Industry · Insurance
Protect the policy and claims data your portals and partners touch
I trace how customers, brokers and partners reach your policy and claims systems, find where data leaks or logic breaks, and rank the fixes.
- Top priorityAPI securityBroker and partner APIs often return far more data than each caller needs.
- Top priorityVulnerabilities & exposureLegacy policy and claims platforms sit behind front ends that lag on patches.
- ElevatedEdge & WAAP
- ElevatedMonitoring & visibility
- ElevatedGovernance & maturity
- BaselineMobile apps
In short
Application security for insurers centres on the portals and APIs (application programming interfaces) that customers, brokers, agents and partners use to reach policy and claims data. I assess who can see which records, how legacy policy systems are exposed and patched, and whether data leaving through partner integrations is monitored. Findings come as a prioritised plan, with delivery scoped separately only if you want help.
Where I usually start
- WAAP & API protection assessment
- Exposure management (CTEM) assessment
- AppSec maturity assessment
The pressure
What insurance security teams are up against.
- Many kinds of userCustomers, agents, brokers and bancassurance partners all get access, often through separate portals.
- Legacy policy systemsCore policy and claims platforms are hard to patch, so the web front ends inherit their weaknesses.
- Sensitive personal dataMedical, financial and identity details make insurer data valuable to steal and costly to leak.
- Partner integrationsAggregators, banks and repair networks connect by API, and each link is often trusted more than it should be.
Attack scenarios
The attacks I test your defences against.
Each scenario maps to one of the six areas, so you can see which layer should have stopped it.
Try the attack simulator- Scenario 01Claim documents pulled by numberSequential claim or policy numbers in a portal API let one logged-in user download other customers’ files.API security
- Scenario 02Broker login reused elsewhereA broker’s password, leaked from another site, opens a portal with access to many clients’ policies.Edge & WAAP
- Scenario 03Old framework under the claims portalAn internet-facing claims front end runs an outdated framework with a public exploit and no patch window.Vulnerabilities & exposure
- Scenario 04Partner feed that over-sharesAn aggregator integration pulls full customer records for months when it only needed quote data.Monitoring & visibility
Recommended
Where I would start with you.
Three engagements that fit this sector best. Each ends in a prioritised plan; delivery is your call.
- 01WAAP & API protection assessmentMaps every portal and partner API, then shows where access controls and bot defences fall short.2–4 weeksFixed feeSee the service
- 02Exposure management (CTEM) assessmentRanks legacy and portal vulnerabilities by what an attacker could reach, not by score alone.2–4 weeksFixed feeSee the service
- 03AppSec maturity assessmentGives the board a scored view of application risk across in-house and vendor-built systems.2–3 weeksFixed feeSee the service
Rules you work under
The frameworks I map findings to.
Findings are written so your risk, audit and compliance teams can use them directly. This is orientation, not legal advice.
- Parliament of Sri LankaPersonal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022Medical and financial details in policy and claims apps are personal data under Sri Lankan law, with security duties attached.
- Australian Prudential Regulation AuthorityPrudential Standard CPS 234 Information SecurityApplies to Australian general, life and private health insurers, and expects security to keep pace with threats.
- PCI Security Standards CouncilPayment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) v4.0.1Online premium payments bring card data into scope, including the payment pages your portals embed.
- ISO and IECISO/IEC 27001:2022A shared baseline for insurers and their partners. Application controls only count when they are run and evidenced.
Proof
Programmes I have led, and why they transfer.
My delivery work so far has been in banking and a global group. The controls, failure modes and lessons carry straight across to insurance.
- 112applications migrated112 bank applications moved to cloud WAAP, wave by waveBanking · A leading Sri Lankan private bankF5 Distributed CloudRead the case
- 120applications protectedAround 120 applications under WAAP, API and bot protectionManufacturing · A global apparel group headquartered in Sri LankaImpervaRead the case
- T1bank vulnerability programmeTier-1 bank scanning upgraded and extended to web applicationsBanking · A Tier-1 Sri Lankan commercial bankTenable Security CenterRead the case
- RASPin-app protection liveIn-app runtime protection live in a customer banking appBanking · A leading private bank’s mobile appZimperiumRead the case
Where I work with insurance teams
Where do insurers usually have application security gaps?
Most often in access control. Portals and APIs (application programming interfaces) built for customers, brokers and partners sometimes return more records than the user should see, or trust an identifier sent by the client. The second common gap is legacy policy and claims systems behind modern web front ends, which are hard to patch. Third, partner integrations rarely have monitoring that would spot unusual volumes.
How do you assess broker and agent portals?
I look at how brokers and agents sign in, whether multi-factor authentication and bot controls protect the login, and whether each user can reach only their own clients’ policies. I test object-level authorisation on the APIs (application programming interfaces) behind the portal, review session handling, and check what is logged when someone views or exports records. Findings are ranked by how much data each gap exposes.
Does APRA CPS 234 apply to insurers?
Yes. APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) Prudential Standard CPS 234 Information Security applies to APRA-regulated entities, including general, life and private health insurers. It expects security capability to match the threats faced, controls to be tested, and material incidents to be notified to APRA. Application testing results and remediation tracking support that. I assess the application side; this is not legal advice.
Can you review systems that vendors build and run for us?
Yes, with the vendor’s cooperation. I review what the insurer can evidence: contractual security requirements, the vendor’s own test results, patch timelines, and how the system is exposed to the internet. Where access allows, I test the live application too. The aim is to make vendor risk visible and turn it into specific clauses and checks you can enforce at the next renewal.
What does an insurance application security assessment produce?
A ranked list of findings with evidence, a maturity score for each of the six areas I assess, and a plan that says what to fix first, roughly what it costs and what risk it removes. Delivery is not assumed. Your own team, a partner of your choice or Innov8’s Application Security Business Unit, which I head and always disclose, can carry out the work.