Modernizing a Legacy Insurance Platform with a Cloud-Native Microservices Architecture

The Unlimited’s core platform had grown into a tightly coupled, monolithic application that made even small enhancements slow and risky. Documentation was minimal, so the team relied heavily on tribal knowledge, and new engineers took longer to get up to speed. Several business and operational processes were still handled manually, which added effort and increased the risk of human error. The application ran on on-premise infrastructure that carried high hardware and maintenance costs and limited how far the system could scale. Years of accumulated technical debt, including outdated technologies and non-standard implementations, made the platform harder to maintain and slower to adapt. Together, these issues left The Unlimited with a system that was not robust, difficult to enhance, unprepared for future load, and prone to downtime and long release cycles.

Cygnet.One designed a next-generation platform built on a microservices architecture hosted on Microsoft Azure. Each capability runs as an independent service, following a single-responsibility approach that makes the system easier to enhance, faster to release, and simpler to extend through third-party integrations. Azure Kubernetes Service hosts the microservices, Azure Application Gateway handles routing and authentication, and RabbitMQ connects the services asynchronously, with Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM integrated into the platform.

• Microservices architecture – independent services for functions such as product, collections, communications, customer, and lead management replace the old monolith, making the platform easier to enhance and scale.
• Cloud-native infrastructure – hosted on Microsoft Azure using Azure Kubernetes Service, replacing on-premise servers and giving the platform room to handle future growth.
• Resilient messaging – RabbitMQ connects services asynchronously so the platform stays robust as usage grows.
• Built-in observability – Azure Monitor, Application Insights, and a centralized logging platform give the team visibility into system health.

The diagram shows how traffic flows through The Unlimited’s platform. Mobile, web, and CRM requests enter through a cloud API gateway and are routed to the right service on a containerized microservices platform, each backed by its own database. An asynchronous messaging layer connects the services and keeps the CRM in sync, while centralized monitoring and logging give the team visibility across the pipeline. The underlying cloud infrastructure and deployment pipeline are secured and managed independently of the client-facing applications.

Modernizing a system with almost no documentation meant the team had to start with detailed discovery, working closely with business users to understand processes at an operational level before writing any code. For much of the build, the old and new systems had to run side by side, which required careful technical planning so the two could exchange data reliably while the migration was underway. Replacing the legacy system itself was a major undertaking, carried out in phases, from designing the base architecture through building individual microservices and integrating them into a single system.

The modernization replaced a legacy monolith with a cloud-native, microservices-based platform that gives The Unlimited a stronger foundation for its insurance operations. Field and sales teams can now work reliably even without a constant connection, and the business is positioned to handle customer growth without being limited by its old infrastructure.

• Offline data capture – field teams can capture policy data without an internet connection, with the data syncing automatically once connectivity returns.
• Ready for growth – the platform is built to accommodate exponential customer growth rather than the fixed capacity of the old on-premise system.
• Digitally enabled operations – manual, paper-based processes are now supported by digital tools and workflows.

Having taken The Unlimited’s platform from a single mobile development engagement through machine learning, business intelligence, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration work, Cygnet.One and The Unlimited have now delivered a fully functional, next-generation system. The two teams continue to build on this foundation as new requirements emerge, extending the same architecture rather than starting over.

The Unlimited is a South African insurance provider founded in 1994, covering more than three million people through insurance and annuity products, including death, accident, vehicle, and health cover, underwritten by insurance companies and sold through analogue and digital channels. The company takes a customer-first approach to the end-to-end customer journey, from acquisition through onboarding and ongoing engagement, and runs reward programs to keep customers engaged. It also manages the full lifecycle of insurance claims, working with multiple claim assessors to reduce turnaround time on claim settlements.

This solution was designed and delivered by the Cygnet.One engineering team, in close collaboration with The Unlimited’s technology organization, across a multi-year engagement spanning mobile development, machine learning, business intelligence, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration work.