Industry Speaks - Q&A with Terry Brown, Vice President of Implemenation Services at Insuresoft

INN:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a best-of-breed versus an end-to-end solution? When does it make sense for a carrier to choose one over the other?


TB:
Best-of-breed solutions, in theory, should satisfy the business units desires and needs to improve each respective business unit. In reality, carriers should not lose sight of some of the integration complexities. This can be best represented through overall lack of data transparency, utilization of different technology stacks, and lack of consistent user interfaces. To help mitigate these risks, carriers should look to partner with a vendor that can implement one module at a time yet still provide the majority of the end-to-end core applications. More specifically, the carrier can then focus on improving internal operational efficiencies and leverage system benefits compared to managing the product integrations.

INN:
How should carriers go about getting the support they need from policy administration technology providers for successful deployment of new or enhanced systems?

TB:
Carriers have the unique ability to leverage the expertise provided by technology vendors as they are going through a deployment of a new solution. More specifically, a carrier can leverage the rich industry and technology expertise provided to them through a vendor by taking advantage of their client list. I would also suggest that you spend time with existing vendor customers to understand what support record the vendor historically and currently provides to its customer base. Lastly, it is imperative to have a detailed project plan in place that clearly defines goals and identifies the needed resources from both parties.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com ©2011 Insuresoft, All Rights Reserved.

Best-of-Breed Policy Administration Systems: Lessons from the Habitrail®

As Seen In the July/August 2011 issue of Insurance Networking News.
By: Terry Brown, Vice President of Implemenation Services at Insuresoft

It’s an age old struggle in this business—deciding between implementing a full enterprise solution vs. implementing ‘best of breed’ solutions from various vendors within the insurance vertical. You can make an argument in favor or against either approach. Enterprise solutions are typically easier to implement and allow carriers to clearly define work effort and costs by working with just one vendor. However, enterprise solutions can also be a bit limiting. Maybe not all of the components of the system are as feature-rich or as robust as others or maybe the various business units within the carrier cannot agree on which solution best fits their needs. Best of breed solutions, on the other hand, allow carriers to choose from among 60+ vendors in the space for the best systems for them by component. It seems like this approach would make all the business units happy. However, best of breed solutions are inherently more complex and risky. In addition to evaluating the functionality offered by each solution, carriers must determine how each system will integrate with the others. Issues of data transparency, maintaining a consistent user experience, and dealing with various technology stacks complicate both the evaluation and the implementation processes. Ideally, what carriers want and need is the best of both worlds—the ability to implement solutions by component, as their business needs and budgets dictate, and to eventually wind up with an enterprise-wide solution that provides best of breed functionality for all core components.

This sort of ‘plug and go’ mentality reminds me of the Habitrail system I built and maintained for my favorite pet hamster, as a little girl. I was one of those kids that always wanted the newest, coolest stuff and Habitrail was my parents’ way of giving me at least some of what I wanted without breaking the bank. Remember the Habitrail? It could be as basic or as cool as you wanted to make it. What started out as a standard plastic box, big enough for one hamster, could quickly evolve into sections that included a bigger space for multiple hamsters as well as the now famous hamster wheel treadmill, a jungle gym and even climbing walls and a swimming pool! If my parents had limited me to a standard cage, not capable of expansion, I would soon have been asking for a replacement cage for my birthday and would have tossed the current cage out with the trash. Not a good investment! Similarly, if they purchased various add-ons from other manufacturers and relied on me to duct tape them together, that would have spelled serious trouble for both me and for my poor pet hamster, who would undoubtedly have found his way out of the cage and into harm’s way. With the Habitrail, my parents provided me with a starter cage for my first hamster and the ability to add on when needed or desired and at a more reasonable cost. Each new module was provided by the same manufacturer and easily plugged into place, expanding my hamster’s living space and feeding my need to keep up with the latest cool stuff I saw on TV.

The Habitrail concept might just be the solution for that age old struggle carriers face. “Best-of-breed” policy administration systems from a single vendor can provide carriers with the best of both worlds. The solution: A single vendor who offers a suite of modules for carriers seeking to control the pace of their implementations and deployment of core system functionalities. This approach helps keep carriers costs controlled while moving their organization toward having that full suite of PAS modules as their needs call for it based on growth, timing and budgets.

its flagship policy administration system—The Diamond System—into a “best-of-breed” single vendor-modular offering for P&C carriers. The Diamond System, which is built on the Microsoft .NET platform and has a services-oriented architecture that enables web-based access for agents, consumers and other insurance carrier partners, is a fully automated and integrated policy administration system for both personal and commercial lines insurance carriers. The Diamond System can now be implemented as either an enterprise solution or “best-of-breed” single vendor-modular offering for policy management, billing and claims processing.

