Flexibility, Accessibility and - IASA 2015/Sessions/TECH/TEC… · Flexibility, Accessibility and...

IASA 87TH ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE & BUSINESS SHOW

Flexibility, Accessibility and Configurability in a SaaS-Based Portal Package

Session #674

Our Speakers

Karen

Furtado Partner

Strategy Meets Action

Richard

Yien Vice-President

Information Technology

Everest National

Mitchell

Wasserman CEO

Oceanwide, An Insurity Company

Partha

Srinivasa SVP, CIO

HCC Insurance

Holdings


Portal – Business and Technology Requirements

Source: Strategy Meets Action 2015


Time to Market

Cost

IT Infrastructure

(Security, Disaster Recovery,

Environment)

Software

Upgrades

Scalability

Usability and Access

The Advantages of Considering a SaaS/Cloud Environment

Cloud Computing

Source: Strategy Meets Action 2015


About HCC

Leading specialty insurance underwriter (formed in 1974)

Over 100 diverse, non-correlated lines of business

Industry leading combined ratio

Consistent, top-tier financial results & value creation regardless of market

cycles

Assets of $10.7 billion, shareholders’ equity of $3.9 billion and market

capitalization of $5.2 billion as of 12/31/14

Offices across the USA & Europe, writing business in 180 countries

Five segments

• P & C (including Crop)

• Life

• Professional Liability

• Surety and Credit

• International


HCC Problem

Investment in system in 2007 left us with technology gaps

• Client server core PAS and Claims system fundamentally sound and

scalable but missing front end flexibility

No configurable rating tool

• New lines could be set up rapidly, but without rating

Portals in use were one off builds, not reusable for

disparate business lines


What HCC Looked for in a Solution

Ability for speed to market for new products

A vendor partner that could supplement resources but allow

independence

An extendable, reusable platform with the flexibility we

need for specialty lines

An offering that will fit well within our existing IT portfolio;

integrate with our core policy and claims admin systems

Modular software that gives us the functionality we need for

the specific line of business during its life cycle (start up vs.

mature lines vs. acquisition).


Implementation Methodology

Project kick off

Requirements gathering work sessions

Product design document

Iterative configuration and testing cycles

Engaged user group, formal UAT process


Projects

Sports & Recreation commercial package

• In Production January 2015

Planned implementations 2015

•Total Event (event liability, game of chance)

•Select Casualty commercial package

•EPL


Lessons Learned by HCC

A more conservative estimate of the of effort required to

complete the project

More thorough requirements gathering by HCC prior to

formal project kickoff

A dedicated commercial insurance SME to assist in

requirements gathering and workflow design

Signoff of entire workflow via wireframes and/or story

boards before any configuration work is done

Improved QA, we didn’t have enough resources on the

S&R project dedicated to this


About Everest National Insurance

Direct Insurance Arm of Everest Re

• $1.2B premium 2014

• With Everest Re, assets $8.1B, shareholder

equity $7.5B

Business Areas

• Casualty, Crop, Environmental, E&S

Property, Sports & Leisure, Workers Comp,

Management/Professional Liability


Supporting Capture of Small & Medium Sized Accounts

Everest National systems were implemented to support

program business and large accounts

• Lack of automation / integration between primary insurance

applications

• Low transaction volume, redundant data entry, and manual processes

• Not designed for scalability, agility, or flexibility

Shift in business strategy to capture small and medium

specialty account business

• Require fewer manual touch points with increased throughput

• Need to configure new products quickly

• Broad product access and distribution

New systems strategy required to address these issues


Integration Using Enterprise Service Bus

Implementation of enterprise service bus middleware to

enable efficient integration and reuse of application

services

• Enables ‘best of breed’ component strategy by lowering cost of both

integration as well as ongoing interface support


Goals for Rapidly Configurable Insurance Front-End Platform

A flexible policy system that could act as a front end for

either internal or external (portal) users

• Low code / no code configuration tools for self-sufficiency

• Streamlined architecture & design

Integration support that dovetails with our enterprise service

bus approach

• Front end must work with multiple back end systems for rating,

issuance, and administration

Deliver a modern, friendly user experience that requires

minimal training and supports casual use

• Can be quickly and easily tweaked based on user feedback and

design enhancements


First Portal Implementation

First agent portal implementation built for California ‘small’

workers comp

• Now in final QA stages, target production within weeks

Integration with other component systems and services

using enterprise service bus

• ACORD 130 electronic submission transfer

• OFAC

• Submission clearance

• Policy rating and issuance

Total implementation time approximately 10 months

• Including requirements, design, configuration, integration, and testing


Implementation Lessons Learned

Product requirements definition is longest and most critical

phase of development

• No amount of technology compensates for a weak translation of the

business into a system

• Must dedicate SME business resources to the project

• Take the time needed to flesh out as many details as possible up front

Multiple iterations are inevitable

• Issues become readily apparent when the system comes to life

• Expose iterations to different kinds of users early to gain broad

feedback

Deep front end platform expertise makes a huge difference

• Work with platform vendor experts to ensure portal takes advantage

of all features


Panel Discussion

Our Speakers

Karen

Furtado Partner

Strategy Meets Action

Richard

Yien Vice-President

Information Technology

Everest National

Mitchell

Wasserman CEO

Oceanwide, An Insurity Company

Partha

Srinivasa SVP, CIO

HCC Insurance

Holdings

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