THE CHALLENGR

Our client, a P&C insurance carrier specializing in personal and commercial insurance, found themselves using a wide variety of software solutions to fulfill the needs of their company. They used iter8 for rating and quotes, CSC POINT and MediaView for consolidating information such as client data and underwriting reports, as well as independent configured legacy systems for various other needs.

Each solution functioned admirably within its role, but though these applications were individually well suited to our client needs, their diversity meant that the smooth integration and streamlining of their business could not easily be achieved.

THE SOLUTION

After a consultation process in which we discussed our client needs in detail, we came to the agreement that the ideal solution was a single, unified interface where various company Agents, Marketing Team, Producers, Underwriters and other employees could access functions and information based on their role within the organization. Ideally, if any given employee or member of management wanted to access a program, link, database or piece of information, and did so frequently as an essential part of their work within the company, it should be accessible through our interface.

The result of our efforts provided the client with a single sign-on interface that gave them one-stop access to all of the applications, information and databases that they needed to work with optimal efficiency and ease. From one location, their company’s agents, producers and internal staff could access a quote & policy transactions system, a claims and billing management system, a database of underwriting and other reports, marketing materials, and agency guides, among a host of other resources.

BENEFITS ACHIEVED

1. A web-based Agency Portal with 24/7 availability that can be accessed from any location.
2. Quicker and better response to customer inquiries.
3. Notable decrease in training time.
4. Successful integration of CSC POINT and iter8 by taking advantage of the capabilities of SOAP XML as a common language for both programs.
5. A unified resource for accessing client data and other information, previously scattered across multiple locations and sources.
6. Employee/staff satisfaction due to increased workflow efficiency
7. Administrative cost savings due to significant reduction of redundant workflows and manual processing.
8. Web Service based integration achieved seamless real-time integration across heterogeneous cross functional systems.

About i3

Established in 1997, i 3 Software is a global IT Services & Consulting company providing IT solutions, system integration, customized applications and enterprise management services. We are oriented toward small- and medium-scale Property & Casualty Insurance carriers and MGAs. With our global delivery framework and our certified workforce, we hope to help P&C carriers and MGA’s streamline their day-to-day operations however we can, to help them focus on what matters: Creating customer satisfaction and the best product possible.

EBIX Consulting Case Studies - i3 Software successfully delivers integration services to a leading commercial auto insurance company in New York

OUR CLIENT

Our client is a leading auto insurance company, incorporated in 2003, with a mission to provide best service to the imperative and critical commercial fleet insurance industry. They stand firm at their forefront, a position that requires delicate management, goal- oriented decision-making, and above all, a long tradition and grand expertise in predicting the changes and alterations of the market. They are a New York domiciled property and casualty insurance company and has operations in New Jersey, Arizona, California, Florida, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

CHALLENGES

Client was initially facing issues in connecting with Choice Point through web. The process was time consuming and hectic. To overcome the issues they required an interface which could connect LexisNexis (Choice Point) with all the driver attributes and also which can support both interactive and in batch processing modes

REQUIREMENTS

The following were the initial business drivers for our client:

1. • A interface which can support both interactive and in-batch processing modes.
   • For batch processing mode, the data shall be interfaced via FTP agreed between both the companies.
2. A custom integration module which can aid expedited and accurate underwriting for new business and policy renewals.
3. Data transformation between native format with that of LexisNexis requirements.

OUR SOLUTION

The following were the initial business drivers for our client:

i 3 made a detailed study of the client’s existing system for understanding the requirements of the client and proposed the implementation of XML and SOAP protocol using web-services for interactive mode of interface and a socket program to establish FTP connection with LexisNexis for batch processing mode. As a part of solution, for interactive mode, i 3 converted WSDL to Java using JAXWS and build the appropriate classes and package. Also, created utilities that are required to call the appropriate class. For batch processing mode, i 3 collected the data from the data base, generated it to a flat file and passed it as an input and transmitted as FTP such that the entire data base could be stored in the SQL Database table. In addition to the above i 3 also provided the following:

1. Communication protocol and mechanism for both interactive and batch modes.
2. Development of relevant software codes, database layouts and schemas.
3. Implementation of data validation and error handling methods.

