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Delaero Inc. re-engineers the business process and develops a new system to improve client’s efficiency in underwriting and issuing insurance policies.

Our client is a managing insurance agency in Boston responsible for underwriting and selling commercial habitual insurance and various commercial liability policies in the Northeast. They act as a broker for several major insurance companies (their vendors), rating the risk for the property, and underwriting and issuing the policies through their clients, local insurance agencies.

Problem: Our client was using an outdated system for underwriting support creating problems with compliance with one of their vendors, and timely issuance of policies. Other problems included:

A database system that was not suited to the client’s industry segment. The system had been modified in an attempt to customize it to the client’s needs, but the system continued to be ill-fitted to their business needs and cumbersome to use. The integrity of the data in the system was effected by its usability. Frequently changing insurance regulations required the client to be able to update data tracking requirements. The client’s various vendors each have different and specific compliance requirements. The client wanted a solution that would solve the current problems and would be able to grow and adapt to prepare them for future growth.

Goals:

To design and implement a system addressing all vendor compliance issues. To re-engineer the business process for underwriting and issuing a policy and decrease the time needed to issue a policy. To implement a scalable solution supporting the future growth potential of our client.

Solution: Delaero worked together with Information Ethics to address the specific needs of the Client. Information Ethics performed an in-depth analysis of the existing system, the requirements to be addressed by the new system, and the benefits of building a new system vs. buying an existing product. This segment of the industry is very specialized, and it was determined that no system currently exists that would address the client’s unique needs effectively.

Delaero formed the technical team to design and develop the new system for the client, while Information Ethics provided all project management support for the endeavor. The solution developed for this client addresses the following areas:

The business process was re-engineered to facilitate a smoother flow of information between the underwriting and business offices of our client. An analysis of all the data requirements to support the internal business processes as well as the external data consumers was done, and a new data store was architected to house the information. Information from the old system was migrated to the new data store and scrubbed. A process was built to export the data to the vendors and bring our client into compliance for all historical information. A web-enabled policy application was developed allowing agencies to submit information electronically to the new data store. An internal business application supporting underwriting, invoicing, and policy issuance is currently under development and scheduled to roll out in Fall 2004. The final step is to complete the analysis of all reporting requirements and to create these reports and facilitate delivery to all involved parties.

Results:

The Web Enabled Policy application was rolled out in Fall 2003. Our client has successfully migrated over 50% of its clients to the new application. The underwriting department has seen a dramatic decrease in the time it takes to underwrite a policy and has been able to increase the number of policies they underwrite. Inception-to-date compliance has been met for our client’s major vendor. Through the data migration process and the new data store Delaero has successfully brought our client into compliance with its vendors eliminating the possibility of future fines, and greatly improving the relationship between our client and its vendors. The internal business application is currently under development and will be rolled out in Fall 2004. This will automate the new business process and is projected to cut the time it takes to issue a policy by about 85%.