Applied Systems Inc. of University Park, Ill., an agency management systems vendor, announced that more than 6,000 of its agency customers are fully enabled for ACORD XML communication via integration with IVANS “Transformation Station–a real-time data exchange that manages communication between agencies and carriers.

This represents “more than 80,000 agency workstations,” said Doug Johnston, executive vice president of Applied, who noted that three out of four Applied agencies are now ready.

“This is a wakeup call for carriers,” he continued. “Eighty-thousand agency workstations communicating with ACORD XML represent a lot of streamlined new and renewal policy processing, as well as a significant amount of customer service inquiries.”

The Hartford also announced during the conference that it has agreed to use “Transformation Station” to help “manage real-time processing, mailbox processing and transaction translations among trading partners using ACORD standards.”

FireStar Software Inc., based in Acton, Mass., which markets what it says is the first out-of-the-box data service layer used to integrate new applications into enterprise computing environments, announced a “go-to-market” agreement with Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Wash.

According to FireStar, the agreement is intended to assist enterprise developers in implementing applications that support ACORD standards and IBMs “Insurance Application Architecture.”

Under the agreement, FireStar and Microsoft will participate in joint marketing and sales activities “targeting insurance companies faced with issues of rapidly developing applications compliant with industry standards,” the company said.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Software AG Inc., the Reston, Va.-based subsidiary of Software AG, a large European software provider, announced “SAGe Insurance,” an XML-based application.

Combined with the companys “EntireX XML Mediator,” the software enables users to “create, transform and sequence ACORD XML documents in a real-world dynamic environment,” the company said.

“This solution will significantly reduce the time and expense involved in implementing ACORD XML, and, more importantly, reduce the time and expense in maintaining ACORD XML interfaces between an insurance company and the multiplicity of institutions, brokers, agents and corporate customers with which it must exchange documents,” according to John Stone, financial services practice director for Software AG.

Fipsco of Des Plaines, Ill., a unit of Fiserv Inc. and a developer of life insurance marketing software, announced its “Life Portraits 2000″ straight-through processing solution using XML and XMLife standards.

According to Fipsco, the system will share data between needs analysis, policy illustrations, applications, underwriting and administration modules. “It significantly streamlines the process of issuing policies,” the company said.

The product “will transform how field producers and home offices interact and operate every day,” said Dennis Pfiffner, vice president of sales for Fipsco.

The software will “improve the new-business process by eliminating manual processing errors, improving efficiency, increasing speed of policy issue, reducing costs and providing better overall customer service,” he added.

Fipscos software includes a business-rule-driven application with electronic signatures and interaction with home office administration systems, the company said.

The industrys “first complete native Windows commercial package policy processing solution” was introduced by INSTEC in Naperville, Ill.

The “QuickSolver Commercial Package Policy” software is a nationwide rating and policy issuance product that supports commercial property, general liability, inland marine and crime lines of business.

Pat Walsh, vice president of INSTEC, said the product “enables our clients to leverage all the benefits of current technologies and the Internet while offering the flexibility to easily integrate to other software components.” He described the system as being built on “native Windows with open standards such as COM and XML.”

Another program based on ACORD standards, “Axcess for Insurance,” was announced by Pittsburgh-based SEEC Inc. This is a Web-based, self-service system for insurance companies and their agents, brokers and policyholders, the company said.

According to SEEC, the system provides “out-of-the-box self-service capabilities that can be deployed in months by integrating with existing back endsPolicyholders get better, faster service, and agents can quote and close business entirely via the Web, improving their competitiveness and increasing their productivity.”

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, June 3, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.