A system and method for processing insurance claims using a set of adjudication rules. The method and system comprises receiving a claim for processing, such that the received claim having claim content including a claim date. Also provided is a database configured for accessing the set of adjudication rules appropriate to the received claim, the set of adjudication rules structured in containers including a primary rule container and secondary rule containers, each of the secondary rule containers being coupled to the primary rule container by a respective container reference, each of the secondary rule containers containing one or more adjudication rules adapted for processing the claim content of the received claim, each of the one or more adjudication rules being coupled to their respective secondary container by a respective rule reference, the set of adjudication rules defining a rule hierarchy.