CLOSING

AMS turns off TowerStreet
AMS Services(www.ams-services.com)pulled the plug on TowerStreet at the end of October, citing marketindicators and new goals for existing business units.

According to AMS Holding Group CEO Euan Menzies, the companysplan for TowerStreet was to create Net-based versions of P&Cproducts and services. But, as he put it, as capital marketssoftened toward the end of last year, the company refocusedTowerStreet to a narrower vision that included developing agencypoint-of-sale initiatives, and helping financial-services companiesexpand their use of existing platforms and architecture. But bymidsummer, customer pickup rate was slower than expected.

When we saw the revenue streams flatter than expected, wedecided TowerStreet was not as strong an investment, Menzies said,and we saw opportunities to support other businesses withinAMS.

One such opportunity was the recent acquisition of The Solution,the IAS business of InsurQuote from ChannelPoint. The deal includesa Windows-based desktop rating product that will become part ofAMSs rating business.

In the meantime, Menzies said AMS is working closely withexisting customers, making sure they have access to desktopcomparative rating products.

COMPLIANCE

InSystems updates Tracker
InSystems(www.insystems. com) hasreleased version 4.7 of its Tracker solution, designed to automateinsurance compliance filings.

Tracker handles state forms and filing regulations, and includesa regulatory specialist to handle multiple department of insuranceaddresses. And each time a filing is prepared, Tracker produces asearchable database that allows attachment of rules, rates,circulars, policy forms, and more.
Market conduct exams run more smoothly, according to InSystems,because Tracker records dates and interactions with DOIs.Transmittal templates from previous versions have been replaced byautomated forms, giving the user a WYSIWYG view of each form. Oncefilings are complete, Tracker collates printed materials based onuser configuration and produces required copies.

SALES TOOLS

CNA expands online tools
CNA gave itssales force more tools via the CNA Central Web site (www.cnacentral.com), a dynamictransactional and account management resource for its products andservices.
Existing capabilities such as rating, quoting, and billing arecomplemented by new features, including online eligibility andpricing, policy information export, commercial automobileendorsement, and one-on-one online chat to deal with specificunderwriting issues.

CNA Central, launched in January 2001, also provides userspremium indications and fully rated quotes for several CNAproducts.

VOICE RESPONSE

Great Americans new Ag
Building on itsAgLite wireless resource for Great American Insurance agents,suppliers, and trading partners, the Cincinnati-based insurer(www.myagritrust .com)launched AgLite Voice for its crop insurance business.

Designed to give agents and farmers 24/7 access to policyinformation, the automated voice response system is an extension ofthe AgLite Wireless rollout, and is accessible toll-free at1-877-AGLITE8. (See Great American has wireless in the Ag, JuneTD.)

According to Great American, the system gives instant access toclaims, billing, and other critical policy information. Itrepresents the latest voice recognition technology, as GreatAmerican put it, and operates via a seamless interface to thecompanys legacy systems.

Much like the AgLite Wireless program, the voice system was setup with guidance from Asynchrony Solutions (www.asolutions.com).

BENEFIT PLANS

McCamish enhances VPAS
McCamish Systems(www. maccamish.com) made what it described as substantialenhancements to the Benefit Plan Administration (BPA) product ofthe companys Variable Product Administration System (VPAS)family.

Now at version 2.0, VPAS BPA features an online participantenrollment system designed to allow non-qualified executive benefitplans participants to handle plan enrollment processes via abrowser-based interface. Users can input indicative data, deferralamounts and percentages, eligibility requirements, sources of fundoptions, and more.

Other enhancements include a revised system architecture thatallows customized business objects to be easily implemented forvesting and interest-crediting methods, and automated periodicwithdrawals with processing rules in place that allowsadministrators to control the creation process at plan level.

CRM

DWL releases better Customer
DWL (www.dwl.com) recently made available thelatest version of its Customer, an enterprise customer managementapplication.

The solution is a central breeding ground from which customerdata go forth and multiply, populating existing legacy systems andother front- and back-office assets. The platform consolidates thedata, ensuring consistent management across the enterprise.

According to DWL, CRM systems already in place will benefit fromthe better breed of information stored in the single-locationCustomer solution and will, in turn, help identify new businessopportunities and increase ROI from legacy technologies.
(Read more about DWL and Customer in our upcoming Januaryissue.)

XML

ACORD releases XML tweak
ACORD (www.acord.org) recently updated itsJoint Venture XML Standards for Reinsurance and Large CommercialInsurance (JV XML, at www.jvstandards.org) to version2001.1, reflecting results of version 1.0 pilot testing.

The changes: simplified transaction structures; optimized XMLdesigns enabling efficient interface incorporation into internalsystems; and an updated JV interactive data dictionary that offersfull support of new version standards.

JV standards apply to each part of the business cycle, includingsettlement, accounting, placement, and claims; ACORD believes theyreduce processing costs and accelerate treaty placement andsettlement.

AUDITING

CCC builds on QAAR Plus
CCC InformationServices (www. cccis.com) recently released version 1.2 of its QAARPlus, an auditing and reinspection tool.
QAAR Plus integrates with CCCs Pathways Appraisal Quality Solution,which monitors appraisal process accuracy and quality, and PathwaysQuality Advisor, a solution for workflow reinspection and decisionsupport.

