Agency Management System Integration Increases in Importance; Vendor Market Matures, as Documented in New Novarica Report

February 24, 2009 (New York) – As a recent study by www.GetRealTime.org shows, agents are increasingly demanding that insurers support integration with agency management systems to improve ease-of-doing business and facilitate information exchange. Novarica’s new report, Novarica Market Navigator(TM): US Property/Casualty Agency Connectivity Solutions 2009 (Q1) helps insurers navigate the solution provider marketplace for systems that enable this functionality.

“The insurance industry has been experiencing a fundamental transformation of how communication with agents takes place,” notes Karlyn Carnahan, CPCU, a principal in Novarica’s insurance practice and lead author of the report. “Over the last ten years, electronic communications have swiftly overtaken the traditional paper-based communications that have traditionally been used by both agents and carriers. Both agents and carriers would prefer to receive and provide information electronically, and process that information with as little human touch as possible, eliminating double entry. Real time upload, download and data translation deliver tangible benefits including reduced costs of handling, improved data quality, and improved turnaround time. But the multiplicity of agency management systems and carrier systems creates costly complexity in distributing data between agencies and carriers.”

The report profiles 8 Agency Connectivity Solutions from vendors including AgencyPort, AMS Services, Appulate, Connective Technologies, IVANS, NxTech, and Seapass Solutions. More information about the report is available online at www.novarica.com/report_connectivity_nmn.shtml

About Novarica

Novarica provides information, insights, and perspective on markets, operations, and technology to financial services and insurance executives. The company delivers its service through published research, retained advisory services, and project-based consulting. Novaricas research includes market and trend analyses, best practices research, case studies, and independent analyses of insurance software vendors. Novarica draws its knowledge from the personal experience of its principals, the ongoing information gathering initiatives of dedicated research staff, and regular communication with insurer executives through informal networks and through the Novarica Insurance Technology Research Council.