Duck Creek on-premises to Duck Creek OnDemand
Cohash moves carriers from self-hosted Duck Creek Policy, Rating, Billing and Claims to Duck Creek OnDemand, the vendor's SaaS delivery. We inventory product and rating content, manuscripts, extensions and integrations, separate what OnDemand covers from what must be rebuilt, move integrations to supported APIs, and rehearse data conversion. A regression pack per state and line keeps each continuous update safe to accept.
- 01Content and extension inventory
- 02Separate rates from logic
- 03Integration rebuild
- 04Conversion rehearsals
- 05Cut-over and update readiness
The story
Told without the client's name or anything that could identify them.
A property and casualty carrier ran Duck Creek Policy, Billing and Claims on its own infrastructure, a version behind, with an upgrade estimate that kept growing. Every rate change needed a full release because rate tables and product logic shipped together, and integrations to document, payment and data services ran on file drops inside the data center. We started with an inventory of products, manuscripts, rate tables, extensions and integrations by state and line, then split rate changes from product logic. Integrations moved to supported APIs, conversion was rehearsed until premium, balances and reserves reconciled, and the carrier moved to OnDemand line by line with a regression pack ready for each continuous update.
why it was urgentDuck Creek sells through Duck Creek OnDemand, and it calls its Cloud Delivery a continuously updated, cloud-native SaaS platform. The product keeps moving. At Formation '26 the company introduced an Agentic AI Platform, and on 7 July 2026 it announced the acquisition of Send, an underwriting orchestration engine. On a self-hosted install, keeping up with changes like these is your own upgrade project.
- openChanging a rate takes a full release. The rate tables and the product logic ship together.
- recurringYour self-hosted Duck Creek version is behind and the upgrade estimate keeps growing.
- blockedInfrastructure work, patching and environment refreshes eat the time product teams need for products.
- openIntegrations to document, payment and third-party data services still run on file drops in the data center.
The estate, before and after
Before: self-hosted Duck Creek with file-drop integrations
Policy, Billing and Claims ran on the carrier's own infrastructure, patched and refreshed in-house. Rate tables went out bundled inside product releases. Documents, payments and third-party data all moved through file drops and database-level feeds in the data center.
Read the diagram as text
- Agent and customer portals → Policy and Rating: quotes
- Policy and Rating → Billing: issued policies
- Policy and Rating → Claims: policy data
- Self-managed infrastructure → Policy and Rating: hosts
- Policy and Rating → Document services: file drop
- Billing → Payment services: file drop
- Policy and Rating → Third-party data: lookups
After: Duck Creek OnDemand with API integrations
Now Policy, Billing and Claims are on Duck Creek OnDemand. Rate tables have their own promotion path, each update gets a regression pack run against it, and partners use supported APIs where they used to drop files.
Read the diagram as text
- Agent and customer portals → Duck Creek OnDemand: quotes · policy service
- Rate tables → Duck Creek OnDemand: rate updates
- Regression pack → Duck Creek OnDemand: update testing
- Duck Creek OnDemand → Supported APIs: API events
- Supported APIs → Document services: documents
- Supported APIs → Payment services: payments
- Supported APIs → Third-party data: data requests
How we run it, phase by phase.
5 phases take you from Duck Creek Policy, Billing and Claims (self-hosted) to Duck Creek OnDemand. Each one ends with something you can check before the next starts. As you scroll, the blocks show the estate moving across.
- phase 01
Content and extension inventory
List products, manuscripts, rate tables, forms, extensions and integrations by state and line. Mark each as standard on OnDemand, rebuild, or retire.
- phase 02
Separate rates from logic
Pull rate table changes apart from product logic. That way, once you're on OnDemand, a table update can promote through its own tested path.
- phase 03
Integration rebuild
Move file drops and database-level interfaces to the APIs and integration patterns OnDemand supports. Each partner has their side of the change to make, and we work it through with them.
- phase 04
Conversion rehearsals
Convert policy, billing and claims data in rehearsals, reconciling in-force premium, billing balances and open reserves by state and line.
- phase 05
Cut-over and update readiness
Move by line or state, with a rollback point. Then put a regression pack on sample policies in place for each state, so continuous updates go in without a scramble.
What the client got
What changed for the client once the work was done. Described, not scored: we don't publish client figures.
