Growing Together

Starting an insurance business from scratch put American Alliance Casualty in an enviable position, particularly when it came to purchasing a policy administration system. But American Alliance's president, Marc C. Romanz, has his eyes on the future, and that made his technology selection an important challenge.

Currently operating in just a single state, American Alliance is looking to expand its high-risk auto coverage to multiple states. To avoid many of the traps other insurers have dealt with as they grow, American Alliance selected the Stingray policy administration system from Maximum Processing.

The company had no plans to build its own system, so Romanz turned to consultants to conduct the vetting process with a number of vendors.

“We went through a checklist—pros and cons,” he says. “We looked at the number of people, the support, the language [the software] is written in, and the references. After we went through the process we came to select Maximum Processing.”

Romanz explains the decision to select the Stingray solution came down to the vendor's flexibility.

“Some of the other vendors weren't as flexible—what I like to call audible ready, meaning what you have is what you get,” says Romanz. “Maximum Processing had basic system documentation and then asked how we wanted to customize it. We wanted flexibility. Certain people at Maximum Processing understand insurance and that's a plus. We don't have to explain everything we want. They've established a work-in-progress protocol and we get that report daily explaining what has been worked on and where the movement is.”

Romanz points out the vendor also communicates weekly through one of its developers and a business analyst so if American Alliance wants to change a priority Maximum Processing will take direction from the customer.

“They have a wonderful deal,” he says. “If they make improvements to the base system, [the customers] get those improvements. We enjoy the communication.”

American Alliance has been writing significantly more business since the implementation. Initially, the carrier planned to write private passenger auto liability, but the carrier's board of directors decided to add physical damage, according to Romanz, which changed the billing cycle.

American Alliance's leadership has a strong insurance background—Romanz himself is a third-generation insurer—so they knew what they wanted from a system.

“It didn't matter if we had to work 24/7 or [the vendor] did,” says Romanz. “It's not easy—even brand new—because it's like feeling someone out. You have to learn to work with your partners and they have to learn to work with you because we are partners.”

Partnerships such as these are a big responsibility, according to Romanz.

“We didn't want someone we'd have to terminate two or three years down the road,” he says. “We wanted to make a long-term commitment. That was our objective.”

What makes this implementation special is the personal relationship American Alliance has been able to establish with the key personnel at Maximum Processing, according to Romanz.

“That was a very important decision for us,” he says. “We not only have to be comfortable communicating, but the fact we can always call or get an e-mail returned was very important. All too often you find they say the same thing, but for the most part—and no one's perfect—they've been really good for us.”

Maximum Processing has grown with new customers but hasn't lost sight of customer service, explains Romanz. That's important for a small carrier such as American Alliance.

“We do feel like a valued customer and that our money is being spent properly for our long-term strategy, growing the business and being a profitable insurance carrier with a company that understands our budgetary needs,” he says. “There have been times of angst on our part, but overall their developers are high quality. [Maximum Processing] is hiring more people, which pleased us to see their commitment. They plan on growing, and we want to grow with them.”