Insurance Application Testing: Guide & Best Practices
Guide to do insurance application testing, best practices in insurance quality assurance, and how Katalon can boost your insurance domain testing effectiveness
The insurance industry was once deemed reluctant to change due to its outdated, heavily regulated system. However, the expectations for insurance software have changed. We are witnessing a digital transformation in the industry.
Insurance companies now improve customer experience and stay competitive through top-notch insurance software quality. The adoption of these new tech brings in the need for rigorous insurance application testing.
Let's dive in!
Importance Of Insurance Application Testing
The insurance industry itself is vast, including:
P&C insurance
Health
Car
Life
No matter which area, a software bug or system failure can potentially result in significant financial losses, damage to reputation, and even legal liabilities.
That's why it's important to implement insurance application testing as a quality gatekeeper for the insurance software development process.
Automation testing further boosts the insurance software’s performance, reliability, and security. When app-breaking bugs are quickly found and resolved, your insurance software becomes more stable, gaining for itself a unique competitive edge in the marketplace.
Why Centralized Test Automation For Insurance Domain
Many automation testing tools available on the market do streamline the testing effort. However, in reality, many teams struggle with the extensive configuration to connect those tools. This is why teams need software quality management platform, not just tools, for several reasons.
Unification of Testing Activities: P&C insurance systems, are complex, consisting of web, mobile apps, policy management systems, and embedded devices. Each of them requires a different testing tool, leading to bloated techstack, fragmented and inefficient testing processes. With a centralized insurance application testing platform, teams can test web, mobile apps, API, even GUI, in 1 single place.
Reduced Maintenance and System Configuration: With everything under 1 roof, maintenance efforts become more concentrated. This opens up resources to be re-allocated to other critical quality assurance areas.
Centralized Reporting: Business leaders need comprehensive actionable insights across the entire STLC to make data-driven decisions and provide visibility for multiple stakeholders. An end-to-end testing platform brings exactly that thorough kind of insight.
Centralized Planning and Scheduling: Testing platform provides integration with popular DevOps tools, connecting teams involved in the project for better coordination, speeding up the feedback loop, allowing for continuous testing.
Adopting a software quality management platform is how insurance companies add another competitive edge to their services.
Here's an insightful webinar featuring QA leaders from SAGA and Katalon about how to do Software Quality for Insurance, which you may want to take a look:
How SAGA Achieved Greater Software Quality Management
SAGA, a UK-based insurance firm, has successfully transitioned into Agile, adopting software testing best practices, and tripled their testing capacity in a few months.
SAGA’s Challenges With Their Insurance Application Testing
Serving over 2.7 million customers, SAGA must prioritize its software quality, performance, and security. In 2016, the company decided to migrate all of its operations, including internal and customer-facing systems, onto Guidewire.
That decision put SAGA’s testing team under immense pressure. The number of test cases skyrocketed, and this new Guidewire-based system calls for a new test strategy.
In addition, SAGA releases monthly for their 2 main products: car and home insurance. Realizing that this is not the best way to do insurance software testing, they chose a software quality management platform - Katalon - to boost efficiency.
How SAGA solved the roadblock
Before adopting Katalon, SAGA could only manually test around 30 scenarios. After adopting Katalon, SAGA is able to run up to at least 100 scenarios per product, per development release. Not just that, Katalon gave SAGA a tailored P&C insurance testing experience:
Functional testing across critical front-end journeys within Guidewire
No-code and full-code scripting, so both non-technical and technical testers can contribute to test automation
API testing for third-party quote aggregators
Custom keywords and object recognition
The top-notch collaboration and scheduling capabilities of Katalon also play a major role in boosting SAGA’s test efficiency. Each testing cycle previously taking 2 days is now reducedto only 2 hours.
How to test an insurance application?
An insurance domain application consists of many subsystems, each performing a specific task. To achieve comprehensive quality, testers must check if these subsystems function well individually and as a unified entity.
Framework of an Insurance Application
An insurance application is built on a framework including components, data flows, and communication protocols. This framework facilitates the connection between individual modules in the application. Below is an example of a typical framework for an insurance app:
Let’s examine how each framework of a P&C insurance software should be tested.
Module
What to be tested
New Business
Accuracy and completeness of data entry for new policyholders and their policies.
Verification of policy information, including premium amount, coverage limits, and effective date.
