplier proposals being considered by VPIS, but allowed for far more scope than the requirements of the project.

Rather than starting with an existing software package and attempting to configure VPIS around its limitations, Fill The Gap started with the business itself, working to understand how VPIS operated, what the existing platform needed to do and what would be required to safely transition to a new system.

Fill The Gap then designed and built specifically around those exact requirements.

The new platform combined a completely redesigned, intuitive user interface with a substantial set of core policy administration capabilities. These included:

• —a configurable rating engine
• —bulk renewal runs
• —mid-term policy changes
• —run-off and lapse handling
• —generation of policy documents
• —a broker portal
• —practice self-service
• —committee approval and voting workflows
• —invoicing into Xero
• —audit logging and reporting

While the first phase focused on delivering all the functionality required to run the insurance book by August 2026, the platform was also designed right from the start as a flexible foundation for future development and enhancement.

Building it safely

VPIS is subject to the same compliance and regulatory requirements as the largest New Zealand insurers, so delivering quickly could not mean compromising on security or control. Security was therefore engineered into the platform from the outset by Fill The Gap’s security expert, using established application and cloud-security technologies.

Migration from the existing platform was rigorously validated, with thousands of records reconciled to the cent to confirm that data had transferred accurately.

VPIS staff then tested the new system using real business processes before go-live, while access controls were configured so users could only see and use the areas and information appropriate to their role. This aspect was particularly important in a regulated insurance environment, where a successful technology project must satisfy not just its users, but the organisation’s regulatory, compliance and risk requirements.

Avoiding “vendor lock-in” risk

Technology moves quickly, and even the largest software companies regularly retire products their customers rely on. Google alone has discontinued more than 300 products and services, according to the independent tracker Killed by Google. For any organisation that runs its business on a system, it’s fair to ask a supplier, large or small, what would happen if that system were ever withdrawn.

Fill The Gap recognises this. From the outset, they documented the platform carefully so that knowledge doesn’t sit only with the original developer. They also agreed to place the source code in escrow whenever a customer asks. If Fill The Gap ever decided to stop offering the service, it would transfer the code to the customer and grant a perpetual licence to use, maintain and extend it. Another suitably qualified provider could then take it on.

This is a safeguard, not an expectation. Fill The Gap built the platform to support VPIS for many years to come. Having that assurance in place was an important part of making a bespoke platform a practical long-term option for VPIS, rather than simply a short-term replacement for its previous system.

Delivered under the VPIS name

The customer experience was another critical consideration. Fill The Gap hosts, operates and supports the platform behind the scenes. Everything VPIS’s members and partners see carries the VPIS name.

The platform is presented as MyVPIS, on VPIS’s own web address, and every email it sends comes from a VPIS address. For the practices and vets using it, there’s no third-party product to learn about or vendor to deal with. They’re simply dealing with VPIS.

Using AI to create an ultra-agile delivery model

AI-assisted tools played a role across the entire project – not only in software development, but in how the project itself was managed and delivered.

Fill The Gap used AI-enabled project management and collaboration tools to accelerate many of the time-consuming tasks that traditionally sit around a technology project of this scale. Meetings could be transcribed and summarised almost immediately, actions captured and allocated, requirements and decisions documented, and estimates and draft statements of work produced far more quickly.

The result was an ultra-agile way of working, with far less administrative lag between discussion, decision and delivery. It also meant fewer people were required on both the Fill The Gap and VPIS sides to coordinate, document and manage the project.

This had perhaps the biggest impact on the economics of the project. By substantially reducing the hours and number of people normally required to deliver a project of this size, Fill The Gap was able to reduce cost without reducing scope or quality. In fact, having a smaller, highly experienced team involved throughout also improved continuity, with fewer handovers and less time spent bringing additional people up to speed.

AI supported the process rather than replacing professional judgement. Architecture, development, security, testing, commercial decisions and accountability remained firmly with experienced people. What changed was how much a compact team of experts could achieve, and how quickly and economically they could achieve it.

The result

VPIS successfully moved onto its new platform in time for its 2026 renewal process.

The immediate result is a modern policy administration system designed around the way VPIS actually operates, without the escalating licensing and development costs associated with its previous platform. It is even priced to match VPIS’s revenue model so that costs scale up and down as the business ebbs and flows.

Just as importantly, VPIS now has a platform it can continue to evolve.

Rather than asking whether a new capability is financially viable every time the business wants to make a change, VPIS can now look at what would genuinely improve its operation and customer experience.

The initial project build provides the foundation for the next stage of development, which is already underway. This includes functionality such as dedicated claims management and improved member communications – enhancements that would previously have been prohibitively expensive to implement.

For VPIS, the project has changed the economics of technology investment. Instead of sticking with an expensive enterprise platform (and the limitations that presented around development) it now has a secure, extensible and fit-for-purpose platform built specifically for the requirements of a specialist insurer.

VPIS’s success shows that AI-enabled bespoke development can now deliver the speed, capability and economics needed to make it a credible alternative for specialist insurers, mutuals and scheme-based insurance businesses facing similar challenges.