Client Overview

Breed's Hill is a Managing General Agency (MGA), offering Property and Casualty insurance programs to retail brokers for multi-unit apartment buildings, condominium associations, and mixed-use exposures in the New England market. They manage insurance programs, rating and selling habitational insurance from several large carriers.

Problem

Breed's Hill had a back office policy management and accounting system that was not able to produce the monthly reporting requirements that their carriers required. They tried having the vendor customize the system but repeated attempts had failed. The inability to produce the monthly reports was causing a strain on the relationship with a carrier that represented 80% of Breed's Hill’s business.

While Breed's Hill was happy with the back office accounting functions that the system provided, data entry was tedious and repetitive for staff when clients purchased multiple coverages.

Solutions Overview

Arcanum Solutions was hired to develop a solution to fix the monthly reporting problem. The goal was to implement technology improvements that would streamline operations at the same time. During a multi phase custom application development engagement Arcanum Solutions produced an application that helped Breed’s Hill gain monthly compliance, streamline the application process, and remain flexible to the ever changing underwriting rules.

Phase One

In the first phase of the engagement Arcanum Solutions designed and implemented a custom web application which allowed client agents to enter applications for insurance online. This phase alone increased Breed's Hill's efficiency by 50%.

Phase Two

Phase Two of the development was to include back office functionality to completely replace the previous system. This functionality included all the phases of the policy life cycle (application submission, underwriting, billing, policy issuance and reporting).

Results

Through the development of a custom application Breed’s Hill was able to accomplish its goal of monthly reporting compliance. Arcanum provided them with inception to date reporting compliance, and the ability to maintain compliance on a monthly basis. The custom application also allowed Breed's Hill to streamline their internal business operations. These efficiencies include:

• Decreased data entry duplication.
• Increased data entry accuracy.
• Decrease time to rate and quote an application.
• Decrease time to issue policy.

The system externalized the rating engine, which has served Breed’s Hill as they maintain control over the ever changing underwriting rules.

Among the many benefits Breed's Hill has gained from the custom application, perhaps the greatest is the number of agents that continue to use the system. Breed's Hill estimates that 80% of their agents now use the system. They are repeatedly told how easy it is to process applications through the system. Breed's Hill's client agents are happy to process renewals with the system thanks to its ease of use.

The Artemas™ Policy Administration System is now offered as a product.