Camilion Adds PLM Functionality to its Product Development, Policy Admin Solutions

Toronto-based Camilion Solutions, a provider of insurance product development solutions and P&C policy administration systems, announced the availability of new insurance product lifecycle management functionality that is now available out of the box with both ProductAuthority and Authority Suite. Called Lifecycle Manager, this functionality enhances and leverages the functionality of ProductAuthority, a "pure" insurance product development solution, which also powers Authority Suite, the company says.

Lifecycle Manager is a Web-based "desktop" that includes automated, collaborative workflows; a product catalog that houses "one version of the truth" for every product; product compare capabilities that enable you to easily identify key features for reuse or modification across multiple products; and the ability to test products before they are integrated into downstream systems such as billing, claims and print. Lifecycle Manager workflows support processes related to: launching new and modified products, including forms drafting and review; state filing package creation and review; and state (DOI) filing management.

"Collaborating with [Chicago-based] CNA Insurance, we built Lifecycle Manager's advanced product development and management functionality, and it is now available out-of-the-box with Authority Suite and ProductAuthority,” said Ross Orrett, president & CEO, Camilion Solutions. "Highly configurable, Lifecycle Manager also can easily be customized to suit a customer's specific needs."

Applicable to both property & casualty and life & annuity insurers, Lifecycle Manager gives insurers visibility into the processes that track and manage key tasks and participants involved in product development and management to reduce product development costs, eliminate bottlenecks to improve speed to market, deliver quality products, and increase revenue by enabling concurrent development and modification of products, Camilion says.

Lifecycle Manager has received an enthusiastic response from CNA's diverse user community, which includes 300 underwriters, actuaries, product developers, product managers, business system analysts and executives. CNA expects to shorten their 54 to 100 day delivery times to 15 to 60 days.

"CNA is a visionary when it comes to product development and creating disciplined product management as a core competency," added Orrett. "With Lifecycle Manager, CNA's users now have a clearer understanding of their role in the product development process, using the workflows as a way to escape the ambiguity of the 'the e-mail world', and have better visibility into the overall process. This automation is going to inform and enlighten all of their key stakeholders in product development about the real costs in time, effort and dollars of each step in the process. Lifecycle Manager provides the visibility CNA needs to accurately measure their success and a framework for driving continual refinements in their product development process and products."