Preserving 30 Years of Insurance Actuarial Logic via Visual Workflow Recording

The most dangerous code in your enterprise is the code that works perfectly, but no one understands. In the insurance sector, this "black box" usually contains 30 years of actuarial logic—complex rating engines, risk assessment matrices, and policy lifecycle rules—buried inside COBOL mainframes, Delphi monoliths, or crumbling PowerBuilder apps. When you attempt to modernize these systems, you aren't just fighting technical debt; you are fighting a total loss of institutional knowledge.

With $3.6 trillion in global technical debt, the "Big Bang" rewrite is no longer a viable strategy. Statistically, 70% of legacy rewrites fail or significantly exceed their timelines. The reason is simple: 67% of legacy systems lack any form of usable documentation. You cannot rewrite what you cannot define.

TL;DR: Stop performing "code archaeology" on undocumented legacy systems; use Replay to visually record existing user workflows and automatically extract 30 years of actuarial logic into modern React components and API contracts in days, not years.

The Failure of Manual Code Archaeology#

Traditional modernization starts with "discovery." This usually involves high-priced consultants sitting with claims adjusters and underwriters for six months, trying to document how a specific premium calculation works. This manual process takes an average of 40 hours per screen just to document, let alone code.

The risk is catastrophic. If a developer misses a single edge case in a 30-year-old actuarial calculation during a rewrite, the company faces massive regulatory fines or insolvency due to mispriced risk. This is why the average enterprise rewrite timeline stretches to 18-24 months—and even then, most fail to achieve parity with the legacy system.

Comparison of Modernization Strategies#

From Black Box to Documented Codebase#

The future of modernization isn't rewriting from scratch; it's understanding what you already have by using video as the source of truth. Replay changes the paradigm from "reading dead code" to "observing live behavior." By recording a real user performing an actuarial workflow, Replay captures the inputs, the state changes, and the resulting outputs.

This visual reverse engineering process bypasses the need for original source code access or retired developers. It treats the legacy system as a functional engine and extracts the blueprint.

💡 Pro Tip: When modernizing insurance systems, focus on "High-Value, High-Complexity" workflows first. These are typically the rating engines where the 30 years of logic reside.

Step-by-Step: Extracting Actuarial Logic with Replay#

Step 1: Workflow Recording#

Instead of reading 50,000 lines of COBOL, an expert user performs the actual task—such as generating a complex commercial property quote—while Replay records the session. This captures every field validation, hidden calculation, and conditional UI state.

Step 2: Visual Reverse Engineering#

Replay’s AI Automation Suite analyzes the recording. It identifies the underlying data structures and the sequence of operations. It maps how a "Risk Score" input on Screen A affects the "Premium Total" on Screen D.

Step 3: Generating the Modern Component#

Replay generates documented React components that mirror the legacy behavior but use modern architecture. This includes the preservation of business logic in clean, readable TypeScript.

typescript
// Example: Actuarial Logic Extracted from Legacy Insurance Portal
// Generated by Replay Blueprints

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { calculateRiskPremium } from './actuarial-engine'; // Logic preserved from recording

interface PolicyProps {
  initialData: any;
  onUpdate: (data: any) => void;
}

export const ModernActuarialForm: React.FC<PolicyProps> = ({ initialData, onUpdate }) => {
  const [formData, setFormData] = useState(initialData);
  const [premium, setPremium] = useState(0);

  // This logic was reverse-engineered from the 'LifeCalc' legacy module
  // It accounts for the 30-year-old 'Tier 2' adjustment rule found in the recording
  useEffect(() => {
    const calculated = calculateRiskPremium({
      age: formData.clientAge,
      coverage: formData.coverageAmount,
      isSmoker: formData.healthStatus === 'S',
      regionCode: formData.zipCode.substring(0, 3) // Preserved legacy regional logic
    });
    setPremium(calculated);
  }, [formData]);

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-slate-50 rounded-xl shadow-sm">
      <h3 className="text-lg font-bold">Policy Calculation Engine</h3>
      <div className="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
        <input 
          type="number" 
          value={formData.coverageAmount}
          onChange={(e) => setFormData({...formData, coverageAmount: Number(e.target.value)})}
          className="input-field"
        />
        <div className="text-2xl font-mono text-blue-600">
          Estimated Premium: ${premium.toLocaleString()}
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  );
};

