ACORD Conference Sees Multiple Product Introductions, Enhancements

According to San Francisco-based Exigen, this is "the only ACORD standard-based product on the market that enables enterprise-wide business processes to be supported as a fusion of a customers existing processes, systems, business units and distribution channels."

While the product is currently only available for pilot implementations, Exigen claimed the software could address "over 150 cost leaks which can account for as much as 80 percent of activity-based costs in insurance business processes."

Exigen said Insurance Process Backbone enables companies to measure and reduce the impact of "cost leaks" within end-to-end transactions. Reducing and monitoring such leaks helps maintain STP, the company noted, "even when steps of a process are performed by a third-party administrator."

Further details are available at www.exigengroup.com/insurance.

Fair Isaac Corporation announced XML Manager for Insurance, version 2.1, designed to help carriers and agents more easily capture and exchange data "for faster policy issuance and reconciliation."

The new release supports the ACORD SPX standards, said San Rafael, Calif.-based Fair Isaac. It allows carriers to define and maintain insurance policy and claims application data requirements in compliance with the ACORD standards. Service Provider eXtensions (SPX) let agents and brokers collect common information once.

According to Fair Isaac, carriers can use XML Manager for Insurance to update data requirements to reflect underwriting changes and to customize forms for new lines of business. The software automatically generates complete Web-based data entry screens based on XML input. "Agents and carriers benefit from reduced re-work while offering their customers faster turnaround on policy decisions," the company stated.

The new release allows more open and flexible integration with external systems via a partnership with Software AG Inc. (Reston, Va.) that provides message handling and transformation of data in ACORD XML formats, said Fair Isaac.

Additional information is available at www.fairisaac.com.

Microsoft Corp. and ACORD announced that ACORD, based in Pearl River, N.Y., will provide more than 500 insurance forms built using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003, a new information gathering software product.

InfoPath uses XML (extensible markup language) and XML-based Web services to enable agencies to complete forms once, then link the data to other forms, databases, back-end systems and applications, said Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft. As part of the forms service, Microsoft .NET Web services can be used to provide additional functions, including e-mail, printing and data routing.

XML is a set of rules for developing standard codes that computers can use to read and combine information stored in different database formats. Web services are Web-based applications that use open standards to interact with other Web-based applications.

According to Josh Lee, lead technical strategist, financial services, for Microsoft, proprietary systems used by many insurers result in information that is "not unified across the enterprise." InfoPath, he noted, will enable such unification.

Mr. Lee said Microsoft is working with ACORD to integrate InfoPath with ACORD forms. "Were really excited about standards," he stated.

Microsoft added that the ability for agents and brokers to use InfoPath-based forms is expected to help reduce processing time and cost of completing insurance transactions, while reducing errors associated with re-entering data several times.

InfoPath will be available with the release of Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Enterprise Edition later this year, the company noted. Pricing has not been announced.

IVANS Inc. said it has increased ACORD XML functionality for its Transformation Station, an Internet data exchange for real-time transactions between agency and carrier systems.

According to Old Greenwich, Conn.-based IVANS, issue and quote for commercial property, general liability, personal umbrella and commercial lines general submit are now "all generally available to carriers through Transformation Station."

IVANS also announced additional support for multiple versions of ACORD XML within Transformation Station. Transactions previously supported in ACORD XML 1.0 or 1.1 are now also available in version 1.2. Service transactions, such as the newly approved view transactions for billing, claims, policy and loss runs, are now available as version 1.3, the company said.

Computer Sciences Corporation announced availability of new life, annuity, and property and casualty insurance software that complies with the companys CSC e4 standard for enterprise integration architecture.

CSC e4 is component-based and uses open standards, including ACORD XML interfaces and HTTP-based (hypertext transfer protocol) protocols, said Austin, Texas-based CSC. HTTP is commonly used on the World Wide Web to define how messages are formatted and transmitted.

According to CSC, its standard "unifies" software components, middleware, business process management systems and workflow tools "to manage transactions between all major parties involved in insurance processes," both internal and external.

Information on the new CSC e4-compliant software can be found at www.cscfs.com/systems/solution_search.asp.

Swingtide Inc. announced two new productsincorporating ACORD p-c and life XML standardsto help insurers build networks of XML Web services for portals, partner collaboration and other critical business initiatives.

Swingtide Monitor and Swingtide Scorecard enable customers to "view, analyze and fine-tune business activity," said Portsmouth, N.H.-based Swingtide.

The Monitor product monitors the growth and business usage of XML networks, the company noted. Scorecard is a method for accelerating the return on investment from XML Web services.

According to Swingtide, the new products let insurers read, interpret, manipulate and control XML meta data in the terminology of the insurance industry. Meta data is data that describes other data.

"XML enables low-cost partner connections, but if you dont design XML networks with an eye toward future scalability, the cost-savings advantages quickly get eaten up by downstream management costs," said David Sweet, president of Swingtide.

Pricing for Monitor starts at $49,995, while pricing for Scorecard begins at $19,995, the company said. Further information is available at www.swingtide.com.

In other news from ACORD: AscendantOne Inc., a Nashua, N.H.-based unit of Insurance Services Office Inc., announced availability of four major commercial lines of insurance as part of its inventory of ISOs core analytical products for pricing and underwritingadvisory, prospective loss costs, manual rules and policy form information.

Xerox Corporation (Rochester, N.Y.) and Omtool, Ltd. (Salem, N.H.) announced combined systems that enable users to scan hard-copy documents, while simultaneously delivering them to pre-selected e-mail, secure e-mail, fax and remote printer destinations.

ePolicy Solutions Inc. (Torrance, Calif.) said it has formed a marketing alliance with InSystems Corporation to enhance its Web-enabled RightRisk insurance technology by integrating document, rating, workflow and business rules engines.

Wildnet (London, U.K.) launched Wildnet Knowledge Centre, a collaborative document management and workflow system designed to deliver scalable applications over an Internet infrastructure.

Document Sciences Corporation (Carlsbad, Calif.) demonstrated a system for generating property and casualty proposals, policies and claims correspondence.

Accenture (New York, N.Y.) announced Accenture Claim Components Release 5.0, a Web-based claims application designed using .NET software, that helps insurers update claims systems, reduce technology development costs and risks, and improve efficiency, customer service and communications.

MapInfo Corporation (Troy, N.Y.) debuted its Insurance Decision Solution Suite, which enables insurance companies to visually scan across all lines of business to better manage risk and operate more effectively.

Priority Data Systems (Omaha, Neb.) released PriorityRate View, an Internet-based underwriting and rating tool that allows carrier personnel to view auto and home ACORD applications and rating data by agency and customer.

Camilion Solutions Inc. (Thornhill, Ontario, Canada) introduced its Insurance Innovator 3.0 suite of products that enable underwriters, actuaries and others to deliver "mass-customized products designed for multi-channel deployment."

INSTEC (Naperville, Ill.) and Mayfare Software Solutions, LLC (Hoboken, N.J.) announced a jointly-developed commercial lines product, CL1X, which they say is the "first out-of-the-box solution for enterprisewide, end-to-end commercial lines processing for all 50 states."

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, July 28, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.