Verification of underwriting decisions and compliance with eligibility requirements.
Verification of the generation of policy documents and the correct application of discounts or promotions.
Policy Admin
The ability to update and modify policy information, including policyholder and agent information.
Verification of premium adjustments, renewals, cancellations, and endorsements.
Verification of policyholder requests and correspondence, including the correct updates to policy information.
Claims
Verification of the claims process, including the ability to record and track claims.
Verification of claimant identity and policy coverage, including proper authorization and documentation.
Verification of claim validity and the appropriate payout of claims, including compliance with policy terms and limits.
Underwriting
Verification of the proper evaluation of potential policyholders and risk assessment.
Verification of compliance with regulations and underwriting guidelines.
Verification of underwriting decisions and the resulting policy terms, including verification of data sources and accuracy of risk assessment models.
Product Life Cycle Management
Testing the product development process, including product design, pricing, and distribution.
Verification of product performance and identification of opportunities for improvement, including market research and analysis.
Error Handling
Testing for any possible error scenarios and ensuring that the system can recover from them, including data recovery and backups.
Proper error messaging and escalation procedures, including detailed error logs and reporting.
Printing
Verification of the ability to generate and print policy documents accurately and efficiently.
Verification of formatting and layout of documents, including branding and regulatory requirements, and the ability to print to different types of printers.
Security
Verification of system security and access controls to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data, including user authentication and authorization.
Monitoring and preventing potential cyber threats, such as hacking or data breaches, including regular security audits and penetration testing.
Document Management System
Verification of the functionality of the document management system, including storage, retrieval, and sharing, version control and access controls.
Verification of the system's ability to organize and classify documents, such as policies or claims, and the ability to search and retrieve them efficiently.
Sample Test Cases For Insurance Application Testing
Test Case
Test Steps
Expected Results
User Registration
Enter valid data in all mandatory fields and submit the form
User account is created successfully
Login Functionality
Enter valid username and password and click on the login button
User is logged in successfully
Policy Creation
Enter valid data in all mandatory fields and submit the form
Policy is created successfully
Policy Cancellation
Select a policy to be canceled, enter reason and submit the form
Policy is canceled successfully
Policy Renewal
Select a policy to be renewed, enter payment details and submit the form
Policy is renewed successfully
Endorsement Processing
Select a policy, make changes and submit the endorsement form
Endorsement is processed successfully
Claim Submission
Enter valid claim details and submit the form
Claim is submitted successfully
Claim Processing
Select a claim, review the details and approve or reject the claim
Claim is processed and status is updated accordingly
Premium Calculation
Enter policy details and verify the calculated premium amount
Premium amount is calculated correctly
User Roles
Verify that different user roles have appropriate access and permissions
User roles have correct access and permissions
Data Validation
Enter invalid data in mandatory fields and verify the error messages
Error messages are displayed correctly
Integration Testing
Test the integration of the insurance application with external systems
Integration with external systems is seamless
Performance Testing
Test the application performance under different load conditions
Application performance is acceptable and stable
Security Testing
Test the application security measures to ensure data protection
Application data is secure and protected
Compatibility Testing
Test the application compatibility with different browsers and devices
Application is compatible with different browsers and devices
Mobile App Testing
Test the mobile app version of the application
Mobile app version is functioning correctly with no major discrepancy in the visual aspects
Localization Testing
Test the application language support for different regions
Application supports different languages and regions. No major layout impact when changing to other languages
Reporting Functionality
Verify that the application can generate reports for various aspects of the insurance process
Reports are generated accurately with all of the fields required
Document Management
Test the application document management system for policy documents and other important files
Documents are uploaded and managed correctly
Quality Assurance For Insurance Best Practices
1. Leverage data-driven automated testing
In Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance, premiums are influenced by claim frequency and severity, which depend on numerous variables, like driver age, location, vehicle type, past claims, and coverage options. The sheer volume of combinations makes manual testing impractical and error-prone.
Data-driven testing solves this by allowing testers to:
Systematically validate premium calculation logic across a wide matrix of real-world risk profiles.
Identify edge cases or inconsistencies in rating engines.
Ensure accuracy and reliability at scale.
Here's an example of the steps you need to use data-driven testing to run premium calculation tests:
List input variables: e.g. age, ZIP code, vehicle value, claim history, etc.
Create test datasets: Input values + expected premium output.