The end result has been to provide carriers with more robust, user friendly pre-integrated technology in a modular format that allows them to easily add modules at their own pace, whenever they are ready for them. With the single vendor “best-of-breed” approach, carriers can now focus on improving internal operational efficiencies and system benefits compared to managing the product integrations.

It’s no coincidence that the Habitrail system is still available today. It’s still around because the concept is a good one. Find a vendor who knows their stuff and pick a starting point—one module or several. Expand over time to build the ultimate system.

Habitrail® is a registered trademark of Rolf C. Hagen Inc.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

KAI Advantage Auto, Inc. Rolls Out Insuresoft’s ASP Diamond System for their Policy Administration System

August 1, 2011: University Park, IL – Insuresoft, a leading provider of insurance software, announced today that Elk Grove Village, Illinois based KAI Advantage Auto, Inc. (a subsidiary of Kingsway America, Inc.) has rolled out The Diamond System in a hosted (ASP) environment for their policy administration system for their non-standard auto line of business in Indiana.

“The hard work that both Insuresoft and KAI Advantage Auto have done on this project over the last few months has culminated with the processing of our first new business transactions using The Diamond System via our website www.kaiconnect.com,” stated Roger Beck, President & COO at KAI Advantage Auto, “Our excitement continues to grow as we look forward to our upcoming roll out in Illinois.”

The Diamond System is a fully automated and integrated policy administration system for both personal and commercial lines insurance carriers. The Diamond System can be implemented as a component based or enterprise solution for policy, billing and claims processing. Built on the Microsoft .NET platform, it has a services-oriented architecture that enables web-based access for agents, consumers and other insurance carrier partners. It can be deployed as an on-premise or hosted solution for property and casualty carriers of all sizes.

“Rolling out Indiana for KAI Advantage Auto on our ASP model is just the beginning,” states Bradley Stoub, Vice President of Sales at Insuresoft, “KAI Advantage Auto is committed to using technology to continue to help them grow and prosper in a very competitive non-standard auto market. Insuresoft is proud to be a partner with KAI Advantage Auto.”

About KAI Advantage Auto, Inc.:
KAI Advantage Auto Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingsway America Inc. The Kingsway America, Inc. group of companies focuses on non-standard automobile insurance in the United States of America. Kingsway’s primary businesses are involved in the insuring of automobile risks for drivers who do not meet the criteria for coverage by standard automobile insurers. Kingsway America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingsway Financial Services, Inc., whose shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “KFS”.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

Multi-State Insurance Services Goes Live on Insuresoft’s Diamond System

July 11, 2011: University Park, IL - Insuresoft, a leading provider of insurance software, announced today that Santa Clarita, California based Multi-State Insurance Services, Inc. has launched Insuresoft's Diamond System™ to automate their policy administration and billing functions for private passenger automobile insurance.

“We are extremely happy and proud that we have been able to integrate the Insuresoft Diamond application into our business. Diamond is going to allow us to better serve our clients while also helping us to expand our business in an efficient and well thought out manner,” stated Raimundo Ruiz, Chief Executive Officer of Multi-State Insurance Services, “By going live with The Diamond System, Multi-State has gone from having limited technology to having a fully functional policy processing system in a matter of only 6 months. We now have a technology that is above what our competitors have and that allows us to customize our product offerings while we expand our business, “Ruiz continued, “The Insuresoft team did a wonderful job in helping us understand the capabilities of The Diamond System throughout their analysis of our business. They challenged us to think “outside the box” when it came down to how we wanted our system to function.”

The Diamond System is a fully automated and integrated policy processing system for both personal and commercial insurance carriers. It is a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective solution for carrying out all business-critical insurance processing functions.

“During our new system evaluation stage, Insuresoft impressed us with an emphasis on their commitment to excellence in customer service. Once we started working with their team, we often heard the phrase – ‘we do that’ and without having to incur additional charges.” Ruiz concluded.

Tony Villa, President and Chief Executive Officer for Insuresoft added, "The Multi-State team has approached this project with a great attitude. They embraced the concept of implementing Insuresoft's best practices to leverage Diamond's out-of-the-box capabilities. We’re looking forward to a long and successful partnership.”

