Insurance Bureau of Canada
Insurance Bureau of Canada Boosts Data Efficiency with BizTalk® Server 2006
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Company Overview
Today’s financial services organizations are seeking more effective ways to keep information flowing and manage large volumes of data that inform critical business decisions. As the national trade association of the property and casualty insurance industry, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is no exception. IBC is the voice of the Canadian insurance industry and plays an active role in the business environment of its members and of the industry as a whole.
Business Challenge
IBC member companies – representing a wide range of insurance companies – provide nearly 95 per cent of the private home, car and business insurance sold in Canada, representing a total premium base of $35 billion. The industry must comply with privacy legislation that applies to the collection and use of personal information, making it challenging to ensure a smooth and secure workflow. These rules also apply to IBC, which receives data submissions from the industry to help the organization compile industry-wide insurance statistics. IBC then provides this compiled data to the industry in the form of statistical reports. This data undergoes a set of intensive checks and validations for accuracy and consistency before it is delivered to the General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA), the statistical agent representing the individual provincial insurance regulators.
For IBC, developing innovative processes and ensuring flexibility in responding to industry and regulatory information needs are key drivers. The previous mainframe environment at IBC, however, was affecting productivity, as it forced people to follow a manual-intensive and time-consuming process, and it restricted IBC’s ability to respond to changes in data needs and analysis.
“Because of our position in the industry and the scope of our services, we deal with large volumes of data. We recognized the need to upgrade our processing systems to increase business agility. We were looking to enhance service delivery by leveraging Microsoft technologies and platforms to ensure that we would remain an innovative and responsive trade association,” says Susan Frakes, Chief Information Officer for IBC.
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Solution
In order to improve the level of data automation and better support the strategic initiatives of its members, IBC is using Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2006 R2 and Microsoft SQL Server® as part of a move toward service-oriented architecture (SOA). In particular, the organization is leveraging the Business Rules Engine within BizTalk Server 2006, which is helping IBC to build, test and deploy flexible rules to ensure the data collected is viable.
Microsoft BizTalk Server helps to integrate systems both within and across organizations. By using BizTalk Server 2006, IBC manages the large data volume correction process and presents results to internal and external audiences via Web services available through a portal. This means that industry submission records, for example, are now more tightly tracked – maintaining a smooth flow of information between internal systems and corporate clients.
This new SOA-based environment is based on the Microsoft Insurance Value Chain (IVC), a methodology that leverages industry standards to achieve business agility via straight through processing.
“We’ve been particularly impressed with using BizTalk as a rules engine that captures data on insurance claims and premiums submissions. The rules engine employs an intuitive method of separating implementation details from the business logic, which is helping us improve the level of automation and submission processing speed,” says Frakes.
Business Benefits
By leveraging BizTalk Server 2006 R2, IBC has been able to significantly improve data automation and develop more innovative business processes, which have sped up processing times and significantly improved IBC’s ability to adjust to changes in data needs.
Commitment to innovation
The new Microsoft-based environment is a clear example of IBC’s commitment to innovation. For example, in addition to deploying BizTalk, IBC has leveraged the Microsoft .NET Framework to help build a Web portal for members. The site houses valuable industry information, a revamped claims database and specialized access to IBC applications. It also streamlines processes by facilitating the timely and accurate submission of new or updated claims information from insurers and independent adjusters.
“We’re now able to quickly make changes to the validation component of our business rules engine. This means less expensive development and maintenance for our members. We weren’t able to provide that with our old mainframe platform,” says Frakes.
Improved business efficiency
IBC is also using BizTalk Server 2006 to improve data collection and validation, important aspects of the organization’s services to the industry and stakeholders. By ensuring the information is reliable and accurate, IBC helps advise members and organizations like GISA on the data that goes towards government regulations.
“In the past, validation changes were time consuming. Now it’s easier to change the validation parameters – it’s less of a drain on our resources,” says Frakes.
Enhanced business agility
With the new BizTalk Server-based platform, the organization has developed the foundation for a system renewal program that will provide improved analytical capabilities to its members and industry regulators. The system features tight integration with the .NET Framework, helping IBC and its members reduce development time and costs.
“BizTalk has helped us use SOA to become more agile in providing data collection services for the industry. The next phase will see IBC reduce the turnaround time for producing and delivering statistical reporting. As well, analysis of industry data will be available in a more timely fashion,” says Frakes.
Microsoft Solutions for the Financial Services Industry
Financial institutions continue to seek cost-effective solutions that create rapid and sustainable competitive advantage while laying the groundwork for future innovation. Microsoft and its ever-growing partner community develop solutions that meet the industry-specific needs of banks, insurance companies, and capital markets firms worldwide, and help financial services customers realize their full potential.
For more information about Microsoft solutions for the financial services industry, go to: www.microsoft.ca/financialservices
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com
For more information about Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) products and services, call 416-362-2031 or visit the Web site at: http://www.ibc.ca