- result 01
Rate table changes promote on their own path
We separated rate tables from product logic. A rate update now goes through its own tested promotion and doesn't wait for a full release.
- result 02
No self-hosted Duck Creek upgrades to plan
We moved Policy, Billing and Claims to Duck Creek OnDemand, so product teams aren't spending time on infrastructure, patching and environment refreshes.
- result 03
Integrations use supported APIs
We replaced the file drops and database-level interfaces with the integration patterns OnDemand supports, and each feed in the catalog has an owner now.
- result 04
Converted data reconciles by state and line
We reconciled in-force premium, billing balances and open reserves in every conversion rehearsal and kept the reports as cut-over evidence.
- result 05
Updates are tested against sample policies per state
A regression pack on sample policies for each state runs against every continuous update before the carrier accepts it.
Risks we plan for
-
Manuscript drift
Years of state-specific manuscript edits rarely match documentation. Comparing rated premium on real policies before and after the move is the only reliable check.
-
Extensions with no SaaS home
Some custom extensions depend on direct database access or local services. They need a supported replacement or a business decision to drop them.
-
Untested continuous updates
On SaaS, updates come on the vendor's schedule. Without automated regression on your own products, every update turns into a manual test cycle.
Where AI helps, and where it needs guardrails
Duck Creek has announced agentic underwriting, FNOL and product configuration apps, and its Agentic AI Platform lists an Agentic Orchestrator (MCP). We'd have a carrier pilot these on one line before anything else, with human review on bind and claim decisions. Any agent that gets to policy or claims data through MCP has its own identity, narrow scopes, and logs underwriting and compliance can audit.
forward deployed engineers →What you're left with
We write these for your setup, and they're working documents. Your team should be able to keep things running from them long after we've gone.
- inventory01
Product, manuscript and extension inventory with a decision per item
yours to keep - inventory02
Integration catalog with the OnDemand pattern and owner per feed
yours to keep - report03
Conversion reconciliation reports by state and line of business
yours to keep - guide04
Rated premium comparison on real policies before and after the move
yours to keep - tests05
Regression pack on sample policies per state for continuous updates
yours to keep
Platforms and services on this move
Certified engineers, wherever you need them.
Some clients want a project team, some want a couple of engineers on theirs. Either works. Onsite, nearshore or offshore, with handovers across time zones that keep things moving.
Onsite
Engineers at your sites in the US
Nearshore
Overlapping hours with US teams
Offshore
Overnight progress on your backlog
All time zones
Coverage handed over across time zones
01Do we lose our custom products when moving to OnDemand?
No. Product and rating content moves across as it is. Custom extensions and integrations are another matter, because they're built and deployed differently on OnDemand. We go through each before the migration so nothing disappears unexpectedly.
02How do continuous updates affect our testing?
You test more often and in smaller pieces. An automated regression pack on sample policies per state and line is what makes that manageable, so we build it during the migration.
03What drives the cost of the move?
It comes down to how many states and lines you write, how much manuscript customization there is, how many integrations you have and how much history you convert. Custom extensions and conversion reconciliation usually hold the most uncertainty.
04Should we look at Guidewire instead?
If you are already on Duck Creek, a move to OnDemand is usually less disruptive than a platform change. If you are reconsidering the platform anyway, we can lay out both options against your own products and integrations.
Often on the same roadmap
AD FS federation to Entra ID authentication
Converting federated domains from AD FS to Entra ID cloud authentication, moving relying parties app by app and retiring the AD FS farm.
read the case study
Apache Airflow 2 to Airflow 3
Upgrading self-managed Apache Airflow 2, now past end of life, to Airflow 3, and fixing removed features, auth and scheduling changes before DAGs move.
read the case studyAuth0 Rules and Hooks to Actions before end of life
Rewriting Auth0 Rules and Hooks as Actions before their 18 November 2026 end of life, with token claims compared before and after each change.
read the case studyd5a3877d - 01Duck Creek: Policy, Rating, Billing and Claims; Duck Creek OnDemand and Cloud Deliveryduckcreek.com ↗
- 02Duck Creek: Duck Creek acquires Send (7 Jul 2026)duckcreek.com ↗
Planning this move?
A 30-minute working session with a senior engineer. No slides.
- The platform and the version you're on
- Where you need to get to, and by when
- What's custom: rules, plugins, integrations
- Any audit finding or deadline driving it