“The teamwork approach we have with our customers truly helps set Insuresoft apart from a lot of technology companies,” stated Chris Blair, Vice President of Account Services for Insuresoft, “Going live on Diamond was the result of a number of people from Multi-State and Insuresoft coming together to understand each other’s business.”

About Multi-State Insurance Services, Inc:
Multi-State Insurance Services, Inc. was established to provide a strong general agent market without sacrificing the underwriting and processing discipline that is necessary to produce an underwriting profit. Multi-State has a strong commitment to its carrier partners with the experience of having over 24 straight years of profitable personal lines management. Multi-State customers are assured that they will be treated professionally and given the attention and outstanding products and service that they deserve.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

AQS and Insuresoft form Mobius Alliance to offer Integrated Core Solutions for P&C Insurers

May 23, 2011: University Park, IL – AQS and Insuresoft are pleased to announce the companies have formed a strategic alliance which combines the strengths of both organizations to offer a full suite of integrated solutions for personal and commercial lines carriers.

Both AQS and Insuresoft have long histories of providing value to the P&C industry. Each company will continue to operate independently as well as through this new alliance. The alliance, combined with AQS’ long time partnership with the ISO Rating Service, brings together three high value offerings into a single end-to-end solution and will be known collectively as the AQS Mobius Alliance. The new suite, which is available immediately, includes applications for policy management, billing, claims, document management, agency and consumer web portals, product configuration and analytics.

“Even though the industry is only learning of this alliance today, we have been collaboratively working on this relationship for some time,” said Tony Villa, Insuresoft CEO. “Integrating our solutions and services enables us to deliver a seamless offering to existing and potential clients. Our combined offerings to the market create a comprehensive, integrated, and powerful solution suite.”

A significant differentiator for the alliance is the degree of integration the companies have achieved. The unique alignment of the AQS-Insuresoft partnership penetrates all aspects of the organizations’ products, technology, strategies, services, and contracting. The other key differentiator of the new joint offering is that it becomes the only enterprise solution that provides seamless consumption of ISO content.

“The ability to implement and stay current with ISO products, rates, rules, and forms is a significant challenge for commercial lines insurance companies,” said Karen Furtado, partner for SMA. “A complete end-to-end solution that utilizes the robust ISO offering brings a new level of capability to the industry.”

Existing clients will now have access to additional solutions that are integrated with currently installed products, while new clients will have the option of installing an integrated, end-to-end solution suite or a single component with the ability to easily expand through additional components in the future.

“We evaluated a number of potential partners over the last few years,” said Dave Kerford, AQS CEO. “Insuresoft has complementary solutions, a strong financial record, a highly-satisfied client base, and a long track record of success. Additionally, over the last year, I’ve been impressed by how well the two company cultures have grown and matured together.”

About AQS:
AQS is an industry leader in providing insurance solutions and expertise to the Property and Casualty industry. AQS solutions, which support all lines of business in all 50 states, deliver scalability and interoperability, using web services and .NET architecture to maximize extensibility, optimize integration with other systems, and automate the entire policy lifecycle. Along with its leading solutions, AQS provides extensive integration, consulting, and support services to its clients. For more information about AQS, please contact Bruce Davis at 803-467-3007 or bruce.davis@aqssys.com.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

Insuresoft Partners with Marias Technology for Business Process Outsourcing Services

May 12, 2011: University Park, IL – Insuresoft, a leading policy administration solution provider for property and casualty insurance carriers, announced today the formation of a partnership agreement with Marias Technology of Piqua, Ohio. This partnership will bring cost-effective business process outsourcing and business continuity services to small to mid-sized property and casualty insurance carriers.

At the center of this technology solution will be The Diamond System, Insuresoft’s award winning policy administration system. The Diamond System is a fully automated and integrated policy administration system for both personal and commercial lines insurance carriers. The Diamond System can be implemented as a component based or enterprise solution for policy, billing and claims processing. Built on the Microsoft .NET platform, it has a services-oriented architecture that enables web-based access for agents, consumers and other insurance carrier partners.

In addition to providing business process outsourcing and continuity services to carriers through this partnership, Marias Technology also provides technology services in the areas of computer system migration, process improvements, computer system testing, and insurance technology consulting.

The Insuresoft - Marias Technology partnership may be new to the industry but the founders of Marias Technology and Insuresoft have been partners for a long time. Buckeye Insurance Group, who formed Marias Technology in 2008, has been an Insuresoft customer since 1999.

“Buckeye has truly been a great partner through the years and has consistently leveraged the functionality in Diamond to bring operational efficiencies to the policy administration lifecycle,” stated Tony Villa, President and CEO at Insuresoft, “So choosing to partner with Marias Technology was a very natural and easy decision to make for Insuresoft.”

