FirstBest Systems, Inc., FirstBest Front Office Suite

The suite brings together agents and underwriters in a collaborative underwriting process that helps them to quote and close business. The suite enables carriers and their distribution channels to increase efficiencies, grow their books of business, and cast a wider net to bring in new business.

"In today's challenging environment, insurers are demanding a new approach that not only increases efficiency for the carrier, but also creates a stronger connection with the distribution channel in a way that's optimal for both," says John Belizaire, co-founder and CEO of FirstBest Systems, Inc. "Insurers want to go beyond the back office to drive greater revenue from the distribution channel. The only way to do that is to weave a seamless collaborative process from agent to underwriting to back-end systems."

The suite brings agents, brokers, MGAs, MGUs, and underwriters together in a collaborative underwriting process that incorporates business rules, collaboration and knowledge management tools, activities, predictive analytics, and all of the information needed to submit, evaluate, quote and close business. In addition, the applications enable carriers to:

• Increase efficiency - With straight-through processing (STP), automated workflow, business rules and more.
• Become the "carrier of choice" - And grow the book of business by providing agents with true ease of doing business (EODB), faster and more efficient quoting, and real-time collaboration between agents, brokers, MGAs, MGUs, and underwriters.
• Cast a wider net and bring in new business - By broadening market appeal and supporting different distribution and process models for different market segments (e.g., STP for lower-margin business).
• Lower the loss ratio with greater underwriting discipline - Foster underwriting discipline and best practices by automating underwriting rules, workflows, letters of authority, and referrals to streamline and drive consistency throughout the process.
• Scale the business with greater agility - Increase business without a corresponding increase in expense, bring products to market faster and gain real-time visibility.

"We've designed the new FirstBest Front Office Suite to meet and exceed the needs of carriers and agents," says Joseph Pilkerton, co-founder and COO of FirstBest Systems. "With the suite's modular applications, shared Web services, and proven deployment methodology, FirstBest and our partners can rapidly deploy the suite at a much lower TCO."