Strategic insurance software is staying focused

Rough Notes,  Sep 1997  by Doucette, Nancy

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Standardsbased products are the major focus at S.I.S.

"Begin with the end in mind," writes Stephen Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In other words, "begin with a clear understanding of your destination."

For Columbus, Ohio-based Strategic Insurance Software, Inc. (S.I.S.), the destination was SEMCI (single entry, multi-company interface). The vehicle would be SEMCI Partner.

S.I.S. President Ed Browning explains that SEMCI Partner was developed in response to a survey which State Auto Insurance Companies distributed to its agents several years ago. Part of what the survey revealed was that 40% to 50% of the agents responding couldn't afford to buy an agency management system. "As a business, State Auto couldn't afford not to be involved!" Browning says.

State Auto had a strong commitment to interface, he continues, and realized that its agents had to have a means of communicating with them and getting information back from the company. To accomplish that goal, S.I.S. was formed and became an affiliate of State Auto Financial Corporation. Its charter: to develop industry standard products. By supporting ACORD Standard download and having the APT software included in the system, S.I.S's SEMCI Partner is accessible to multiple insurance companies and agencies.

"ome people may be scratching their heads and wondering:

`Why would State Auto build a product that would be used by its competitors?' The computer is no different than a telephone," Browning stresses, "and we all use a telephone. We're approaching the process from a nonproprietary position."

In developing SEMCI Partner, S.I.S. focused on two key elements: standards-based, non-proprietary interface capabilities and affordability. With a license fee of less than $2,500 for a single- or multi-user system and monthly support fees in the $200 to $300 range, depending on the functions the agency selects, Partner meets the affordability criterion, according to the agents we spoke with.

When agency principal Ron Mooney of Columbus, Ohio-based RHK Group was examining the agency management system marketplace in 1995, he discovered he'd need to spend between $30,000 and $50,000 for software for his eight-person agency. And of course he'd have to replace the hardware, which would drive the cost up further. His aged mini computer didn't even use a floppy disk. It used platters.

As a State Auto agent, Mooney had received literature about SEMCI Partner but he was skeptical about the price. He had worked with one of the Partner developers several years earlier when they both were affiliated with another national insurer. Mooney contacted Craig Heere and asked that nagging question: "How can S.I.S. afford to do this so inexpensively?"

Heere explained that S.I.S. leverages technology to keep costs down. They don't have a fleet of outside salespeople, preferring instead to use a variety of direct marketing techniques and offering group demonstrations. S.I.S. has minimized the training costs-for agents as well as themselves-by using remote access for training and service. Remote access training eliminates the need for agency personnel to travel to receive their training. It also makes training new staff members easier. The S.I.S. representative remains at the Columbus, Ohio, headquarters and essentially takes control of the caller's mouse. S.I.S. sees what the agent sees on his or her screen and is able to train or fix problems remotely.

The agency of which Chris Carleton is president had been using an easyon-the-budget DOS-based system when she began her search for a competitively priced Windows-based system about two years ago. She too represented State Auto and had read about SEMCI Partner in State Auto's agency publications. Finding an attractively priced, Windows-based system prompted The Matson & Carleton Financial Group to be among the first 20 agencies to have the Partner system.

Ed Browning sums up the pricing issue this way: "If an agent can save an hour a day using SEMCI Partner, the agent can pay for the system. The return on investment is immediate because there are no sizable up front costs for the agent. It's harder to get a return on your investment when you're laying down $25,000 to $30,000."

And as for the interface capabilities? SEMCI Partner is certified for download with 50 regional and national companies. Browning reports that 100% of the agencies using Partner download with at least one company. And the "average" Partner agency is downloading with two to three companies, and uploading with at least one. "Partner leads the industry today in what may be the most difficult to achieve interface goalpolicy change processing," Browning reports. "To be able to achieve our interface accomplishments in just two years says a lot about technology, and a lot about the industry standards that are out there."

Ron Mooney's agency is downloading with seven companies. "The companies tell me Partner is one of the easiest automation vendors to start the download process with," he notes. "When they go to get certified, it's smooth sailing."