CLIENTS BENEFITS

1. Interface developed for LexisNexis.
2. Integration module helps in accurate underwriting for new business and renewals of policies.
3. Increase in quality and revenue of our client.
4. A clear restatement of company goals and thorough evaluation of their long-term feasibility.
5. Saved the cost of trials and omissions on new system implementation that would have occurred without a company roadmap.
6. Savings upto 15% acquired via workflow automation and improvements in business process management.

EBIX Consulting Case Studies - i3 Software successfully provides Enterprise wide IT solution to a leading MedMal Insurance Company

i3 Software with its Insurance specific tech-domain expertise, successfully designed enterprise wide IT Solution to a leading insurance company with features such as, developing and modifying programs, customizing workflows and creating various management reports and screens.

THE OBJECTIVE

When client first started utilizing our services, they were in a moment of significant transition. Specifically, they were in the most turbulent and uncertain phases of mergers and acquisitions process. i 3 was brought in to mitigate some of the impact of the change and to smooth out operations once it was complete, and after an extensive and detailed consultation, we managed to narrow down the immediate priorities of the company to a small handful of important elements.

We realized it was essential to streamline the company’s IT functions if we wanted their systems to perform at optimal efficiency, or even just keep up with the needs of an organization in flux. It was also essential that maintenance overhead and inefficiency be eliminated at every possible opportunity

On a more strategic level, though, we also knew it was essential to properly position the organization for upward scaling, and that we needed to make a directed effort toward giving the executive level a set of clear long-term objectives for their future growth as an organization.

We had quite a task ahead of us. Here’s how we went about it.

OUR APPROACH

i 3 with its varied and multi-dimensional staff, designed and developed the best enterprise wide architecture that encompasses business priorities, growth culture, data, heterogeneous system communication into a centralized SOA based efficient model. Among other seasoned IT professionals, our team consisted of subject matter experts, project managers, system architects, data experts, and senior business analysts. The services we successfully performed consisted of the five following steps:

1. First, we implemented a data dictionary using the company’s existing systems to make it easier to assimilate and coordinate data from heterogeneous sources. This would enhance overall performance, but it would also augment the feasibility of putting in place a new system, whether bought or created from scratch.
2. We also conducted a detailed functional assessment, which consisted of determining which new functionalities needed to be implemented, and classifying them as either pain-points that needed thorough overhauls, must-haves that were essential without causing an immediate problem by their absence, and nice-to-haves that were not strictly necessary but would help the company function at its best. The system assessment spanned a total of five systems, both homegrown and not. We then determined where all of these would best fit into a long-term implementation road map (see item 4).
3. Next, we conducted a detailed evaluation of their workflow, in order to diagnose the various ways in which efficiency could be augmented by incorporating automated processes
4. In collaboration with their staff, we developed a comprehensive roadmap of the company’s future plans, both in terms of long-term aspirations and in terms of the short- and mid-term methodologies that could be adopted to orient the company toward its distant goals.
5. Finally, we designed data repositories (a.k.a. data marts) in order to consolidate information from every part of the company into a single unified source.

In the course of achieving all of these goals, we worked closely with the client’s team, helping them gain a substantial amount of industry experience and cutting- edge knowledge in the process.

BENEFITS

1. A clear restatement of company goals and thorough evaluation of their long-term feasibility.
2. A mindset of preparation and planning fostered throughout the company.
3. Exhaustive data controls
4. Identification of replacement modules
5. COT (commercial off-the-shelf product) implementation time reduced by 12%.
6. Saved the cost of trials and omissions on new system implementation that would have occurred without a company roadmap.
7. Savings upto 15% acquired via workflow automation and improvements in business process management.

