Two insurance outsourcing firms have formed a strategic alliance to help insurance firms select the best option for their outsourcing needs. Patra Corporation, which provides back-office and account management outsourcing, and Work-at-Home Vintage Employees (WAHVE), which provides domestic remote staffing solutions for insurance firms using the industry's retiring talent, have entered an exclusive partnership utilizing their complementary strengths and expertise to create outsourcing solutions for insurance firms of all sizes.

This partnership provides small, middle-market and high-end agencies with new outsourcing options that address challenges ranging from high-volume, highly specialized tasks such as certificate issuance to sophisticated activity such as quality control and account audits. Additionally, this agreement enables an agency to allocate the service work for an entire book of business for management by an outsourced solution.

“By teaming with Patra, WAHVE is now able to supply experienced insurance industry professionals to more insurance agencies and brokers,” says Sharon Emek, WAHVE's president and CEO. “Outsourcing employees is one of the most efficient ways for insurance agents and brokers to boost productivity.”

“The WAHVE partnership greatly expands Patra's on-shore outsourcing capability and positions the two companies with comprehensive domestic and overseas solutions,” says Dan Easterlin, Patra's co-founder and co-CEO. “The partnership came about as the result of listening to our customers ask for domestic staffing options to augment Patra's current overseas services.”

WAHVE will be Patra's exclusive domestic provider of skilled retired insurance professionals, and Patra will be WAHVE's exclusive provider of offshore insurance outsourcing.

While staff outsourcing has been available to insurance firms in the United States for years, there is a new wave of awareness about the benefits of outsourcing, due to the constraints presented by the soft market for commercial lines pricing, slow economic growth, the changing demographics of the workforce and extensive technology advancement. With insurance firms recognizing the need for their staff to focus on customer contact and not on process work to grow and stay profitable, there is an increasing need to outsource the right work to the right worker at the right time for the right price. WAHVE and Patra can help decision-makers determine which outsourcing solution is best from a number of options.

WAHVE offers a remote outsourcing model under which experienced U.S. retirees work from home for insurance industry firms. Founded as an alternative to offshoring for agents, brokers and insurers, WAHVE provides back-office processing and customer service. WAHVE created a database of baby boomer retirees with insurance knowledge who provide contract staffing or consulting to firms on a full-time, part-time and/or project basis.

Patra uses a specialist model that allows it to allocate a team of specific resources when insurance clients need them. Using a Web-based workflow management system, Patra uses employees based in its operations center in India and client service leaders based in the U.S.

Special Reports /

WAHVE, Patra Alliance Looks to Meet Outsourcing Needs of Agents, Brokers

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