SMA Insurance Report Finds Half of Insurers Unable to Achieve Underwriting Goals with Current Systems

BEDFORD, Mass., March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstBest® Systems, Inc.,provider of insurance software solutions for global insurance carriers, today announced that a recent underwriting report indicates insurers increasingly see underwriting as an engine for business success. Authored by insurance research and advisory services firm SMA Strategy Meets Action, "Underwriting Automation: Insurer Plans and Trends," states that21% of those surveyed reported allocating more than 15% of their current IT budget for automating underwriting. FirstBest will host a Webinar on March 29th, where SMA founder and report author, Deborah Smallwood, will present key findings.

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"There are many mythsabout the automation of underwriting processes – among the most common and the most misleading are impressions that:  the job of the underwriter goes away, the same technology will work for all risk types, and policy admin systems can support all of the underwriting automation capability requirements," writes Deborah Smallwood in the report.

The SMA February 2012 comprehensive report includes an Executive Summary, Business Objectives and Drivers, Submission and Automation by Line of Business, and Spending and Implementation Plans. The findings in the independent report, based on survey responses from 144 professionals representing all major lines of business and insurers (72% holding leadership and/or management positions), include:

• Nearly 50% of insurers cannot meet underwriting goals with their current systems
• Insurers have new interest in underwriting automation to improve top and bottom line results
• 88% of carriers are investing in underwriting automation – driven by the need to help underwriters be more successful and disciplined
• The top goal of most carriers is to support underwriters, vs. fully automating the underwriting process
• The largest investments are being made in tools that enable greater discipline, consistency, collaboration, visibility, and predictive modeling

FirstBest Systems will host a live Webinar, featuring Deb Smallwood, on Thursday, March 29, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern.  Insurers are encouraged to register at http://www.firstbest.com/sma-uw-webinar-pr.htm.  All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the 30-page report after the event.

FirstBest Systems, Inc.

FirstBest® Systems is the leading provider of insurance software solutions that help global insurance companies improve underwriting profitability, scale their business and achieve high service levels with agents, across the enterprise. The patented and proven FirstBest Front Office Suite has processed more than $6 billion in quotes and includes modular underwriting workstation, agent portal and agency upload applications, with capabilities for mobile insurance users. Companies such as XL Group plc, a global insurance and reinsurance company, ICW Group Insurance Companies, a multi-line super regional insurer, Pacific Compensation Insurance Company, a specialty workers compensation insurance writer, and Preferred Concepts, LLC., a national managing general underwriter, rely on FirstBest to improve underwriting efficiencies and quality, institutionalize knowledge and best practices, and empower everyone in the process to rapidly quote, collaborate, issue, and bind business on a single real-time platform from anywhere. To learn more, call +1-781-863-6000.

FirstBest is a registered trademark of FirstBest Systems, Inc. FirstBest Front Office Suite, FirstBest UMS, Underwriting Management System, FirstBest Agent, and FirstBest AppReader, are trademarks of FirstBest Systems, Inc. 

SOURCE FirstBest Systems, Inc.