Burgers and fries. Summer and baseball. Wine and cheese. There are some things that naturally go together, no questions asked. Not many people would add independent insurance agents and the Internet to that list, but Chris Mower, of Royal & Sun Alliance USA (R&SA-USA), thinks youd be wrong not to include them.

As manager of R&SA-USAs professional & financial risks division e-business solutions, Mower is a product of both the business side and the technology side of the insurance industry. His business goal has been to bridge the two sides for better, faster, and easier connections. Thats why the company designed a new business model that would attract new customers and address their needs more effectively and efficiently. The product is called Business Assurance Center, and it helps small businesses guard against management liability exposures. Its sold only through independent agents using the Internet.

R&SA already offered liability coverage for large businesses, so this was a new market for the carrier. Small businesses were interested, but the delivery mechanism wasnt providing pricing, terms, and conditions that were favorable, Mower said. How do you address that need? We looked at the evolution of the policy and re-engineered the process.

R&SA-USA turned to several partners for help, including Dun & Bradstreet for customer demographics. We were going after a sector of the market that the bricks-and-mortar companies couldnt effectively address, so we had to make the whole process electronic, Mower said.

After looking for software solutions in the U.S. and overseas, it settled on Hyderabad, India-based Satyam Computer Services. Their focus was our focus, Mower said. We didnt have all the answers and they challenged us. Plus, their pricing was excellent. (And it didnt hurt that Satyam had worked with other R&SA companies in India.) They had that connection, but the key was they put people in our office during the design and development stage, he said.

Dealing with an offshore development model caused some initial communication problems. We had to address the English (language) issue, Mower said. The companies established a formal process of double-checking notes from all meetingsthose notes were reviewed and agreed upon by both sides before any action could be taken on them.

A benefit of using a company in India is the time difference, according to Mower. While the R&SA-USA people slept at night, Satyams people were working on developing the Web tools at their center in India, 10 1/2 hours ahead. We would design it during our workday, they would develop it overnight, and we would review it the next morning, Mower said.

Cultural issues were more than just geographic, though. Insurance agencies are used to the manual process, Mower said. Once we were able to influence the change (to an electronic process) it was easier to go on, but when youre a pioneer, youre also a guinea pig.

The new product is currently being offered only in Missouri and North Carolina, but Mower said that the paperwork will be filed and the company will be ready to go in 20 states by the end of the year. How many of those states will be selling products depends on how well the company can train its agents on the new system. Agency relationship management teams have been working to train the agents. Initially, the quotes being generated were a by-product of that training, but Mower said, We are now seeing the agents utilizing the system on their own.

Mower is confident in the long-term success of the project. The money R&SA has invested will pay a great return both in new business and value back to the organization, he said. The motto has been build once and replicate often. A successful future depends a great deal on how well that motto can be followed.

THE PROBLEM: DEVELOP AND DEPLOY AN E-BUSINESS SOLUTION FOR A NEW MARKET.

THE COMPANY: ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE USA

PROFESSIONAL & FINANCIAL RISKS DIVISION

LINES: MULTI

NET PREMIUM WRITTEN (WORLDWIDE): $12.5 BILLION

THE SOFTWARE: PROFIN, FROM

SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES

WEB SITE: www.satyam.com

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