Who's Buying What

Insurance Networking News, February 1, 2010

Recent deals for technology software and services

CHUBB EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH IMAGINATIK

Imaginatik plc, a Boston-based provider of collaborative innovation software and processes, reports that it has signed a two-year contract extension with Warren, N.J.-based The Chubb Corp. No financial details were disclosed.

Imaginatik's collective intelligence software platform and consultancy services have been supporting Chubb's innovation program since 2008, being used for idea management, new product development and cost reduction. Imaginatik's software, Idea Central, has facilitated open innovation by enabling collaboration between suppliers, agents and brokers.

SYMETRA SELECTS INSURANCE TECHNOLOGIES' FORESIGHT

Insurance Technologies LLC, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based provider of sales illustration and point-of-sale solutions, reports that Bellevue, Wash.-based Symetra Life Insurance Co. has selected ForeSight Version 5.0 to illustrate its entire life product suite.

With ForeSight illustration software, Symetra independent agents and advisors can show clients how a life insurance product will perform over time in meeting their financial needs.

Symetra began working with Insurance Technologies as its sales illustration solution provider in 1999. The company currently illustrates term and universal life products on the ForeSight system. Symetra's move to ForeSight 5.0 will allow the company to make updates to the illustration software via its Web site for all new life products.

"We have had great opportunities over the past several years to help companies like Symetra highlight their life products," said David Fenimore, EVP-engineering and CIO for Insurance Technologies. "We are excited to continue our partnership with Symetra and to provide them with our latest version of ForeSight 5.0."

TWO CARRIERS OPT FOR TCCS PROCESSING SOFTWARE

Town and Country Computer Services (TCCS), Schenectady, N.Y., announced that two insurers are using TCCS's "INS PRO" insurance processing software to help write lines of business on programs provided by the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS):

Great Lakes Mutual Insurance Co., Calumet, Mich., has agents throughout Michigan offering policies based on the AAIS Homeowners and Dwelling Properties programs. As of March 2009, all of the company's agent quotes and applications in affected AAIS lines have been processed through an INS PRO application.

Lincoln Mutual Insurance Co., Lincolnton, N.C., writes AAIS-based homeowners, dwelling properties and farmowners policies throughout the state. Live use of INS PRO for processing agent quotes and applications in those lines is imminent.

RSA CANADA SIGNS POLICY ADMIN DEAL WITH DUCK CREEK

Duck Creek Technologies Inc., a Bolivar, Mo.-based provider of software and services for the insurance industry, has signed an agreement RSA Canada, headquartered in Toronto.

RSA Canada offers personal and commercial products across Canada, writing approximately $1.9 billion in annual premium. RSA Canada has regional offices throughout the country employing more than 3,000 people.

"We selected Duck Creek Technologies' policy administration system as our strategic platform for commercial insurance operations because of its tremendous flexibility. More than just an administration system, this solution lets us better manage business processes and automate workflows, which improves underwriting discipline and drives efficiency," says Steve Knoch, VP of underwriting operations and CIO at RSA.

SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CASUALTY PARTNERS WITH IDENTITY THEFT 911

Little Rock, Ark.-based Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. announced that its Arkansas policyholders will receive comprehensive identity theft resolution and education services at no cost through Scottsdale, Ariz,-based Identity Theft 911.

Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. automobile policyholders in Arkansas and their immediate household members will receive Identity Theft 911's LifeStages program for one-on-one resolution services and consultation, including credit and fraud monitoring tools, during various life events when they could be particularly vulnerable to identity theft. All recipients have dedicated online access to Identity Theft 911's educational material, including daily threat alerts, investigative articles, monthly newsletters, white papers and prevention tips.

"Through our partnership with Identity Theft 911, we are providing our policyholders with proactive education, one-on-one expert identity theft resolution services and, most important, the peace of mind that someone is there to provide on-demand guidance and personal assistance whenever needed," says Duff Wallace, SVP-state manager, Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.

PEKIN DEPLOYS LIDP SOA WEB SERVICE SOLUTION

Pekin Life Insurance, Pekin, Ill., has gone into production with the LIDP SOA/Web service framework from Woodridge, Ill.-based LIDP Consulting Inc. Pekin is currently using the Web service connectivity of The Administrator, LIDP's policy administration solution, to quote values for their Web-based agency inquiry application, and also to provide values for an in-house application.

Pekin is already looking to expand upon its use of the LIDP SOA/Web Service framework by providing a death benefit quote for their agents. They also plan to leverage the Web Service capabilities of The Administrator to provide additional information to their sales force as well as inquiries for their policyholders.

"As we continue to develop our Web applications, the LIDP Web Service environment makes it easy for us to provide timely, accurate information to our customers," says Diane Johnson, programmer manager at Pekin.

ZURICH AND CSC SIGN IT and data SERVICES CONTRACT

Zurich Financial Services Group has signed a 10-and-a-half-year master service agreement with Falls Church, Va.-based CSC for data center and IT infrastructure managed services. The master service agreement provides the framework for country-specific agreements to be subsequently entered into by the local entities of each party. The master service agreement will become effective upon the signing of the first country-specific agreement. The contract covers global data center centralization and server virtualization and is designed to transform Zurich's existing data center environment into a fully modernized, flexible and highly virtualized operation.

Under the terms of the agreement, depending on the country-specific agreements entered into, up to approximately 1,000 Zurich employees will potentially transition to CSC during the first half of 2010.

ARGUS INSURANCE GROUP, IPARTNERS STRIKE BI DEAL

Miami-based Argus Insurance Group, a Florida provider of personal lines residential insurance, is in production with business intelligence (BI) technology from iPartners, a provider of on-demand business analytics solutions. The Insurance Scorecard suite, which includes iDashboards, iScorecards, and iControl, is designed to offer a complete analytics solution including: performance management dashboards and scorecards, ad-hoc detailed analysis, production reporting, and drill to detail. The evaluation process included a proof of concept (POC), which was successfully completed in just one week, validating Argus' decision and giving them the confidence to move forward with the iPartners implementation.

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