Ebix, Silanis Partner on Straight-Through Processing for Agents, Carriers

Ebix, Inc., a supplier of on-demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance and financial industries, announces a partnership with Silanis, an enterprise electronic signature solutions provider. Silanis will now become the preferred e-signature solution within Ebix's on-demand offerings used by brokers and insurance companies, representing in excess of $100 billion in insurance premiums annually.

This partnership reflects the demand globally from insurance carriers and agents to improve the customer experience across all sales channels with straight-through processing.

The agreement is transactional, whereby EbixExchange will first integrate Silanis' e-signature solution in the new business application process within the EbixExchange CRM, as well as expand on other Ebix offerings. EbixExchange's CRM subscribers will be able to complete annuity and insurance new business immediately without the delay of obtaining a paper-based signature from the policy holder.

Electronically signing the application will make it possible to close business in one web session or in-person visit, improving the compliance of applications by dramatically reducing not-in-good-order rates while also eliminating costly manual procedures. EbixExchange will initially roll out Silanis e-signatures to its client base including broker/dealers, banks, clearing firms, captive agents and BGA communities, with plans to expand the offering through other divisions, including P&C, international, health and BPO.

Gaining widespread adoption of e-signatures and e-policy delivery by agents has historically been a challenge in the insurance industry, despite clear recognition of the benefits and a desire to use the technology. Lack of adoption stems from reluctance on the part of agents to use a different way of submitting new business applications electronically for each carrier they sell. For carriers, their concern lies in underwriting business that may or may not have been originated in compliance with regulations and corporate policy.

“The Ebix-Silanis partnership provides the answer with integrated, robust e-signatures as part of vertical applications they are already using, whether for new business or customer servicing applications,” says Dan Delity senior vice president and head of global sales for Ebix. “The flexibility and performance of the Silanis e-signature platform allows Ebix to scale across all our offerings with a legal, secure solution, while the transaction management capabilities provide immediate visibility into the online e-signature transactions for both the carrier and the agent.”

 “We believe this partnership is key to gaining widespread adoption of e-signatures within complex distribution channels like the insurance industry,” says Silanis CEO and co-founder Tommy Petrogiannis. “When electronic signatures and e-policy delivery are offered as a tightly integrated solution as they are now thanks to Silanis and Ebix, both carriers and their producers win.”