“With our focus at Marias being small to mid-sized insurance companies, our partnership with Insuresoft and The Diamond System is a great fit,” stated R. Christopher Haines, Vice President of Marias Technology and CIO of parent Buckeye Insurance Group. “There is no better illustration of what Diamond can do for a small company than what it has done for Buckeye over the last decade.”

About Marias Technology:
Marias Technology offers insurance technology services to small to mid-sized insurance companies. Services range from system and web hosting, to business process outsourcing solutions, such as print and mail services. Marias also specializes in availability services, providing business continuity consulting, and workplace availability. Marias Technology is a division of Buckeye Insurance Group, with offices in Piqua, Ohio, and a datacenter and availability lab in Covington, Ohio.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

Stonegate Insurance Company Implements Personal Auto with The Diamond System from Insuresoft

March 14, 2011: University Park, IL - Stonegate Insurance Company, based in Chicago, IL needed a policy administration system that could be rapidly deployed for their agents writing personal auto in Illinois. Stonegate’s sister company, Unique Insurance, was already an Insuresoft customer using The Diamond System since 2008 for their non-standard auto policies in IL, MS and IN. This helped make Stonegate’s decision to implement The Diamond System an easy one.

“When Stonegate Insurance was looking for information on policy administration system options, I did not hesitate to recommend The Diamond System from Insuresoft,” stated Matthew Dutkanych, President of Unique Insurance, “Insuresoft has become more than just a vendor to us – they are our partner.”

Rapid implementations are only some of the work that’s been done for Stonegate and Unique Insurance Companies. Insuresoft is currently working on an integration for Unique on QuotePro, a comparative rater and will soon be establishing a separate project with Insuresoft to implement Diamond Access for Unique’s agency users. In addition to personal auto at Stonegate, their homeowners implementation is currently in progress along with a planned roll out of commercial lines later this year.

About Unique Insurance/Stonegate Insurance:
Chicago based Unique Insurance Company was founded in 1996. Unique provides automobile liability and physical damage coverage for nonstandard automobile risks primarily in the metropolitan Chicago area in the State of Illinois. Unique Insurance Company has experienced a conservative growth that makes everybody proud to be a member of the Unique growing family. Unique Insurance Company is dedicated to offer the best customer service in the industry, whether it is underwriting, claims or billing, our commitment is to providing the agents as well as our insured's with the best service.

Stonegate Insurance is an independent insurance company based in Chicago specializing in standard auto and home policies in Illinois. Stonegate also writes Commercial GL and auto policies in Illinois

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com

Insuresoft moves Commercial Lines Carrier into Production on the Diamond System

January 14, 2011 – University Park, IL – Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, a prominent property and casualty insurance carrier that signed a recent agreement to implement the Diamond System from Insuresoft for their policy administration system, has reached several significant implementation milestones.

Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company has completed an internal rollout of ten commercial lines of business using the Diamond System. Those ten lines include Commercial Auto, Garage Liability, Business Owners, Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Commercial Property, Commercial Inland Marine, Commercial Umbrella, Crime and Commercial Package. Indiana Farmers Mutual writes business in the state of Indiana and is using Diamond for full policy administration, billing, claims, and print, as well as management and statistical reporting.

“Rolling out as many commercial lines of business at the same time as we did is no small task,” stated Tony Cox, Process & Project Consultant at Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, “ Diamond provided us with enough system flexibility to make this kind of an aggressive roll-out plan happen.”

Indiana Farmers Mutual also plans on rolling out point-of-sale (POS) capabilities to its agents for these lines later this year.

“We are proud of the progress that Indiana Farmers Mutual has made with the Diamond System,” stated Terry Brown, Vice President of Implementation Services at Insuresoft, “It is exciting to provide the tools and technology for Indiana Farmers Mutual’s growth and expansion plans.”

About Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company has been meeting the property and casualty insurance needs of Hoosiers since 1877. They continue this proud history by adherence to 19th-century values while employing 21st-century technology.

About Insuresoft, Inc.:
Insuresoft is a Microsoft Gold-Certified independent software vendor delivering insurance software to the property and casualty insurance industry. Insuresoft offers a suite of products and services that are configured to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and managing general agents in North America. Insuresoft is a privately-held company headquartered in University Park, Illinois, with offices in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Visit www.insuresoft.com.

Contact: Mike Hernandez
Phone: (866) 299-1314 ext. 35035
Fax: (708) 534-0163
mhernandez@insuresoft.com