Insurance Solutions Portfolio

By Doug Henschen

Automating Policies and Claims

BancTec (www.banctec.com) tackles complex data- and paper-intensive insurance processes with Plexus workflow and imaging technology. Typical insurance applications include claims processing, policy processing, worker’s compensation administration and customer service support. Solutions may also incorporate BancTec’s S-Series high-speed production scanner for front-end image capture (see “High-Speed Payoff,” page 35).

Plexus’ workflow and imaging solutions can be customized to enable almost any work process or line-of-business application. For instance, the Object/Storage Management Suite is used to process worker’s compensation claims for a system that insures 120,000 employers with a combined 1.4 million employees. In another installation, United Healthcare uses the Object/Storage Management Suite to provide Web-enabled claims viewing within its service center. Internal employees retrieve claim images via the company’s corporate intranet.

Allmerica Financials is using BancTec’s Plexus FloWare to manage the workflow of its life and annuities claims administration. The Object/Storage Management Suite stores the images online. Whenever a customer calls in reference to an application or letter, the Allmerica representative can now access an image of the item, as well as the history surrounding it. The FloWare software can pinpoint exactly where the item is in the workflow process.

BancTec’s Plexus products run in open, multi-vendor environments on a multitude of standard platforms. Supported architectures include client/server and n-tier.

Pricing is typically set per user for thick-client implementations and per-concurrent-user for thin-client implementations. Specific pricing is based on the number of licenses required as well as the end user’s integration needs.

Easing Customer, Agent And Regulator Relations

InSystems Technologies (www.insystems.com) helps insurers manage their three most crucial relationships — insurer to customer, insurer to channel partner (agents and brokers), and insurer to regulator — with their eXtended Relationship Management (XRM) solutions.

The Customer Relationship Management solution includes Information, Sales, and Service modules. The Web-based Information module provides news feeds, product and company news, related links and presentation of data from back-end systems. The Sales module includes online forms searching, application form filling, data capture and submission, data connection to ratings engines and other back-end systems, policy generation and online policy distribution in HTML, Word and/or PDF format. The Service module includes online forms filling (change of policy details, change of address, etc.), electronic data submission, connection to back-end systems and presentation of legacy data including claims information, customer file information, etc.

InSystem’s Partner Relationship Management solution includes the same modules as the CRM solution, but they can be customized for specific agents and brokers. The Information module, for example, can provide the specific product and company news feeds that are relevant to each individual. It can also deliver forms for new sales channel partners to apply for licensing from the insurer. The Sales module includes online data submission, application forms creation, connection to back-end systems, policy generation and online policy delivery. The Service module includes customer account information, connection to claims, customer databases and other back-end systems, and online form filling and electronic data submission.

The Regulator Relationship Management (RRM) solution is a customizable portal that serves as an online community for financial services companies. It offers online regulatory filing, industry news and analysis, online discussion and mentoring forums, e-commerce, regulatory filing requirement and online training and education. The RRM solution provides a dedicated, secure Web site offers secure, 24/7 access to filing analysts and regulators.

Life and disability insurer The Standard (Portland, OR) now provides Web-based proposals to the field using InSystems’ relationship management solution.

The company’s goal was to generate group disability, life and dental proposals on demand, then view, edit and manipulate the documents online. By integrating InSystems’ Calligo document assembly software, The Standard can now create, manage, control and distribute documents throughout the enterprise. Documents are assembled through a high-volume assembly server and can be accessed, managed, and controlled through a Web browser interface. More than 100 underwriters are now using the system to create professional-looking proposals.

Content Control Tames Transaction Management

SpyVision from Magellan (www.magellan.com) is a cross-platform content management suite that can run natively in AS/400, NT, Unix and Linux environments. Using VIP Intelligent Enterprise Portal, the latest addition to the Magellan line, insurance companies can distribute the task of maintaining Web-based data while preserving a consistent look and feel for both internal and external consumption. This Java-based solution incorporates VIP ContentManager, VIP PortalManager and VIP ContentMiner tools to manage Web content for intranet, extranet, and Internet applications. The solution also integrates with existing applications, processing and brokering transactions between legacy systems and the enterprise portal.

Magellan’s core suite incorporates robust imaging, workflow and repository management features. The SpyImage imaging component has integrated forms processing and OCR/ICR capabilities to streamline capture and indexing of standardized and unstructured forms. The StaffView workflow module combines the human and electronic elements of insurance-oriented business processes, streamlining underwriting, claims processing and accounting functions. The scan-to-case feature recognizes a form or document and assigns it automatically to the appropriate workflow process during the capture process.

The OmniSave management component organizes diverse content types under a uniform index structure. As a result, claim forms, policies, digital photographs, recorded interviews, e-mails and other correspondence are captured, organized and delivered to the desktop with a single search while leveraging information within existing applications.

The average cost of a Magellan report manangement/imaging solution ranges from $40,000 to $80,000, workflow $60,000 to $100,000 and the VIP Intelligent Enterprise Portal from $100,000 to $140,000.

Valley Insurance, a $160 million company with operations in Oregon, California and New Hampshire, recently moved to a Magellan system incorporating enterprise report management, imaging and workflow. The system manages more than 4 million legacy images converted from a proprietary format, and it captures new reports, images, faxes, digital photographs and Word files. The company will leverage Web-based initiatives in the second phase of the project.

A Portal View Supports Case Management

Tower Technology (www.towertech.com) addresses the insurance market with its IDM Corporate Document Portal, insurance-specific Tower IDM Case Management Modules and IDM integration with the Calligo document assembly engine from InSystems Technologies.

Tower’s insurance Case Management Modules streamline routine processes such as new business, underwriting and claims, shortening the time to issue policies and pay claims while improving accuracy, reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction. With the integration with Calligo, Tower adapts automated document assembly to a process-centric production environment, enabling underwriting, claims and other units to efficiently customize complex policies, contracts and correspondence on demand at the head office or in the field.

Extending these processes to e-business, the Tower IDM Corporate Document Portal provides a secure self-service infrastructure. Tower contends that Internet-based transactions are five times less expensive than call center transactions and ten times less expensive than traditional paper-based transactions, so it has focused on adding Web-based transaction and self-service functionality.

As a single point of access to an insurance company’s unstructured information, this system links paper-based and Web-based capture methods to traditional or Web-based business processes. You can capture emails, eforms and even Web-page views related on online transactions within customer folders. Workflow and legacy systems automate processing behind the scenes. System pricing is approximately $1,000 per named user, with concurrent and site licensing also available.

Canadian insurer Standard Life of Canada has implemented Tower IDM for integrated document management and case management within their Individual Life New Business and Underwriting operations. The system allows underwriters at multiple locations to access policy-related documentation, which totals nearly one million pages per year. The next step will be to roll out the Tower IDM Corporate Document Portal to give customers and agents secure access to documents and online forms through ordinary Web browsers.