Two insurance outsourcing firms have formed a strategic allianceto help insurance firms select the best option for theiroutsourcing needs. Patra Corporation, which provides back-officeand account management outsourcing, and Work-at-Home VintageEmployees (WAHVE), which provides domestic remote staffingsolutions for insurance firms using the industry's retiring talent,have entered an exclusive partnership utilizing their complementarystrengths and expertise to create outsourcing solutions forinsurance firms of all sizes.

This partnership provides small, middle-market and high-endagencies with new outsourcing options that address challengesranging from high-volume, highly specialized tasks such ascertificate issuance to sophisticated activity such as qualitycontrol and account audits. Additionally, this agreement enables anagency to allocate the service work for an entire book of businessfor management by an outsourced solution.

"By teaming with Patra, WAHVE is now able to supply experiencedinsurance industry professionals to more insurance agencies andbrokers," says Sharon Emek, WAHVE's president and CEO. "Outsourcingemployees is one of the most efficient ways for insurance agentsand brokers to boost productivity."

"The WAHVE partnership greatly expands Patra's on-shoreoutsourcing capability and positions the two companies withcomprehensive domestic and overseas solutions," says Dan Easterlin,Patra's co-founder and co-CEO. "The partnership came about as theresult of listening to our customers ask for domestic staffingoptions to augment Patra's current overseas services."

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

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

WAHVE offers a remote outsourcing model under which experiencedU.S. retirees work from home for insurance industry firms. Foundedas an alternative to offshoring for agents, brokers and insurers,WAHVE provides back-office processing and customer service. WAHVEcreated a database of baby boomer retirees with insurance knowledgewho provide contract staffing or consulting to firms on afull-time, part-time and/or project basis.

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