"Those at the C level really are agents of change," he comments. "They have to know what's going on now and then be able to look into the future to determine what needs to change and how to make that work."

Bemis and his team are implementing new systems to leverage Web-based technology and to help agents perform operations quicker and with greater agility. To accomplish this, the department is working on three key projects: a new commercial lines processing system, a multiline claims system, and a data warehouse that supports business intelligence.

The commercial lines processing system project, which kicked off in 2006, is expected to go live on one line of business by the end of this year. The AQS server-based system should help Secura broaden its product offerings and enhance the company's pricing mechanics, Bemis says.

The claims system project involves rewriting claims data from a legacy application to an IBM CICS DB2 multiline online real-time claims system. "Our legacy claims system was deficient in providing data for analysis," Bemis indicates. "The new system will improve our ability to manage data, detect fraud, and conduct trend analysis."

Using Business Objects software, the data warehouse project also will help Secura boost its analytical and financial reporting abilities. This year, the company has loaded premium data into the warehouse. In 2008, Bemis expects to move the company's loss information into the warehouse, which will help Secura upgrade the way it conducts loss/ratio analyses.

"This tool allows us to drill down into the data in a way that is remarkably different from what we've been able to offer to our agents in the past," Bemis says.

"In a softening market, there's a lot of pressure for companies to perform better than ever," he points out. "We have to provide the same functionality as companies five, 10, 100 times larger than we are–but with a smaller budget. That can be very difficult."

With more than 30 years of experience working for P&C carriers, Bemis is no stranger to helping companies strengthen operations. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelor's degree in business, he began working at Sentry Insurance as a programmer. Ten years later, he joined American Express Property Casualty Insurance Co., a startup company with only 30 people. "We had to do it all–sales, service, underwriting, everything," Bemis recalls. "For me, that was marvelous experience."

In his 10 years at American Express, he watched the company grow as he moved up the ranks, gaining additional responsibility in sales, customer service, underwriting, and technology. He was director of underwriting when he left in 1995 to join Secura as director of IT for software application development. Before being named vice president of IT in 2006, Bemis served as Secura's vice president of personal lines underwriting.

He says his ability to gain experience in different aspects of the industry has served him well. "I've been unusually blessed to work for companies that allowed and encouraged people to change disciplines," he acknowledges.

Throughout his career, Bemis has seen a marked difference in how IT professionals are treated. "The respect people have for IT is growing," he says. "If you really want to have an impact on your team or company, getting involved in IT is a great way to do that."