Bind data to test scripts: Each row becomes a unique test case.
Execute & verify: Compare actual vs. expected premiums.
Analyze discrepancies: Adjust logic or flag rating errors.
With Katalon, you can easily integrate Excel, CSV, XML, or database files as your data sources. Its data binding feature streamlines execution across hundreds of scenarios.
2. Identify breaking points leading to system crashes and downtime with performance testing
During high-demand periods such as open enrollment, insurance applications often face a dramatic spike in user activity. Thousands of users may try to enroll in new policies or update existing coverage at the same time. Without preparation, this surge can lead to:
System crashes
Slow response times
Complete outages
This is where performance testing becomes essential. It simulates large volumes of traffic under controlled conditions, helping teams identify bottlenecks, latency issues, and resource limitations before they affect real users.
3. Leverage integration testing to discover data inconsistencies
The policy administration system (PAS), claims management system (CMS), and the customer relationship management (CRM) system are among the most critical parts of an insurance software. Even if they work perfectly fine individually, bugs may still arise when they are integrated. Errors lie in the touchpoints between them, leading to data inconsistencies and operational inefficiencies.
For example, if a claims adjuster updates the claim status in the claims processing module but the billing module is not updated with the new information, the customer may receive an incorrect bill, causing confusion and frustration.The resources it takes to reverse these errors have bottom-line impacts. Integration testing verifies these interactions to ensure a smooth communication between modules.
Repetitive tasks, such as regression testing or performance testing, as well as tasks that require a large number of test cases, are great candidates. After that, organizations should start evaluating available automation testing tools and frameworks to determine which is best suited.
Approach this from the build vs buy perspective: ask yourself if you should invest in building an automation testing framework from scratch or buying an automation testing tool with pre-built features.
5. Foster A Culture of Quality
The insurance industry values risk management, compliance, and customer service. Quality management is equally critical to ensure a smooth digital experience.
To support this, build a shared culture of quality across all teams, not just QA. Invest in tools that enable automated testing, code reviews, and continuous integration. Encourage user feedback to guide customer-centric, data-driven improvements.
QA leaders should champion this mindset by committing to quality, promoting continuous improvement, and recognizing those who drive it forward.
Insurance Application Testing With Katalon
As a comprehensive software testing solution, Katalon is the solution for P&C Insurance Software Companies wanting to upgrade their testing activities.
1. Cover all aspects of insurance software testing
With one single workspace of Katalon, testers can perform:
Test planning
Test authoring
Test management
Test execution
Test analysis
You can effortlessly test insurance websites, mobile apps, APIs, and policy management platforms thanks to the low-code test creation capabilities. Team members with varied programming expertise can contribute to the testing effort.
Katalon also supports visual testing. Instead of spending hours manually reviewing screens and spot tiny visual bugs with our own eyes, testers can now leverage AI-driven visual testing to accurately detect visual changes that impact user experience.
2. Improved execution speed and agility
Katalon speeds up testing with self-healing, data-driven testing, parallel testing, and test artifact sharing across multiple teams and product lines. The Platform also supports CI/CD pipeline integration for faster and more efficient deployment. After testing, you can export detailed reports, view analytics dashboard, and actionable insights to make timely data-driven decisions.
3. Global customer support
Katalon provides global customer support through various channels to help its customers through a ticket system. Customers can easily gain access to a large knowledge base at the Katalon Blog and product documentation.
At Katalon Community, you can find many quality professionals around the world discussing technical-related topics about testing on the Katalon Platform. Engagement level is high among community members, who are ready to offer support and provide answers to any questions you may have. Katalon has a dedicated Community team to regulate the forum, maintaining a healthy and collaborative culture.
4. Pay-as-you-go
Scale your business however you need thanks to Katalon’s flexible pricing and test as much or as little as your business requires. This means that you can test only a few critical features or scale up to test complex insurance systems with thousands of test cases without any restrictions. With Katalon, you will find the perfect custom pricing plan tailored to your business needs and stay ahead of the competition.
The Katalon Team is composed of a diverse group of dedicated professionals, including subject matter experts with deep domain knowledge, experienced technical writers skilled, and QA specialists who bring a practical, real-world perspective. Together, they contribute to the Katalon Blog, delivering high-quality, insightful articles that empower users to make the most of Katalon’s tools and stay updated on the latest trends in test automation and software quality.
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