EBIX Consulting Case Studies - i3 Software provides IT Support and Maintenance Services to a Property and Casualty Insurance Company in New England

CLIENT PROFILE

Our client is New England's oldest mutual fire insurance company, chartered by the General Assembly of Rhode Island in 1800 in Providence. They provide personal and commercial insurance protection to more than 65,000 policyholders in New England, New York and New Jersey. Based in Warwick, RI, our client is committed in providing consistent, excellent service to the agents and policyholders with security they deserve.

BUSINESS SITUATION

Our client with 200 years of experience in Property and Casualty Insurance space had several homegrown and heterogeneous systems with proprietary data which was not aligned systematically. Retrieving the data and processing was time consuming task, thus they needed IT support and Maintenance service, which would solve all the issues and also reduce their turn over time

SOLUTION

After a detailed study of client’s existing system and understanding their requirements, i3 software proposed a solution which could streamline their work outputs. i3 provided IT support and maintenance to them for handling any kind of alignments and solve all the issues relating to systems. As a part of solution, i3 also provided the carrier with the following:

1. Analyzing the issues and solving them on time.
2. Resolving the errors during production.
3. Maintenance of their web portal and providing complete support by handling errors/issues.
4. Designing a system such that the entire database is consolidated and stored in one database table.
5. Providing new enhancements to CSC POINT system.
6. Implementing personal Auto, Home owners, Business owners policies for New Business, Renewals, Endorsements and Cancellation operations.

BENEFITS ACHIEVED

1. With 24/7 Maintenance and support , time for every issue to be solved has been reduced upto 50%.
2. Savings upto 15% acquired via workflow automation and improvements in business process management.
3. Identification of replacement modules.
4. Simplified data storage has saved IT and end user labor.
5. Centralized protection based on smart-move and smart-store technology.

EBIX Consulting Case Studies - i3 Software’s Technology Services Streamlines Maintenance and Lowers IT costs for a Maryland domiciled Mutual Insurance Company

i3 Software successfully leverages its insurance expertise to design, develop and modify programs, routines, screens and reports for customization and creation of various management reports and screens.

• Unique Onsite-Offshore model
• Faster time-to-market
• Flexible ramp-up process
• Combination of Industry Experience and Proven Methodology

THE CLIENT

Established in 1897, our client is a property-casualty insurer writing personal, commercial and farm insurance in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

As insurance options broaden and products grow more complex, customers seek superior and personalized service more than ever. Client was running a legacy Insurance information system on a HP 3000 and recently installed a new enterprise wide third party insurance management system to process all of their product lines. They followed a phased migration approach for their product lines.

FOCUS

With the introduction of new third party system for all product lines, client needed to implement several modifications (mods) to the existing screens as well as develop a large number of new reports to cater to the needs of various departments.

To accomplish these goals, the carrier needed new design and modifications to existing pre-defined screens, programs, reports, routines in the system and the expertise of an outside solution provider who can perform maintenance while cutting IT costs.

SOLUTION

i3 Software was entrusted with the job of supporting the system. As part of the support strategy, i3 first conducted a study of the existing applications to enumerate various modules. i3’s unique onsite-offshore model was then employed for knowledge capture, knowledge transition and for an understanding of the existing business processes underlining the system.

To begin with, a small team was setup to work out of the client site to interact with the SME’s to scope the work and to understand the business processes. This was followed by an internal knowledge transfer to a larger i3 team which was located at a different geographical location. The comprehensive solution was finally implemented by leveraging i3’s expertise in gathering requirements, designing, developing, modifying programs, routines, screens as well as customizing and creating new management reports

BENEFITS

i3's knowledge and understanding of the system has proven to be very helpful in understanding and meeting the user specifications. Deliveries were made and support was provided with strict adherence to schedule and quality. In addition, the onsite- offshore model resulted in bigger cost savings while implementing a flexible ramp-up process which infused confidence in our client and resulted in entering into a long term maintenance contract.

TECHNOLOGIES

The following technologies were utilized during the implementation of the solution: AS/400, COBOL, IBM WebSphere, IBM DB2, Jacada, Java (SWING, JSP, EJB, Servlets), XML/XSLT and other related technologies.

