ePolicy Solutions Reports Findings of Online Industry Systems Open Forum

May 24, 2004

At the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum on Monday, ePolicy Solutions Inc. (www.epolicysolutions.com) revealed the findings of an online open forum on Web-based insurance systems that it conducted with senior business and IT managers at the top U.S. property and casualty insurance companies.

Responding in a survey format and with open-ended personal comments, the executives surveyed identified three top issues to consider when selecting a vendor: knowledge and experience in the insurance industry, the technical architecture of the solution, and the vendor’s knowledge and experience in new automated technology or application solutions. The respondents also emphasized that vendors should commit to honesty and integrity, not oversell or over commit, keep it simple, and deliver what’s “advertised” on time.

The executives also rated Web-based features that have the most impact on their businesses, ranking “online automated report generation with access to market statistics” as the favorite feature, followed by “online renewal processing” and “online automated third-party interfaces.”

Executives reportedly said the biggest challenges they face in adopting automated solutions are integration and interface issues with current systems and legacy system constraints.

With these challenges in mind, however, the respondents overwhelmingly believe their companies have committed adequate funds for necessary improvements over the next two to five years. The participants also largely believe that their respective companies have achieved a return on previous investments in automated technologies.

When looking at how insurance systems have improved business, the participants stated they believe automated technology has improved underwriting and decision making, and customer service. However, the responses were reportedly mixed regarding whether more business is being sold, although nearly all of the participants stated that the automated systems have had an impact on their businesses.

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