Product: Web Services and XML Data Translation
Company: Superior Access Internet Software, Inc.
Web site: www.sais.com
Superior Access Internet Software, Inc. (SAIS), introduced its multi-tier Web services technology for XML Data Translation be-tween its sister company, Superior Access Insurance Services, an Internet distribution portal, and The Hartford Financial Services Groups 1StepSurety Fidelity and Bonding system. The two companies needed to transfer disparate data from system to system in a real-time manner. The hurdle in this project was allowing the SAIS applications to operate effectively while providing seamless connectivity to The Hartford for its agents.
The Hartfords Web-based surety bond processing system, 1StepSurety, allows our agency customers to quote, rate, and bill an array of surety and fidelity bonds quickly and easily through the Superior Access Web front, says Russell Vance, business development director of The Hartfords Commercial Surety and Fidelity division. Once issued, the XML transfer allows The Hartford and Superior Access to recognize customer data and ensure producers are credited for their production. This technology and process supports The Hartfords focus of reaching more agencies and customers by combining new technology with expert products and underwriting.
The use of XML on top of MIME-encoded bonds substantially reduced the complexities associated with this type of integration. Further benefits include the ability to perform asynchronous transactions where the server resources are used to the minimum. Because 1StepSurety runs on a Sun Java platform and Superior Access Insurance Services is a Microsoft shop, we needed to marry the two, says Srinu Kalyan, the SAIS development lead on this project. We created a hybrid technology utilizing Web services that is secure, portable, extensible, and expandable. The solution incorporates Java, JSP, ASP, XML, and MIME, and uses both Java Run-Time and Microsofts IIS in its multi-tier architecture. This application is further extendable to handle SOAP.
The use of XML in this Web service reduces the costs and complexities associated with product integration. This development allows our 8,000-plus agencies to place bonds with The Hartford with little to no handling or transactional expense, says Mike Mayo, executive vice president of Superior Access Insurance Services. The system helps us to realize a tidy profit on a typically low-premium product line. Pricing was not available.
Product: Climetrix
Company: Risk Management Solutions
Web site: www.rms.com
The weather risk management industry has a newly enhanced tool as Risk Management Solutions, the Newark, Calif.-based provider of products and services for the management of natural hazard risks, released Version 3.3 of its Climetrix solution. Climetrix is a weather derivatives and risk management system with new functionality for pricing and portfolio management.
Swiss Re has been using Climetrix for three years and has added the new version. Mark Tawney, managing director of weather risk management for Swiss Re, says his company uses it as a trade-capture system. As we execute weather derivative trades, we input them into the Climetrix system, he says. We use that to maintain information on those trades and also to mark trends. Now that the Climetrix system has an automatic feed of market data, we also use it to mark the trades to market.
The weather risk management market has been in existence for about six years, according to Tawney. Its focused on what we like to call noncatastrophic weather, he says. Primary coverages are in the area of temperature and precipitation, and industries using such coverages include agriculture, construction, leisure, and utilities. Last winter was the warmest winter in 104 years in the Northeast, he says. As such, you had many natural gas utilities and other suppliers of energy that sold significantly less product and saw a decline in their revenues. We smooth out the volatility associated with the weather.
Climetrix gives a carrier comfort in knowing it is using a third-party system and the risk metrics are in line. Swiss Re also uses it as a front-end pricing tool and a portfolio management tool. When were making decisions with respect to new trades, on a stand-alone basis in the context of our existing portfolio, we use Climetrix to price those.
Weather risk management is mostly executed in derivative form, Tawney explains, traded like commodities or financial derivatives at places such as the Chicago Board of Trade. As the market has changed, he says, Climetrix has evolved so it is applicable to both the insurance industry and the trading side of the business.
The latest release, with the portfolio tool, allows you to price individual trades against your portfolio and quickly see what the impact of that trade is on the portfolio, notes Tawney. In the past, you would have to run the model many times, and that didnt lend itself to a trading environment.
New portfolio management functionality in Climetrix includes an expanded range of portfolio risk measures and breakdowns of portfolio exposure during a season. This new information helps portfolio managers and risk managers to better understand and manage portfolio risk. Automated daily updating of RMS market data also has been added to Climetrix to facilitate the daily mark-to-market process.
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Product: Genelco LifeView
Company: Genelco Software Solutions
Web site: www.genelco.com
Genelco Software Solutions has released version 2.0 of its front-end Web portal, Genelco LifeView, with added functionality for back-office workflow, enabling agents and home-office personnel to respond quickly to specific requests.
Genelco LifeView 2.0 integrates back- and front-office processes to make a positive impact on customer-service levels and the cost to do business, says Michael S. Molinar, vice president, Genelco Software Solutions, a division of Liberty Insurance Services Corporation.
The latest version includes a function for pending underwriting requirements, designed for agents who need to know where a policy is in the underwriting process. An agent can review a checklist with attached comment fields to determine what steps have been taken and what steps still need to be taken to finish the underwriting.
Working with the feature for pending underwriting requirements is the rollout of Team Compass, a workflow-messaging module. The first element of Team Compass to be introduced in this release is the Activity Alerts feature, designed to enhance communication between the home office and producers. Activity Alerts allows those who touch a particular policy to notify each other when a task is complete. While working in Genelco LifeView, agents and administrators will post alerts and see real-time messages indicating how many unread alerts are waiting for their response. Team Compass tracks all alerts created for each policy.
John Mancuso, product manager for Genelco LifeView, says, Our goal was to create an intuitive Web resource that is not only easy to use, but that enhances individual workflow by breaking down communication and information barriers. Genelco LifeView is integrated easily into the back office, and it operates in real time, combining the best possible speed and flexibility.
Product: Transform
Company: dakota imaging
Web site: www.dakotaimaging.com
The newest release of dakota imagings flagship product, Transform, incorporates several enhancements for im-proved forms processing and system management, as well as improved compliance with system security needed for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Version 6.1 of the software is scheduled for general availability in May.
In addition to continued support for UNIX servers, Transform is available for Microsoft Windows server platforms. To make this forms processing solution more accessible to small and mid-size organizations, dakota has introduced a scalable pricing structure based on transaction volumes. With software bundles starting at $50,000, clients can install a complete Transform solution, with software, hardware, and installation services, for as low as $150,000.
With version 6.1, Transform provides all our customers with not only increased performance and functionality, but also greater deployment options. Clients can continue to choose high-volume, scalable AIX servers or Microsoft Windows servers for a lower cost, says Pradeep Goel, dakotas CTO. We are taking the industry-leading product and making it available to small and medium-size organizations while simultaneously enhancing functionality and ROI value. And our graphical application development tools enable clients to deploy new applications rapidly, adds Sandeep Goel, dakotas CEO.
Security enhancements for HIPAA compliance incorporate security improvements that bring all Transform processing into compliance with HIPAA provisions. This release is critical to dakotas health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid customers, assisting clients in meeting HIPAA and CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) security requirements. New enhancements that optimize Transforms capabilities will allow clients to customize their systems and speed processing for keying applications where information cannot be processed using OCR technology.
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