FirstBest Systems, Inc., provider of insurance software forstandard- and specialty commercial-lines insurance companies,announced the availability of the FirstBest front office solutionfor specialty-lines carriers.

The new solution enables specialty insurers to seize new market opportunities, drive underwritingprofitability in new and existing markets, and improve service tobrokers. The solution includes rapidly configuredapplications that bring in external data, incorporate modelingtools, and deliver precision pricing and underwritingdiscipline.

“Specialty insurance requires its own set of automationsolutions for underwriting and connectivity between the brokers,given the complexity and uniqueness of risks. SMA’s latestresearch (Applying Smarts to Underwriting) reflects a high increasein IT spending in specialty lines underwriting,” says DeborahSmallwood, founder of insurance strategic advisory firm StrategyMeets Action. “Today, insurers are looking beyond legacypolicy administration systems, spreadsheets, side tools, email, andmanual processes, to a modern and flexible underwriting managementsystem that enables specialty underwriting automation yet stillprovides the high-touch underwriting model. This type of technologysupports the art of underwriting complex risks with workflow thatbrings all of the information and loss analysis data to theunderwriter desktop and provides a high-touch collaborative brokerexperience that builds loyalty. It delivers the full suite ofsupport and automation that specialty lines need to compete intoday’s market.”

FirstBest’s front office solution brings several aspects tospecialty lines underwriting including:

• More accurate pricing for each risk – Flexibleworkflow enables specialty lines carriers to capture just the rightdata about the specific risk while also leveraging third-party dataand specialized, integrated modeling tools. Now underwritershave all that information at their fingertips to accurately priceand tailor terms and conditions to the risk characteristics inorder to provide competitive quotations that also protect theirprofitability.
• Business agility –The highly-configurable solution includes underwriting, brokerportal, and upload components that can be rapidly tailored anddeployed across different specialty lines as appropriate, socarriers can quickly capitalize on new market opportunities withoutextensive development and delays. It includes configurableworkflow, business rules and screens, as well as configurable datafields, values, class codes, and roles.
• Underwriting discipline – The solution helpsspecialty lines carriers build a profitable book by embeddingunderwriting quality and discipline throughout the process withcontextual supplemental questions, risk appetite rules, third-partyservices, models, production rating and pricing rules, checklists, electronic letters of authority, and automated referraldetection and processing.
• World-class broker service – By bringingproductivity and quality to the underwriter, the solution enablesinsurers to deliver faster decisions to brokers, helping the brokerprovide service to their customer. In addition, it providesadaptive collaboration tools to streamline communication betweenunderwriters and brokers. Finally, where appropriate, itallows brokers to expedite the submission process with easierentry, appetite alerts, pre-clearance, broker quote and bind, andvisibility. It gives brokers optimal service that fits therisk, the broker and the distribution model.

"Our solutions deliver a degree of configurability,collaboration, and broker ease of use that specialty lines have notexperienced before,” says John Belizaire, CEO and Founder ofFirstBest. “Carriers can now capture and fully utilize all of therisk, third-party data, and modeling needed to analyze a risk andprice it accurately, to enter and capitalize on new marketopportunities, and to provide top-notch broker service in acost-effective way. That’s why leading carriers work withFirstBest to transform their underwriting and brokerrelationships."