Privacy is something that every organization needs to take seriously. When customers and clients trust an organization with their private information, that trust needs to be respected. As with healthcare, the insurance industry needs to adhere to significant regulation.

In an industry that requires frequently moving customer data, maintaining security and compliance can be tough. This environment requires a secure method for transferring sensitive data. That’s where Managed File Transfer software can be a lifesaver. 

What is Managed File Transfer Software?

While traditional FTP was once perfectly acceptable, IT now needs to look for more capable infrastructures that can combine reliability and user-friendly simplicity with a strong business focus. Managed File Transfer (MFT) solutions are a purpose-specific class of middleware focused on reliable and secure transfer between business parties.

The software works by consolidating all file transfer activities into one system, giving IT teams the ability to leverage centralized access controls, file encryption, and activity tracking. By using standard network protocols and encryption methods, organizations are able to use Managed File Transfer to automate and transfer data across on-premises networks and cloud environments—and stay compliant in doing so.

So How do Insurance Companies Benefit from Managed File Transfer Software?

While Managed File Transfer software can benefit almost any business, insurance companies may want to pay extra attention to its features. There are a number of different motivators for insurance firms to adopt a managed file transfer solution. This can range from fear of security breaches, brand-protection, and data loss prevention. With risk and compliance groups mandating tighter security controls—some insurance organizations must comply with HIPAA, GDPR, and more—organizations can never be too cautious in keeping user data secure. It’s important for organizations to understand that when data is mobile, it's at its most vulnerable.

As much as we'd like to think otherwise, File Transfer Protocol is simply unable to allow for the multiple layers of security and controls required to comply with governmental and industry regulations. Cloud-based file sharing technology may seem like an enticing alternative due to its easy-to-use nature for ad-hoc transfers. But the technology can present an increased risk of non-compliance. Today, many insurance firms are moving towards managed file transfer software to secure financial controls reporting, claims processing, and other private data transfer processes.

Simplified File Transfer

To maintain quality service, insurance companies need to be able to offer timely and flexible data transfer, while also enforcing strict security and audibility required by industry regulations. Organizations need to be able to conduct a wide range of file transfer activities including person-to-person ad hoc transfer, folder-based file sharing, secure “one-to-many”  file transfers secure file collection and system-to-system schedule batch transfers.

With managed file transfer software, a user may have an interest in sending files to a number of different customers simultaneously. To allow for high productivity and efficiency, even the most complex file transfer transactions need to be straightforward for users to use without needing excessive tech support.

Help in Achieving Compliance

In finance industries (insurance included), complying with governmental and industry regulations is essential. In addition to all the hefty fines from a compliance failure, an organization’s public image can be tarnished by a failure to comply with regulations. In a Forrester study, estimates showed that fines can be as expensive as $305 per record.

Automation

Automating file transfer activities can have numerous benefits for insurance firms, such as ensuring that SLA submissions are submitted on time. The automation of file-based operations and business workflows lets IT teams minimize the need to maintain multiple scripts, meet SLA requirements, remain flexible in order to adapt to changing business conditions and eliminate the need to manually monitor3 the location and status of any given files. 

With Managed File Transfer software, file transfers can quickly be set up to push jobs to a number of systems at the same time and on a regular basis. File transfer tasks can quickly and easily be created, modified, or deleted by an administrator with the correct permissions with no scripting required.

Authentication

In order to maintain file security during transfer, insurance providers need to ensure that they have strong authentication measures in place. By controlling access to systems and sensitive data, organizations can ensure that only authorized users will have direct contact with the most sensitive data.

Security

When it comes to compliance, most organizations immediately think of security. Critical file transfer compliance requirements include file integrality checks, data deletion after receipt, non-repudiation, and guaranteed delivery. These security safeguards make sure that sensitive data in transit is protected from being manipulated by a third party or accidentally delivered to an unintended recipient.

Cryptography

The Insurance Industry is rife with regulations mandating that a certain level of data security protocols are in place to keep sensitive information from being accessed by the wrong people. While these regulations have good intentions, they can sometimes be cumbersome for insurance providers as encryption algorithms are nearly always being updated. With Managed File Transfer software, insurance providers are helped to keep up to pace with the most up-to-date encryption protection for data in transit and at rest.

Failover

Continuity is critical and absolutely essential for any modern business. When an organization is tasked with exchanging sensitive user data within and outside its firewall, this becomes even more apparent. A strong managed file transfer solution provides a good failover system and allows administrators to have increased availability to in-transit data by boosting the network’s file transfer performance. Automatic and secure failover system from an MFT solution is incredibly important in ensuring that business avoids any potential downtime while remaining secure.

What Ipswich Offers Insurance Providers 

The MOVEit Managed File Transfer software system provides a multi-layer security environment, automation of government controls and a flexible architecture that supports high-availability deployments. Its ease-of-use features enable agility to comply with changing business and security demands. MOVEit's built-in audit trail, reporting, and automation features enable the easy implementation of the most demanding protected healthcare information security and compliance controls.