Great American had worked with software solutions provider Oceanwide for seven or eight years before undertaking the Bridge solution beginning in the fall of 2011.

"We used [Oceanwide's] Genoa system as a database," says Sunderman. "When they developed Bridge they presented it to us and we knew it would fit our platform and business model. We already had time and money invested in Oceanwide, so it made sense to continue our relationship.

"There are always external vendors that promise the world," he says. "Like anything, you tend to stick with the relationships that you have. We had already built trust with Oceanwide."

Requirements gathering began at the end of 2011 and, compared to other situations, Sunderman feels it was unique because Great American was one of their first users of the solution and both sides learned a lot from each other.

"We wanted a highly customized solution and the Bridge system offered that," says Sunderman. "It's been ongoing over the last two years and we continue to build additional enhancements with it."

Sunderman believes the flexibility of cloud-based systems such as Bridge works well as a carrier's front-end system. Great American wanted to establish the front-end system first to get the product to market quickly and then sort out the back end. Now, the integration piece to Great American's back-end systems is being worked on with Great American's IT team.

"It was one of those things where you set forth requirements and as you work through it you wonder if it could do other things," says Sunderman. "[Oceanwide] was very responsive and attentive to what our needs were. It took a little longer because of the customization. We basically helped them see what we needed and worked from there."

Great American went live with the Bridge solution in May of 2012. "I don't know many IT systems that roll out and have everything you need on day one," says Sunderman. "Our approach was to start small and work through it. We've been happy with the flexibility because we've been able to add additional coverages, policy options, building information, agent/ broker information, and the referral process. These incremental changes have been built and overall it has been well received, not only by the underwriting staff, but by agents and brokers as well.

Speed-to-market and flexibility of the system were especially attractive to Great American, whose approach was to build a system that conforms to how they do business, not simply alter the workflow to satisfy how a system operates.

"Cloud-based solutions like Bridge are going to lead to higher accuracy, greater efficiency, and overall a more favorable user experience," says Sunderman. "It's night and day compared to legacy systems in terms of flexibility and ease-of-use, not to mention the configurations they built into the system allow business analyst-types to go in and manipulate the system. In the past you needed someone with many years of IT experience, or a programmer. The basic front-end function is able to be manipulated by someone with a limited programming background. They can go in and make the necessary changes."

As Great American goes through integration, the carrier's IT group is working with Oceanwide to find a way to get automatic feeds from the system into the claims and policy management systems, explains Sunderman.

"This allows us to do things more efficiently," he says. "I look at it not as a tool to replace underwriters, but one that will enhance the underwriting experience for us. We're a specialty insurer so we are always looking for unique solutions for our clients. Oceanwide has the same approach. With their system it has allowed us to bring greater value to our agents and brokers."