Tech Products Unveiled At IASA

By Ara C.Trembly

NU Online News Service, June 5, 11:07 a.m. EST, SanFrancisco?Several new computer systems designed to boostproductivity and trim the bottom line for insurance and financialservices firms were among the highlights of announcements made herethis week during the IASA 2002 Educational Conference and BusinessShow.

Insurance Data Processing, Inc. of Wyncote, Pa. rolled out its"S.U.R.E." (System Underwriting Rules Enforcer) property-casualtyunderwriting system during the show. The company described theproduct as an intelligent underwriting system that offersproduction efficiencies, advanced rules enforcement, systemscontrol, and graphic reporting capabilities.

According to Mike Tapper, vice president of sales and marketingfor IDP, the system is designed for underwriting process managers,allowing them to enter, edit and implement underwriting rules andguidelines. The rules can be multi-transaction-based andcustom-configured for multiple lines of business in multiple statesinvolving multiple companies, said IDP.

Mr. Tapper noted the system also allows users to add notes totheir underwriting rules and offers "simple integration with agencymanagement systems." The system is Windows-based.

IDP said that "S.U.R.E." enforces rules stored in its databaseagainst incoming application data, automatically deciding whichrules and guidelines should be reinforced. The system then presentsthe results to the user.

The system reduces a company's operating costs by automatingunderwriting policy and renewal processes, according to Mr. Tapper.It also offers improved compliance with underwriting guidelines,improved loss ratios, and better management risk selection, headded.

IDP said the system's reporting function monitors, analyzes andmeasures activity figures, allowing management to evaluate therobustness of their underwriting results.

The system presents results in up to 30 available graph andchart types, including 3D, or in a table format that can beexported to other formats. Ultimately, insurers will benefit byhaving "a cleaner book of business that's accurately priced," Mr.Tapper said.

In other product news at IASA:

? Hyland Software, Inc., the developer of "OnBase" documentmanagement software, announced a partnership with Denver-based OpenScan Technologies, Inc., an exception mail processing solutionprovider, to create an insurance industry product for processingnew business and ongoing commercial premium payments.

According to Cleveland-based Hyland, "OnBase" products provideimaging, workflow and document management, while Open Scan's "MailScan" and "Open Key" offer automated capture, routing, recognitionand exception handling. This allows for automated import of allcaptured images and index values.

Using the combined technologies, users can scan premium paymentchecks and new business applications with automated sorting andworkflow processing of the scanned images at the point of entry,which minimizes costs associated with paper handling, claimedHyland.

Brian Schlegel, Hyland's insurance industry manager, said thecombined products allow reductions in or elimination of manual mailprocessing, as well as "dramatically" reduced data entry. "Users ofthe technology will realize a quick return on investment due todramatically reduced operations costs," he said.

? "InsureWorx," a component library designed for mid-size tolarge commercial lines and group insurance carriers, was introducedby WorldGroup Consulting, based in San Francisco. Claim componentsare now available, with underwriting and billing planned for futurereleases, the company said.

A Java-based system, "InsureWorx" offers "a fully integrated,Web-based environment to provide easy access and straight-throughprocessing for true anywhere, anytime computing," said WorldGroup.The product's component approach lets WorldGroup's clients replacelegacy system areas as needed, "offering a manageable,piece-by-piece approach to legacy replacement," the companynoted.

? Meanwhile, there was hardware news in the introduction of twomultifunctional products by Lexmark International, Inc., based inLexington, Ky. The "X620e" and the "X750e" consolidate printing,copying, faxing and scanning capabilities into a single unit.

According to Lexmark, the products also boost productivity viadocument-routing capabilities, such as scanning a document directlyto e-mail. The units also include a touch screen interface "that isso intuitive, virtually anyone can walk up to it and access [the]features with no training."

The "X620e" carries a list price of $6,999, while the "X750e"adds color output functionality and has a list price of $9,499,said a Lexmark representative.

? In the life insurance area, Sherwood International of Armonk,N.Y., introduced "Amarta LIFE Fast-Start," a new-businessprocessing product based on the company's "Amarta" business processproduct.

Aimed at insurers who want to "modernize and streamline theirnew business operations," "Fast-Start" combines administrativefunctions with "robust" Web-portal technology, said Sherwood, whichdescribed the product as an out-of-the-box application that canintegrate with a company's core systems to create a new businessenvironment.

According to Sherwood, "Fast-Start" enables insurers to launchnew products and channel relationships quickly, and to processbusiness more effectively. The company said the product woulddeliver better time to market for such products while loweringcosts and increasing control in the insurer's back office.