INSURERS PUT NEW PRODUCTS TO THE TESTIMPLEMENTATION.
Company: Metaserver
Product: iConnect
Web site: www.metaserver.com
Metaserver, Inc., a business process integration (BPI) solutions provider for the insurance industry, has launched its new iConnect agency interface solution for property/casualty carriers. The first of several solutions designed especially for carriers, iConnect P&C is compatible with and extends the capabilities provided by leading vendors in the insurance space such as ChoicePoint, CSC, Duck Creek, ISO, IVANS, and others.
Donald Light, senior analyst for Celent Communications, focuses on the BPI and business rules engine space and has become familiar with Metaserver and its foundation BPI product. Concerning iConnect, Light cites three advantages for insurance carriers using the product. For their relationships with their agencies, this should make [carriers] smarter, faster, and a better partner to do business with, he says. For independent agency companies, thats always going to be at the top of their mind.
For operating units within the carrier, iConnect should make their life easier in terms of getting information in real time and accurately from transactions that are coming in from the agencies, says Light. The third benefit is in IT. One of the real value propositions is the point-and-click setup and implementation of this software. Metaserver has done a lot with the detailed grunt work in terms of setting up literally hundreds of connections with different types of applications and legacy environments that carriers have. Setup and implementation of iConnect can be done in a matter of days, he says, as opposed to months for many implementations. Thats a real savings with IT, asserts Light.
Jason Glazier, senior vice president and chief technical officer for the Lincoln Financial Group, explains his company uses Metaservers base BPI tools in the licensing and appointment area. It allows us to interconnect with older systems in a very easy way, he maintains. [Metaservers] tools have worked well for us. We dont have to write mainframe code. He adds the options offered by Metaserver make its products well received within the insurance industry. In our environment we have a custom installation, but there are certain applications that can be preconfigured, he says.
Property/casualty carriers have a great need for the real-time connectivity capabilities iConnect provides, says Light. Metaservers ability to build industry-specific vertical solutions on top of its BPI technology represents a significant strategic step forward.
Powered by Metaservers BPI software, the iConnect solution allows carriers to automate and manage processes that interact with multiple business applications. iConnect allows carriers to access third-party information such as motor-vehicle records and credit reports and pass this information, along with the data delivered by the agency interface vendors, between carriers business applications and agency vendor systems in real time. This capability is valuable because carriers rating engines, policy administration systems, and claim applications often are built with legacy or incompatible technologies that handle agency and third-party data in different formats.
Supplementing Metaservers BPI capabilities are processes that allow carriers to support and manage ACORD transactions. In addition to validating and routing ACORD messages, the iConnect solution manages errors and exceptions, logs transactions, and handles security. iConnect also provides the flexibility to handle complex carrier-agency interaction, including bridge transactions, carrier-unique data, and attachment processing.
iConnect builds on Metaservers Property and Casualty (P/C) Carrier Integration Solution, which was introduced in 2003. First developed with IVANS Transformation Station, iConnect P&C has the ability to connect to the systems of additional agency interface vendors as well as those of third-party data providers such as Insurance Services Offices (ISO).
Metaserver CEO Richard Schultz sees a need for P&C solutions that meet specific business needs within the insurance world. Our solution greatly simplifies life for our customers, says Schultz, because it provides more than an enabling technology, allowing them to become leaders in their space
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