Approximately 2,600 independent agents, CSRs and agency employees flocked to Orlando, Fla. March 13-16 for the AMS Users’ Group 27th Annual National Conference. AMS Services Inc., together with AMS Users’ Group, made several announcements March 14; announcements that will change the way AMS users do business within their agencies and within their agency management systems.
AMS Users’ will be able to begin using a new product supporting billing and claims inquiry with their respective AMS systems beginning March 17. The product, TransactNOW, enables interface communication between carriers and agents within the AMS Services management systems. Agents will now be able to conduct business with carriers initially without leaving their management system to go to a proprietary site. To date, eight carriers have adopted TransactNOW: Travelers Property Casualty, The Hartford, SAFECO, The St. Paul, Encompass, Kemper, Chubb and Progressive.
“TransactNOW is a Web-based tool set that gives us the ability to leverage resources already put into play by AMS and by the carriers,” Dave Shea, president and CEO of AMS Services, said.
“This is not at all a replacement for [IVANS] Transformation Station,” Shea continued. “It’s an incremental option for us to employ with carriers so that we can get the transactions delivered in a quicker pace.
TransactNOW was built in partnership with the BCF Technologies.
In addition, AMS Services unveiled AMS 360 – the next generation of AfW. AMS 360 was built from the ground up under the Microsoft.NET platform, allowing for more flexibility online and greater productivity overall. AMS 360 will be available in April 2003 for new customers of AMS products, and migration for existing AfW users will tentatively begin in early 2004.
“It’s a revolutionary new management system and its goal is focused on increasing the profitability and productivity of its users,” Shea said. “It’s ground-breaking, new technology for us, and I think certainly positions AMS in the marketplace with leading technology for the core middle-market focus today and focus for the future.”
Finally, AMS Services announced IBM UniVerse as the new database for the Sagitta management system. AMS said the move was mainly due to the work IBM and Microsoft are doing to further develop the XML Web services specifications. Migration is expected to occur in third quarter 2003.
Watch for a recap of the AMS Users’ Group Conference in an upcoming issue of Insurance Journal.
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