Who's Buying What

BERKSHIRE HOMESTATE LIVE WITH POLICY ADMINISTRATION

Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Cos. (BHHC), a group of six regional insurance carriers that are part of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group, launched the second phase of its implementation of a policy administration solution from Duck Creek Technologies Inc., Bolivar, Mo. Phase I allowed BHHC to issue policies directly through Duck Creek's system for workers' compensation business in more than 30 states. Phase II, which is currently underway, will allow BHHC to issue an array of commercial insurance line products, including automobile, property and general liability.

The company has successfully rolled out its new commercial auto product in Texas, with several other states following. In addition, BHHC has acquired the Duck Creek Billing solution to add to its technology replacement project, with plans to implement this solution across all commercial lines of business.

The company says this replacement legacy policy administration project is modernizing BHHC's technology base so they can leverage their market strategy - bringing new products to market faster with a configurable flexible system and streamlining their policy management process.

"We wanted an integrated policy administration solution that was capable of combining a traditional ISO rating approach for some lines of business, with non-traditional proprietary rating algorithms for others. In addition, the ability to develop our own workflow processes and maintain the system ourselves is a huge advantage," says BHHC CEO Rod Eldred. "The increased operational effectiveness of Duck Creek's Web enablement will provide our agents with the ability to quickly quote, bind and issue. We are pleased with the progress of our modernization project, and with the addition of Duck Creek Billing, our solutions will now share one platform, and all systems will be consolidated. The billing front-end is impressive, and the integration ease with the policy administration system will help streamline our processes."

MERCURY INSURANCE GROUP CHOOSES GUIDEWIRE'S SUITE

Los Angeles-based Mercury Insurance Group, a multi-line insurance organization, and San Mateo, Calif.-based P&C core technology solutions provider Guidewire Software, report that Mercury Insurance Group will implement Guidewire's Insurance Suite as its new policy administration, billing and claims platform for its homeowners business.

The applications (Guidewire PolicyCenter, BillingCenter and ClaimCenter) will be deployed simultaneously to enable the carrier to expand its business and enhance customer experience.

"We believe it is essential that we make strategic investments in well-architected platforms that are robust, nimble and flexible," says Allan Lubitz, Mercury Insurance Group SVP and CIO.

Guidewire reports that its Insurance Suite will enable Mercury to provide an enhanced level of agent and customer service in addition to providing the company with several other business benefits.

USABLE LIFE EXTENDS DEAL WITH BENEFITFOCUS

USAble Life and Charleston, S.C.-based Benefitfocus have struck a multi-year partnership through 2013 that leverages the Benefitfocus suite of solutions related to how group and voluntary benefits are sold, enrolled, billed and serviced, the companies report.

Multiple technology solutions have been deployed for Chapel Hill, N.C.-based USAble Life's 1.1 million insured individuals, including Benefitfocus eEnrollment, Benefitfocus eBilling and Benefitfocus eExchange. Collectively, the software provides an online shopping and application process. Self-service for ongoing bill presentment, payment and maintenance is also provided for employers and consumers enrolled in these plans.

"With these new capabilities, we can expand market share and sell more products by providing customers with a clearer understanding of options," says Julie Marshall, EVP of sales for USAble Life.

With the Benefitfocus suite of solutions, USAble Life can provide their customers with one portal for managing all of their benefits, including health benefits offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Trends show that employers want to have one place for their employees to enroll in all of their benefits, regardless of the insurance carrier and benefit type, and they want one tool that helps them manage the process.

Similarly, clients want to view and pay one consolidated bill for health and ancillary benefits with an easy-to-use online payment process, the vendor says.

AMLIN ILLINOIS, EXARI GROUP STRIKE DOC AUTOMATION DEAL

Amlin Illinois Inc., the Chicago based subsidiary of Lloyd's insurer, Amlin, selected the InsuranceAccelerator solution for its U.S. domestic-admitted property/casualty product. Offered by Exari Group Inc., a Boston-based document automation software company, InsuranceAccelerator, met the requirements of the Chicago operation, including support for multiple document types, the ability to easily build new products, scalability and the creation of detailed reports.

"We needed a comprehensive and flexible policy configuration solution," says Amlin Illinois VP Paul Glenton. "The ISO forms we deal with are very detailed, and policies often contain multiple sections and coverages. Exari met our demands with a flexible, easy-to-use solution that can handle the complexity of our documents, and that allows us to offer the high-quality service that Amlin clients expect."

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