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From Resource, August 2007
Copyright by LOMA
Systems Forum Exhibitors:
Innovative Solutions for the Changing Industry
ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems
Forum attendees were able to discuss their IT needs with exhibitors at more than
190 booths, seeing how various solutions could help them achieve greater success
in today’s marketplace.
Finding the systems tools and
partners to make business vision a reality is not always an easy proposition. It
takes dialogue, understanding, and partnership. Even more, it takes looking at
many different companies and solutions to make sure you have the best possible
fit for your organization.
At the
2007 ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in
Orlando
,
FL
, attendees had the advantage of talking to exhibitors at over 190 booths in the
Forum Exhibit Hall. They were able to see live product demonstrations and
network with exhibitors and other attendees to develop relationships and look
for partnership opportunities. These professionals left the Forum with a better
comprehension of the products and partners that are available to help them meet
their needs in the current climate of uncertainty—understanding which ones
might have solutions that would help ensure future safety and success.
EDS
SOLCORP Extends Capabilities of Multi-Product RADIENCE
EDS SOLCORP (EDS) announced it
is extending the RADIENCE Administration Platform to provide additional
capabilities including Traditional Life, Universal Life, Variable Universal Life
and Disability Income including Worksite marketing. These capabilities will be
available in the next release of the platform scheduled for fall 2007.
“The
introduction of additional capabilities demonstrates the power and flexibility
of the RADIENCE Administration platform,” explained Roger Paehr, portfolio
management director, EDS SOLCORP. “The single unified chassis that RADIENCE
Administration provides can support any product line, feature, rider or
coverage. This provides insurers with the capability to develop new and
innovative products incorporating features that cross traditional lines of
business.”
RADIENCE
is a multi-product architecture and platform built from the ground up to address
the policy administration needs of life insurance and annuity providers. The
solution supports a unified product chassis that eliminates traditional product
silos, enabling users to easily combine features from life, annuity, health and
disability lines into a single policy. RADIENCE provides the first life
insurance specific SOA environment complete with a comprehensive set of
pre-built life insurance Web services combined and extended to create high
performance business processes and support capabilities.
The
RADIENCE platform is built to meet the needs of today’s rapidly changing
market where blurring product lines, industry integration, changing regulations,
and mergers and acquisitions are demanding that carriers improve operational
efficiencies, decrease time to market, grow revenues and market share, and
deliver innovative solutions and superb customer service. RADIENCE is designed
for this dynamic environment enabling insurers to reduce costs, shorten
time-to-market, improve the customer experience, and adapt quickly to changing
needs.
For
more information, visit the EDS SOLCORP Web site at www.edssolcorp.com.
AdminServer
Completes 10 Million-Policy Benchmark Test
AdminServer, Inc. announced
that it has completed a large volume policy benchmark test with Sun
Microsystems. The test, performed at Sun’s Solution Center (SSC) in
Menlo Park
,
California
, further validates AdminServer’s performance and scalability. The combination
of Sun’s mid-range UltraSPARC™ IV+ series server platform and the
AdminServer Policy Administration System demonstrated true enterprise class
status and ability to support high volume processing of diverse insurance
products.
Lawrence
Scott, vice president, global financial services industry, Sun Microsystems
commented, “The test results confirm that AdminServer’s Policy
Administration System represents a solution that is both efficient and highly
scalable. Combine the performance with AdminServer’s rules-driven architecture
on the Solaris™ 10 Operating System and Sun Java™ Enterprise System, and you
have a solution that offers insurers speed to market, flexibility, scalability
and performance.”
Kevin
Walma, CIO, AdminServer added, “We are extremely pleased with the results and
would like to extend our appreciation to Sun Microsystems for their support
through this extensive performance test. Given the architecture and design of
the AdminServer System, we had confidence that it could easily manage high
volumes of policies and processing – which it did, handling 400 concurrent
users and a high volume of activities while operating on a data set of 2.65
terabytes.”
Walma
continued, “Having the system’s performance validated and documented will go
a long way in making insurers even more comfortable in our XML rules-based
solution with the proof that it is able to support even the largest carriers
with diverse, large volume product portfolios.”