Step 4: API Contract and E2E Test Generation#

One of the biggest hurdles in insurance modernization is the lack of test suites. Replay automatically generates API contracts and End-to-End (E2E) tests based on the recorded workflows. This ensures that the new system behaves exactly like the old one.

typescript
// Generated E2E Test for Actuarial Parity
describe('Premium Calculation Parity', () => {
  it('matches legacy output for high-risk commercial profiles', () => {
    cy.visit('/new-quote');
    cy.get('[data-testid="coverage-input"]').type('5000000');
    cy.get('[data-testid="industry-dropdown"]').select('Manufacturing');
    
    // The value '42,500' was the ground truth captured by Replay from the legacy system
    cy.get('[data-testid="premium-display"]').should('contain', '42,500');
  });
});

⚠️ Warning: Never attempt to "optimize" business logic during the initial extraction phase. First, achieve 1:1 functional parity to ensure the actuarial integrity is preserved. Optimize only after the legacy system is retired.

Solving the "Documentation Gap" in Regulated Industries#

For industries like Healthcare, Insurance, and Government, documentation isn't just a "nice to have"—it’s a regulatory requirement. When 67% of systems lack documentation, audits become a nightmare.

Replay's Library and Flows features create a living documentation portal. Every time a workflow is recorded, it is automatically documented. This transforms the "black box" into a transparent architecture that SOC2 and HIPAA auditors can actually verify.

The ROI of Visual Extraction#

The math for a typical insurance enterprise is staggering. If you have a system with 200 core screens:

• •Manual Modernization: 200 screens x 40 hours/screen = 8,000 hours. At $150/hr, that is $1.2 million just for documentation and initial component scaffolding.
• •Replay Modernization: 200 screens x 4 hours/screen = 800 hours. Total cost: $120,000.

💰 ROI Insight: Replay typically delivers a 70% average time saving, moving projects from an 18-month "death march" to a 12-week sprint.

Architecture and Security#

In regulated environments, data residency is non-negotiable. Replay is built for the enterprise, offering:

• •SOC2 & HIPAA Compliance: Ensuring sensitive policyholder data is handled according to federal standards.
• •On-Premise Availability: For organizations that cannot let their legacy logic or data leave their internal network.
• •Technical Debt Audit: Automatically identifying which parts of the legacy logic are redundant and which are critical.

Preserving the "Why" Behind the Code#

The hardest part of preserving 30 years of logic isn't the "what"—it's the "why." Why does the system add a 2% surcharge for policies in specific coastal zip codes? Why does the rounding logic change for premiums over $10,000?

When you use Replay, you capture the intent of the original system designers by observing the results of their logic in real-time. You aren't guessing based on a confusing COBOL

statement; you are seeing the final calculation as it was intended to be used.

Step 5: Integration with the Design System#

Once the logic is extracted, Replay’s Library helps map these legacy workflows into your modern Design System. This ensures that while the backend logic is 30 years old, the user experience is 2024-ready.

• •Blueprints: Use the visual editor to refine the extracted components.
• •Flows: Map out the entire architecture of the legacy system to identify bottlenecks.
• •AI Automation: Let AI handle the tedious task of converting legacy data formats into modern JSON structures.

📝 Note: Replay doesn't just record pixels; it records the DOM state, network requests, and application state, allowing for a high-fidelity reconstruction of the logic.

Frequently Asked Questions#

How does Replay handle logic that isn't visible on the screen?#

While Replay starts with visual workflows, it captures the network layer and API calls. By analyzing the inputs sent to the mainframe and the outputs returned, Replay reconstructs the "black box" logic through behavioral analysis. It generates API contracts that define exactly what the legacy backend expected, allowing you to replicate that logic in a modern microservice.

Can Replay work with green-screen (3270) terminal applications?#

Yes. Replay is designed to modernize systems regardless of the underlying technology. If a user can interact with it on a screen, Replay can record the workflow and begin the extraction process. This is particularly useful for the "last mile" of mainframe modernization.

What about business logic preservation?#

Preservation is the core goal. By using "Video as a Source of Truth," we ensure that the generated React components and TypeScript logic are functionally identical to the legacy system. The generated E2E tests then act as a safety net to prove parity before you flip the switch.

How long does a typical pilot take?#

Most enterprises see their first fully functional, modernized screen within 48 hours. A full pilot covering a complex actuarial workflow typically takes 2 weeks from setup to delivered code.

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Ready to modernize without rewriting? Book a pilot with Replay - see your legacy screen extracted live during the call.