QAAR Plus evaluates estimates against carrier rules establishedusing QAAR Writer, an integrated tool for creating and editingreinspection rules in non-technical terms. Custom rules optionsinclude focus on region, office, or individual source.

According to CCC, the combination of QAAR Plus and PathwaysQuality Advisor enables valuable insight into the appraisalprocess, and creates an opportunity for an insurance company tomore closely examine its reinspection business.

AUTO REPAIRS

Enterprise streamlines rentalprocess
Enterprise Rent-a-Car (www. enterprise.com)developed ARMS Claims (Automated Rental Management System) tostreamline communications between adjusters, repair shops, and therental company.

Adjusters can use the Web-enabled system to reserve rentalvehicles, obtain authorizations and billing extensions, and prepareinvoices to confirm reservations. But the solutions primary purposeis to help manage claims expenses while providing control overevery aspect of the rental claims process.
Enterprise claims ARMS reduces the insurance replacement rentalcycle by a half day, and helps cut back on calls between involvedparties; in all, Enterprise reports a $15 savings per transactionusing ARMS, totaling $54.6 million in industry-wide savings peryear.

HIPAA COMPLIANCE

Serena manages change
In hopes of usingHIPAA compliance as a vehicle for its products, Serena Software(www.serena.com) repositionedits enterprise content management (ECM) solutions and packaged themwith tools for programmer productivity.

The company believes its ECM products, including the SoftwareChange Manager seriesChangeMan Distributed Systems, Web Code andContent, Application Lifecycle, Enterprise Change Portal, andmoreare applicable to new rounds of HIPAA compliance, such aschange verification and audit trails. The solutions deal,respectively, with enforcing development strategies, control overcontent integrated across several sites, managing and reportingpeople and processes, and streamlining changes across multipleplatforms.

By keeping track of what changes are made and when, and thenverifying and maintaining the updates to code and internalprocesses, Serena claims its management apps hold HIPAA compliancesteady for the long term.

ESTIMATING

ISO aims for morespeedy deliveries
Itsenough to make Mr. McFeely* jealous. Insurance Services Office(ISO, at www.iso.com) has expandedits IntegRater electronic delivery tool designed to increase speedand accuracy when loading data into insurer rating systems.

At first, IntegRater handled the incorporation of ISO commerciallines advisory loss costs and rating factors into rating andpolicy-issuance systems, according to ISO. But the new solutionalso delivers commercial property and package policies, allowingusers to combine information from two commercial business lines.And, as ISO put it, premium modification factors can be used whenboth liability and property coverages are included in a multi-linepolicy under ISOs Commercial Lines Manual rules.

ISO has set a 2002 release date for IntegRater support ofcommercial auto and BOP information.

* What, you dont remember the Speedy Delivery MessengerService?

CONFERENCES

Insana to keynote at LOMA
LOMA (www.loma.org) announced that that RonInsana, a co-anchor of CNBCs Business Center, will present thekeynote at the organizations 2002 Systems Forum in Hollywood,Fla.

According to the organization, Insana will discuss the impact ofthe war in Afghanistan will impact the U.S. economy.

Also speaking at the conference will be Marcus Buckingham,author of First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover YourStrengthsboth on the topic of management and employeeretention.

ONLINE BROKER

InsureZone to broker small-businesspolicies
InsureZones MarketSecure technology is nowavailable. Designed to simplify the processes of obtainingcomparable quotes and binding policies, InsureZone believes it willallow insurers to offer almost 3,000 small business typesefficient, nationwide access to insurance products.

Requisite data for bindable quotes are keyed into an onlineapplication, which then automatically selects question sets foreach small business type to ease the process along. And accordingto InsureZone, help is available at any time.

To eliminate rekeying, customer information already in adatabase can be programmed to populate application fields; asave-as-you-go workflow is used to further save time. Along withthese features, users can change or copy applications for policyand price comparison using different variables.

MarketSecure relies on ACORD-compliant XML messaging schemas tofacilitate end-to-end integration between quoting and underwritingassets. According to InsureZone, this allows bindable quoteproduction in near real time, with the option to proceed directlyto issuance without much human involvement.
The solution can be distributed across multiple servers,maintaining data integrity and continuity. Its CRM functions helpwith cross selling and tracking, and can follow up onWeb-generated, phone, fax, or e-mail leads automatically.

CHANNEL MANAGEMENT

DSPA offers new FASAT
DSPA Software(www.dspasoftware.com)updated its Field Administration Support and Tracking (FASAT)software, often used by life insurers to centralize theadministration of complex distribution environments independent oflegacy systems.
According to DSPA, the most visible enhancement is the rules-basedCompensation Calculator, designed for flexible definition ofcompensation components. Thanks to this fattened feature, FASAT isable to look up compensation rates, and calculate, process, anddistribute compensation throughout distribution channelhierarchies.

Improvements to the browser-based application providelocation-independent access to functions such as real-time accessto pending business, detailed commission accounts, overrides,contracting requirements, license administration, and commissionstatements.