WHO WE ARE

i3 Software is a global IT Services and Consulting company providing customized applications and integration services to various industry segments.

1. Headquarters in New Jersey, USA
2. State-of-the-art ODC in Hyderabad, India
3. Global Delivery Model
4. Domain experience across the industry spectrum

OUR MISSION

To provide our clients with World Class Information Technology services by delivering Total Quality, On-Time solutions that result in 100% Customer Satisfaction.

WHAT WE DO

At i3 Software we recognize that no two organizations are alike. We specialize in integrating heterogeneous platforms, proprietary systems, packaged solutions and third-party services, as well as building applications from the ground up

i3 Software’s “onsite-offshore” model delivers the best of both worlds:

1. On-Site: Project leads and analysts work in your facility, ensuring close collaboration with your own in-house resources
2. Off-Shore: Tech leads and highly experienced developers execute specifications overseas to the most exacting standards, saving you time and money.

EBIX Consulting Case Studies - Reportal Bureau reporting made easy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The issues faced by the insurance sector are paramount when it comes to automation and interoperability of the IT systems in place. It is more critical for compliance and Bureau reporting needs. Stricter norms put in for the insurance sector in terms of penalties for non-filing or delayed filing of compliance reports have made the process even more time sensitive.

Major concerns bothering most of the insurance carriers are highly time consuming manual filing of Bureau file submissions and laborious efforts of regular updates for Bureau reporting organizations.

These requirements have necessitated a need for a one-stop tool to automate the whole process and ensure interoperability of systems in place.

This made us to build reporting tools like RePortal that ensure cross-platform compatibility and are cost-effective. RePortal is a plug-and-play tool that requires minimal changes to your existing system configuration and helps automate the filing process.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

i 3 Software Solution

As a provider of insurance for Nonprofit organizations across United States, our client not only operated in some far flung geographies, but was constantly looking for timely compliance to Bureaus in multiple states.

Our client had a rigid process in mapping the data from the internal systems manually, to the reporting structure required by Bureaus. They were handling large volumes of data on frequent basis to align and submit as per the WCIO, ISO and AAIS standards for multiple line of business, this process is cumbersome and time consuming.

The need was to develop a sustainable solution to automate and submit the reports in a timely fashion to these Bureaus. As part of this business initiative our client wanted a capable partner with extensive experience in the Property & Casualty Insurance domain and expertise in implementing the reporting solution.

I3 SOFTWARE SOLUTION

i 3 Software was involved in the implementation of a Reporting solution and provided its in-house built product Reportal to achieve optimum benefits and transform their businesses to effectively manage regulatory requirements,

i 3 Software initiated the engagement with an assessment exercise that was aimed to understand their Bureau reporting needs on reporting format and data elements to customize the product as per client specifications.

Reportal as a solution ensured seamless compatibility between standards of WCIO, ISO and AAIS that our client complies with. The compatibility is enforced on the back of its component, the Rules Engine, which provides the user with flexibility to specify rules (algorithms).It is scalable to various platforms.

BUSINESS BENEFITS

1. Seamless integration with periodic changes to Bureau reports specifications
2. Enhanced accuracy in reporting
3. Flexible to modify Bureau specific rules on the fly
4. Web-based and 24/7 accessibility
5. Support multiple data formats such as Binary, TXT, XML, CSV etc
6. Effective utilization of management time
7. Ease in reporting
8. No Mess re-installations

OUR CLIENT

Our client is a leading provider of Property and casualty insurance for nonprofit organizations in US.

CHALLENGE

With operations across multiple states and complying with Bureaus found difficulty in mapping the data manually from the internal systems to the reporting structure required by Bureaus. This process is cumbersome and time consuming.

TECHNOLOGY

1. Microsoft Windows OS
2. Internet Information Server (IIS)
3. Microsoft Visual Studio .Net Framework
4. SQL Server 2005