Conducted
over an eight-week period, the test included a test bed of over 10 million
policies (Term, Universal Life, Indexed UL, and Variable and Payout Annuity) to
represent high volume, in-force processing of a typical insurance carrier
offering, and servicing multiple products with one system. Performance test
results included the processing of over one million activities in just under six
hours with an average throughput of over 177,000 activities per hour.
For
more information, call 610-619-3100, e-mail info@adminserver.com, or visit the
AdminServer Web site at www.AdminServer.com.
CSC
Introduces Easy Approach to Configuring Life and Annuity Products
Speed to market is imperative
for introducing new life and annuity products. Success requires a sustained,
coordinated effort between business users and IT departments. Computer Sciences
Corporation (CSC) has introduced new software that shortens time to market and
supports the entire product development lifecycle.
CSC’s
Product Accelerator™ gives business experts, rather than software programmers,
control of product introduction and, unlike other product configuration
software, includes a comprehensive library of insurance product types. Business
users can modify this pre-loaded content to create unique product features,
focusing on innovation rather than handoffs with the IT staff.
“Product
Accelerator shortens the time needed to launch new products from months to
days,” said Michael W. Risley, president of CSC’s Life and Annuity Division.
“It allows carriers to react faster to changes in market conditions and
quickly construct complex, hybrid life insurance and annuity products.”
Product
Accelerator’s tables, rates, rules and calculations can then be used by all
systems across the enterprise, including policy illustration and printing, new
business processing and policy administration. Its configuration console also
enables seamless collaboration between a company’s marketing, actuarial and IT
departments.
According
to Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, research vice president at Gartner Inc.,
“Insurance carriers must overcome their siloed approach to product
introduction. Insurers should establish a product lifecycle management strategy
and get the organizational support to drive cross-departmental collaboration,”
continued Harris-Ferrante. “With a true product configurator — not just a
product engine — product managers can draw from a product library and a
methodology to review, assess, develop and retire products based upon market
demands, corporate strategy and profitability.”
For
more information, call CSC at 800-345-7672 or visit www.csc.com/productaccelerator.
eLynx
Significantly Enhances SwiftView Tools Solutions
The SwiftView Tools division of
eLynx, a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies Ltd. announced the
release of the newest version of its SwiftView Tools solutions. The version
supports PDF/A,
Vista
, and IE7, and adds numerous features that further improve the product line’s
viewing, printing, and conversion capabilities.
SwiftView
Pro 8.3 and SwiftConvert 8.3 enhance SwiftView’s already impressive print
management with features that make it easier than ever to handle complex
business documents. As part of eLynx’s commitment to paperless strategies,
both SwiftView Pro and SwiftConvert now offer even more choices for
“pixel-perfect” conversion to PDF, in addition to quality PCL, TIFF and
PostScript output, giving end-users the widest degree of document choice and
flexibility.
“The
new PDF/A ISO standard PDF subset ensures that your PDF files are
self-contained, with the broadest possible usability and long archival life,”
said John Corrigan,
eLynx vice president of SwiftView Tools. “SwiftView supports PDF/A-1b, the
most widely usable PDF/A format as our current PDF best practice. In addition,
SwiftView Tools allow for the creation of secure, password protected PDFs, as
well as smaller, monochrome PDF files that employ the new, more efficient JBIG2
compression standard.”
Printing
business documents is easier, with improved handling of duplexed PCL files,
customizable input tray selection, and customer installable TrueType fonts.
SwiftView delivers complete color printing support, including HPGL and markup,
and boasts improved PCL edge-to-edge, custom paper sizes and PostScript output.
With extended browser-based document delivery support for both the Windows Vista
operating system and IE7, the SwiftView tools ensure future compatibility in the
largest OS/browser segments. All SwiftView version 8.3 products are available
for Windows, Linux and UNIX operations systems, with free thirty-day trials.
