E-commerce Software: Good News And Bad News

With so many e-commerce products and solutions available today,technology vendors are presenting a good-news/ bad-news scenariofor property and casualty insurance companies and reinsurers.

The good news is that vendors have responded to the industryse-commerce needs with myriad products. The bad news is: How does acompany decide what systems or software to use?

Making these decisions is “very difficult for companies,” saidtechnology analyst Judy Johnson, vice president, MediGroup inStamford, Conn. “Its basically who gets to the right person firstand tells the best story.”

Vendors are offering sophisticated products that allow forwireless communications, full trading partner participation, ratingand other sales tools to both agents and brokers and theconsumer.

Jackie VanErp, vice president, marketing, for the financialservices group of Computer Sciences Corporation, El Segundo,Calif., said that CSC has several new products that “enableinsurers to place the necessary sales tools in the hands of agentsand brokers.”

New e-commerce products from CSC include iSolutions, ane-business tool which can be used for sales by agents or brokers ordirect to consumers.

The product allows a company to quickly design and assemble newinsurance products and to deliver them simultaneously to callcenters, the Internet or agent offices through several distributionchannels, according to Ms. VanErp.

Another software product, VP/MS supports Internet-based quotingof the insurers rates to prospective clients, as well as agents andbrokers, she said.

Information on other CSC products is available atwww.csc.com.

IRTechnology, in Princeton, N.J., a subsidiary of InsuranceRevolution, has responded to an industry need for sales andmarketing with software that allows an agency to send multiplesubmissions to multiple carriers without re-keying, according toJeff Behm, chief e-business officer.

The system, now in production, operates from the agency side,but is a means of communicating bi-directionally. Carriers canrespond to submissions with a quote via ACORD-based XML standards,Mr. Behm said.

More information is available on IRTs Web site atwww.irtechnology.com.

Synergy 2000 has a new program called Eservices for P-C andreinsurance, which covers sales for five lines of business: auto,homeowners, business owners policy, professional liability andworkers compensation.

Charles Cronin, president, Infinity Technology Services, asubsidiary of Synergy 2000, in Pasadena, Calif., said the programcovers the span of quoting by agents, applications, agentunderwriting workflow, template underwriting and binding.

The Java-based program is a Web interface that interacts withlegacy systems and is marketed to insurance carriers, managinggeneral agencies and pools, he said.

Pricing is generally “$50,000 per line [of business], plusimplementation.” System requirements are basically “dial-in accessto the Internet by a desktop or wireless device,” Mr. Croninexplained.

Benefits of the program include accurate rates, single systemmaintenance, paperless underwriting and a faster sales process foragents and carriers, Mr. Cronin said. Information about the programcan be obtained by calling 626-792-8600.

Greenwich, Conn.-based IVANS has responded to e-commerce needswith several new products, according to the company.

Transformation Xpress is a “translation software” that allowscompanies to easily exchange policy data with trading partners, thecompany said.

Transformation Station offers both batch and real-timeprocessing over the Internet for agents needing real time quotesfor clients, according to IVANS.

“These products are geared to allowing the agent to focus onselling products quickly,” said Bill Tedrick, vice president,customer services and industry sales.

A third product, WebSEMCI, provides companies with the abilityto capture sales information from agencies through a Windows-basedinterface or an ACORD form-based display, the company said.

More information is available at www.ivans.com.

IPNet Solutions Inc., in Newport Beach, Calif., said it recentlyintroduced the IPNet eBizness suite, which is made up of Transactand Collaborate components. The program supports Internetstandards, XML and legacy EDI systems, according to the company,allowing secure transfer of any type of document includingpolicies, between two business partners.

Costs vary “on size and scope of project,” the company said.Cost for the basic e-Bizness Transaction product begins at$50,000.

Atlanta-based Ebix.com Inc. has introduced ebixasp, said AndyWhalen, vice president sales and marketing. The product, he said,is an HTML-based client management system for agents and brokersthat offers full contact management, giving the agent or brokercomplete information about clients, prospects and theirassociates.

The Internet software is accessible by all handheld devices andcan send messages and reminders to a cell phone, Mr. Whalensaid.

The software is designed for agencies and MGAs, as well as largebrokerages, he said. The setup and registration fee ranges from$1,000 to $5,000 with a monthly charge of “$65 per user.”

More information is available at www.ebix.com.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, November 26, 2001.Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.

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