Orbit UK and GXS, a provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions, announced a new managed services solution for the UK insurance industry. Managed Gateway for Insurance will provide a simplified method for UK-based insurers to adopt and conduct B-to-B e-commerce transactions. Orbit UK is working with GXS to offer this new service, which has been designed for the UK insurance community and its providers, enabling improved and faster B-to-B integration between insurers, intermediaries, and consumers. Orbit UK has extensive experience in the UK insurance market, working with more than 50 companies, including major insurance providers, brokers, and financial institutions.

"With Web-based portals, direct Internet connections, traditional EDI VANs, and the proliferation of dozens of standards and protocols globally, UK insurers are mired in B-to-B complexity," says Steve McCall, director of Orbit UK. "By combining GXS' broad range of B-to-B capabilities with Orbit UK's knowledge of the insurance sector, we believe we can simplify B-to-B e-commerce for both insurers and their business partners."

The UK insurance industry is undergoing rapid change as consumers are dealing directly with insurers over the Web or through retail channels. Insurers are responding to these challenges with new products and flexible pricing schemes, but too often the availability of these services are delayed due to technology challenges. For a product to be available for sale in the market, it first must be integrated into the software applications used by the broker community. An extensive testing and certification process is required to complete the integration as each software provider uses different message formats and network protocols for B to B.