“The
SwiftView family of products is an integral part of the value eLynx brings our
clients,” explained Robert Nilsson, eLynx vice president of marketing and
market development. “The ability to print and handle complex documents in a
variety of formats is key to competing effectively. With these newest
enhancements, eLynx continues our commitment to the SwiftView product line, as
well as to meeting the business needs of our clients.”
eLynx,
also announced that its Web-based electronic signature service, uSign, has been
enhanced specifically for insurance carriers. uSign delivers efficiencies and
cost reductions that directly equate to a competitive edge for insurance
clients.
Insurance
leader Allianz Income Management Services (AIMS) used the eLynx electronic
process to significantly reduce turn time for agent consent. By implementing an
electronic process for appointed agents of the income annuity product, AIMS
significantly improved accuracy and efficiency, which reduced cycle time and
costs. AIMS is offering a new product to a new market and a faster and auditable
consent process is key to capturing this new market. eLynx brought its in-depth
electronic process expertise and broad vision of just how and where electronic
signatures can best fit into the insurance document lifecycle to decrease costs
and maximize benefits. “eLynx tools and insight in the application of
electronic signatures helped AIMS take the first step toward realizing our
vision of being a wireless, virtually paperless (but not people-less)
company,” said Andy Dulka AIMS CIO.
For
more information, visit the eLynx Web site at www.elynx.com.
Whitehill
Announces New Functionality in IStream
Whitehill Technologies, Inc.
announced significant new functionality in the IStream document automation
suite, including IStream Publisher and IStream Document Manager.
“The
IStream suite lets business users create ‘model documents’ that control the
language, layout and look of complex files, such as policies and contracts,”
explained Jill Davidson, product manager, Whitehill Technologies. “IStream can
be used to create and control virtually any kind of insurance document, from
contracts to welcome kits to group booklets.”
Using
model documents, users can personalize each communication according to a
particular customer, while ensuring that it conforms to the approved layout,
design and legal language. IStream Publisher streamlines document design and
generation, while IStream Document Manager facilitates storage, search and
retrieval, as well as collaboration and workflow.
New
functionality in Whitehill’s IStream suite includes add-ins for Microsoft Word
and Adobe Reader, letting users create complex documents in a familiar,
easy-to-use, interactive environment. As data or standard wordings change, users
can automatically update their documents to reflect those changes. Leveraging
industry-standard applications gives insurers the power to create and update
documents easily as part of their normal processes.
Updates
in IStream’s design environment provide a great deal of flexibility and ease
in working with model documents. The ability to separate rules from text, work
with industry-standard document formats, and enhanced trouble-shooting
capabilities make creating model documents even simpler.
“The
IStream suite gives insurers a full spectrum of document creation, management
and storage capabilities,” said Neil Betteridge, vice president of marketing,
Whitehill Technologies. “With this new functionality, insurers will have the
ability to produce complex documents quickly, customize information to meet
their clients’ needs, and react quickly to changing market demands. Whitehill
gives insurers the flexibility and speed that customers want in today’s highly
competitive insurance landscape.”
For
more information visit the Whitehill Technologies Web site at
www.whitehilltech.com.
SEG
Announces Success of Annual Client
Summit
Meeting
SEG Software (SEG), a provider
of industrial strength policy administration software to the life insurance and
annuity industries, announced the success of its recent Annual Client Summit
Meeting.
With
all SEG clients currently in production with or in the process of implementing
Release 4.0 of SEG’s system, a major topic on the agenda was the discussion
and planning for the company’s next version, 5.0. SEG used the opportunity of
having 18 representatives from all clients in a single location to solicit
feedback and input from the client community to drive the direction of the
company’s next release. In addition, the clients established a formal
“Release Steering Committee” to provide their input on SEG product direction
on an ongoing basis.
“We
sincerely appreciate our clients’ support and for taking such an active role
in the meeting and the future direction of our product,” commented Tom
Johnson, SEG’s president and CEO. “I would not only like to thank our
clients for their participation, but I’d also like to extend a thank you to
our partner Infosys and to BearingPoint for also being part of our client
event.”
