Special Advertising Section
Going Live With
A Workable Solution
C. Bruce Davis
est’s Review: What are the issues and concerns
of AQS
among carriers shopping in the policy administration
market?
discusses the B C. BRuCe Davis: Most companies are stuck on old
varying appetites
legacy systems. They are dated technologically, highly customized,
within the policy
difficult and costly to maintain, lack speed for new product introduc-
tion and are fragile to change. Many have had difficult vendor experi-
administration ences and that creates a perception that they want vendor indepen-
market.
dence. Unfortunately, that’s not always the best option. We feel that
some balance of shared service is the best model.
BR: What are the key issues and challenges that your products
help clients solve? C. Bruce Davis,
Davis: At a high level, we feel that we need to offer custom-
Chief Marketing Officer
ers choice, not only up front, but over the term of the relationship.
Changing or altering a service strategy no longer mandates that a
company must also shift vendors or a service provider. If a client is
looking for a new policy administration system, regardless of the ser-
“
Our clients
want to improve
vice model, we can provide an alternative. We don’t have to force or internal workflow,
sell one solution. We can help clients determine what they are look-
customer service,
ing for, evaluate and assess their internal capabilities, and pursue the
time to market,
right platform and service model. At the end of the day, companies
use the web to
don’t want to worry about buying a new system, they want to get
live on a solution that works. That’s what AQS does really well.
deploy function-
BR: What does the AscendantOne acquisition help AQS achieve?
ality in the field,
Davis: Up until that point, AQS had provided commercial lines and provide some
administration products in a full-service model for carriers whose
level of interac-
preference was to outsource the lion’s share of implementation
tive underwriting,
work, development, support and maintenance to us. The Ascendan-
especially for
tOne acquisition allowed us to give carriers a ‘self-service’ option
through a robust set of tools. They have a level of control they
commercial. They
desire, when they want it, and the option to reach some level of
also want product
self-sufficiency more quickly. That software product is branded as currency, and we
“AQS Access.”
have a model that
AQS obtained the tools used to maintain the ISO Rating Service
allows that.
software, which are shared components of AQS Access. ISO retains ”
ownership of ISO Rating Service brand and puts together advisory
loss costs, rules, and forms, while we maintain the software and tools
through our partnership alliance.
Listen to the
BR: When it comes to policy administration systems, are carriers
full interview
looking for more self-sufficiency or less?
Davis: The honest answer is both. Some carriers want complete
self service based on a variety of reasons; some are real and some
are perceived. For some, the ultimate issue is control and they have
a bias towards total self sufficiency. Other companies are more con-
cerned with the end business result and less concerned with “how?”
For example, a company that is entering, say commercial lines, may
want speed and predictable cost without ramping up in internal
resources, so the vendor service model is perfect.
BR
n For the complete audio interview, visit www.bestreview.com/tech09.html.
Best’s Review Special Section 193
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