Knock Down That Wall

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Knock Down That Wall!
Tim Fitzpatrick 416-587-3901 contact_at_covirt.com
VirtGate at Your Service
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Why is it that we are communications and
information rich, but effectiveness poor?
Doug Grant, Insurance Canada
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New Life Premium

• 1993
• 40 Independent
• 60 Career

• 2004
• 70 Independent
• 30 Career

Yet in 2005 still almost every Canadian insurance
carrier employs systems promulgated on the
assumption that the distributors sell only for
their company. Nothing has changed in their
systems!
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AggregateConsolidateReportAccount
Independent Distributors deal with Multiple
Carriers
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Carriers have computer systems print paper,
which they mail to distributorsIf a computer
produces the paper, why not send the raw data
electronically instead?
Paper Chase Insanity
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How Distributors Choose Carriers

• Based first on Product Price, which are all
  similar
• and then based on
• Ease of doing business with automation

When insurance product and price is not an issue,
94 say ease of doing business matters
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Investment AdvisorsTwo out of three Canadian
financial advisors say that the quality of an
asset managers website affects whether or not
they will choose to do business with that
firm.Among the features most important to the
advisors were Client Account Access (72 of
those surveyed), Market Commentaries (56),
and Pricing and Performance Information (54).
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How Sales Persons Choose Industries

• Use of paper in 2005 is impacting the health of
  the entire industry
• New talent want the ease of doing business
  matters and go to the other financial pillars.
• Aging distributors have no successors.
• Mass market is not being served, opening the door
  to banks.

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Unique Canadian Problem

• US
• In 1995, NAILBA introduces first guide for
  transmitting Pending Case Status data.
• In 2005, today has Subcommittees and guides on
  Imaging, Commissions, Illustrations etc.
• Canada
• In 2005, CITS begins work on first guide for
  transmitting Pending Case Status data.

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Report Card

• In the area of technology, workflow and interface
  issues with carriers, what do distributors want ?
• ACORD User Groups Information Exchange (AUGIE)
  Survey 2002

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Priority 1

• Pending / New business downloads from carriers to
  the MGA agency management system.

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Priority 2

• Common standard set of forms for all categories -
  new business, licensing, service etc.

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Priority 3

• Single entry for all carrier illustration
  software allowing simultaneous multiple carrier
  quotes from that single entry.

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Priority 4

• Inforce downloads from carriers to distributor
  systems

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Priority 5

• Licensing and contract downloads from carriers to
  distributor systems

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Priority 6

• Commission downloads along and tracking /
  managing / reconciliation capabilities from
  agency management system vendors.

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Priority 7

• Electronic Marketing Materials

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Priority 8

• New business applications forms online, and have
  the application be uploaded to the carriers.

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Priority 9

• Imaging standards that are simple to implement.
• We say get rid of paper altogether

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Priority 10

• Policy service online for brokers and customers
  with real time views and transactions

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Independent Distributors Cry

• We need systems to interface via the Internet.
  Knock down the walls!

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Carrier Cultural Shift Required

• Acid Test
• Does this allow our independent distributors to
  Aggregate, Consolidate, Report and Account with
  their business from other Carrier.
• Those who do the best job of opening information
  to all, making sure it is distributed accurately,
  quickly, economically and equitably, will profit
  most.

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VirtGate ("Virtual Gateway")

• Introduced 2001
• Completely Internet-based integrated platform
  supporting the entire insurance management
  process

60 of all independent channel life applications
for 25 Canadian carriers are now processed
through VirtGate
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Branches and Advisors do not see copies of MGA
information - they have access to the same
database and documents in real time using the
same service as the MGA staff
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VirtGate Connectivity

• Carrier Feeds
• Feeds to / from other sources
• Paramed suppliers
• LifeGuide
• Compulife
• Novinsoft
• Form Depot

• FundServ
• Accounting Systems
• EFT
• Cannex for overnight Fund Values
• Cannex Annuity quotes
• Sentry for Scanning

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VirtGate Connectivity

• We recognized 3 years ago that data exchange will
  always be more than simply translating data
  formats via field-mapping matrices and instead
  have actually built business intelligence into
  VirtGate (specialized codecs).

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Process External Feeds

• VirtGate is fully compliant with Accord XMLife
  standards.
• If an organization does not yet have the ability
  to transact business using these standards,
  VirtGate agencies still recognize the importance
  of data interchange and will "take what they can
  get" in any interim format.

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Feed Processing Report

• Dedicated VirtGate security setting
• Chain of ownership
• Processing Report account by account
• Big Issue
• 30 of data from
• insurance carriers is wrong

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New Transactions

• Advisor executes Seg Fund and other investment
  transactions from MGA VirtGate site.
• Advisor executes Life Insurance Application from
  MGA VirtGate site.

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What is Distributor core Expertise?
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To Sell Insurance Investments
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For systems, it is all about the efficient
processing of new business. Distributors just
want their administration system to work
flawlessly behind the scenes, no hassle , no
surprise costs
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They Do Not Need To Run A Data Center
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Trend

• Dismantling of big workforces in favour of
  outsourcing
• Rise of the
• Virtual Shops

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Tim Fitzpatrick, CoVirtNeil Menear,
NovinsoftDoug Grant, Insurance-CanadaByren
Innes, NewLink GroupJamie McGeachin, HUBAlex
Sweeny, EDS - SOLCORP
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Time to Knock Down the Information Barriers!!
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We dont sell insurance anymore. We sell
speed Peter Lewis, Progressive
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If you dont like change, youre going to like
irrelevance even less. General Eric
Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army
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Thank you !