Glastonbury
,
Connecticut
based SEG Software, LLC (SEG) is a provider of industrial strength policy
administration software to the life insurance and annuity industries. With the
industry’s need for robust software solutions, SEG’s product suite is built
on J2EE and developed in Java, providing the industry the modern technologies
and a rules-engine that offer life and annuity insurers the flexibility,
performance and scalability to finally consolidate and replace their legacy
environment.
For
additional information, visit the SEG Web site at www.segsoftware.com.
RGA
Technology Partners Demos AURA®
RGA Technology Partners, Inc. (RTP)
demonstrated its AURA® (Automated Underwriting and Risk Analysis) solution to
attendees at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum. AURA is an automated
underwriting tool that can generate a point-of-sale underwriting decision. AURA
bases its decision on a database of tens of thousands of underwriting rules
including impairments, medications, sports, avocations and treatments.
One of
AURA’s key benefits is that it allows a company to determine who should best
collect the underwriting information, allowing agents and brokers to focus on
what they do best. It allows non-underwriters to perform underwriting while
adhering to a strict set of rules.
AURA
is an automated, scalable and plug-and-play platform, which means it can be
customized to fit specific product and underwriting requirements, from simple
pass/fail to multiple rating classes. AURA is designed to support multiple
distribution channels and models, i.e. banks, e-commerce, worksite,
broker/dealers, call centers, and agents.
RGA
Technology Partners is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of
America
, Incorporated (RGA). RTP’s AURA solution leverages RGA’s 30-plus years of
underwriting experience with RGA’s underwriting rule sets integrated into the
technology of RTP. AURA is designed to improve underwriting time service, manage
risk consistently and reduce the costs associated with processing insurance
applications. It can be used in a traditional life insurance setting, in banks
and call centers, and can be accessed by underwriters, agents, brokers and
customer service representatives.
For
more information visit the RGA Technology Partners Web site at www.rgatp.com.
Perot
Systems and Old Mutual Named Best Outsourcing Partnership
Perot Systems and Old Mutual
Financial Network (OMFN) were recently named by
Outsourcing
Center
the “Best Partnership,” among the top outsourcing relationships across all
industries, in the distinguished 2007 Outsourcing Excellence Awards. Selected
from among 86 nominations, their relationship was the most outstanding example
of establishing a partnering mind-set from the start and continuing to mutually
demonstrate that mind-set through ongoing business, challenges, and
opportunities.
Sponsored
by Everest Group and Forbes Special Sections, the awards recognize the world’s
most superior outsourcing arrangements. Who wins? The ones that create and
sustain competitive advantage and business transformation through best
practices, and that also achieve ever-increasing value benefit for both the
client and service provider.
This
marks the second year Perot Systems has received the top award. Perot Systems
also received the “2004 Best Partnership” top honor with Owens & Minor,
as well as the “2006 Best IT Partnership” with Vanguard. Notably, this is
the first time since the awards began in 1996 that a relationship in the
insurance industry has received Best Partnership or any Outsourcing Excellence
award.
“We
have a remarkable relationship with Perot Systems and we have been able to build
a service model that most companies can only dream of achieving,” stated Dave
Smith, senior vice president of operations, OMFN. “This gives us a competitive
advantage in the marketplace, as we are able to react quickly to our clients’
needs. Based on a history of success, we continue to trust Perot Systems to
provide many of our key customer-service processes—and they continue to exceed
our expectations.”
Anurag
Jain, president of Perot Systems’ insurance and business process solutions
group, commended the entire IBPS team worldwide for their commitment to OMFN and
their focus on consistency, excellence, and spirit of partnership. “Mike
Kerrey, who has been instrumental in building the Old Mutual relationship from
day one with TAG, has simply done an exceptional job of remaining focused on the
client. He has also continued to grow the account, which is exactly what we want
with our long-term clients. This is exactly what we love to see.”
When
honored for his individual contributions to the OMFN relationship at a
client/prospect dinner during the 2007 ACORD LOMA forum held in
Orlando
,
FL
, Kerrey responded, “It’s nice to be recognized, but this is really a team
effort. There are hundreds of associates that have worked hard to make this
relationship what it is today. Every one of them deserves recognition, as
well.”
For
more information, visit the Perot Systems Web site at www.perotsystems.com.
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