Northern software improves German insurance sales

In co-operation, Profit Software and Inverso have delivered two insurance systems to a leading insurance company in Germany. Based on Java technology, the systems delivered are the sales, quoting, and offering systems for the commercial and farm insurance industries. The projects started in December 2003, and the systems were brought into production use this autumn.

Immediate benefit

According to Inverso’s general manager, Roland Schachtschabel, the customer has gained clear and immediate benefits with the new systems. All necessary lines of business in both sectors are now covered by one application, and the principal information needs to be collected only once.

Benefits are also gained in everyday work, as insurance offers are processed in a modern and consistent way. There is a state-of-the-art parameterised calculation engine for the new rates, which enables customers to tailor their rates in a flexible manner.

With the farm system, the customer achieved much better cross-selling rates due to the integration of previously separate products into one system. The quality of data has improved thanks to integrated calculation and error-handling systems.

The potential number of users for these new systems is 3000 sales personnel and specialists, with close to 1000 of them being active users.

- The client now has the possibility to change the calculation model and risk values with a separate maintenance application. Also, the customer has the new ability to react quickly to market changes, reveals Schachtschabel.

Challenges and solutions

With the farm system project, the requirements presented a challenge. The specifications for some required parts were not complete at the beginning of the project.

According to Roland Schachtschabel, one challenge encountered in the commercial system project was to meet the requirements of separate user groups through a single application. The greatest challenge was to find a good solution that would meet the requirements of several groups via one integrated system possessing mainly common functionality and as few special requirements as possible. The client is very satisfied with the result: the end users particularly appreciate the innovative and user-guiding error-handling functionality, the businesspeople the new flexibility.

- We managed to overcome the problems because we had a close connection with each other. The problems were discussed openly, and innovative solutions were found, confirmed both Schachtschabel for Inverso and Client Services Director Petteri Holopainen from Profit Software.

International co-operation

- The farm insurance system was implemented rapidly. Despite the initial lack of specific requirements and then lack of time to resolve the issues, it went very well. Profit Software and Inverso paid a lot of attention to carrying these projects successfully through to the end as well, as we were both committed to long-term co-operation, said Schachtschabel.

The fact that people of several nationalities were involved in the projects did not hinder co-operation.

In all situations, including when unexpected changes arose, the teams of both parties worked hard to find common and flexible solutions. After the set-up phase in Germany, the teams had a good feeling for how the other company works and we achieved open and productive co-operation between the team members, confirm project managers Urmas Kopra and Alar Raabe from Profit Software. One of the most helpful techniques employed was to have common meetings whenever needed, using video and telephone conference facilities.

- We are looking forward to future projects involving our co-operation. And our common goal is to build a long-term partnership, effectively combining use of best practices with the talents of skilled professionals. This also makes it possible to balance work and resource loads in both companies, said general manager Schachtschabel in summary.

 

Profit Software is a service provider specialising in the insurance and finance sector. Profit Software ranks among the largest suppliers of software and consulting services for insurance companies in Finland and is a major player in the Baltic Rim.

Inverso GmbH is a German software house specialising in Internet- and Java-based applications for the insurance industry.