4-page Case Study - Posted 5/17/2007

Views: 1231

Rate This Evidence:

RSUI Group

New Extranet Helps Protect Underwriter Information and Improves Customer Service

RSUI Group, an underwriter of wholesale specialty insurance, used time-consuming manual processes to deliver policy reports and other documents to customers. Reports could take days to complete, affecting both productivity and customer service. To improve efficiency, the company implemented a solution based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007, with Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 as an integrated edge security gateway. Now RSUI can quickly deliver policy reports and insurance documents through an extranet that ISA Server 2006 helps protect with advanced access controls. Customers have immediate access to critical information, and RSUI staff has more time for generating new business. Finally, the insurance underwriter now has a scalable solution that will enhance the delivery of new products and services to its growing customer base.

Situation

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, RSUI Group is a leading underwriter of wholesale specialty insurance providing support and service to insurance wholesalers, wholesale producers, and reinsurers. Wholesale specialty insurance products and services include casualty, directors and officers, professional liability, property, and binding authority. Binding authority agents, or Managing General Agents (MGAs), at RSUI are authorized to represent the insurer during the creation of insurance contracts, and they are responsible for the delivery of forms, procedure documents, and policy reports to customers.

Delivering documents to customers was a time-consuming, manual process. MGAs had to filter information from an internal database, enter the information into a form, and then send the document to the customer by e-mail. Loss run reports—documents summarizing the losses that occur over a specific period of time—were one of the most common requests. The Binding Authority Department issued thousands of these reports every year, and each one was a time-consuming, manual process.

The cumbersome reporting process reduced productivity because MGAs spent valuable time in what was essentially an administrative function. Manual data-handling procedures also frustrated customers, who wanted quicker access to policy data. RSUI looked for a solution that would automate reporting and improve customer service.

Solution

We expect the advent of a security-enhanced, collaborative workspace where our clients and employees can communicate will significantly increase our competitive stance in the marketplace.  Kelly Walls Chief Information Officer RSUI Group

RSUI and Intellinet chose to use ISA Server 2006, an integrated edge security gateway, to authenticate user credentials and authorize access to network resources. ISA Server, which runs on the Windows Server® 2003 operating system, acts as an intermediary between client devices and the network edge, controlling Web-based access and inspecting communication attempts for harmful code and other potential threats. RSUI had already been using Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004, and liked the new version’s security enhancements, such as advanced firewall protection with rule wizards that make creating access policies easier. In addition, the company thought that new configuration wizards would help simplify Web-site publication.

RSUI uses Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005 database software to store policy information and generate loss-run reports. Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 centralizes password administration and synchronizes identity information across multiple directories and identity stores. The company also uses Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint to scan documents for malicious code or inappropriate content before they are saved to or retrieved from the Office SharePoint Server 2007 document library.

RSUI completed the pilot phase by October 2006 and finished implementation by December 2006. With the help of Intellinet, the company designed a “rights trimmed user interface,” which prevents customers from seeing policy information other than their own. By using the new solution’s centralized management and deployment features, the company anticipates adding more users and content easily. The extranet currently serves between 20 to 25 MGAs and 60 wholesale producers; RSUI expects to double that number by the end of 2007.

Benefits

By automating reports and document delivery through a new extranet, RSUI has improved both performance and customer service. Customers benefit from faster access to important policy information, and RSUI staff have more time for developing new business. The company can easily add new users and applications while maintaining high levels of security and performance.

Improves Customer Service, Competitive Edge

Through single-sign-on and forms-based authentication, RSUI customers can connect to a variety of resources on the RSUI extranet. In addition, the home page provides links to corporate announcements, industry news, contact information, and a user survey. Customers can download a customized application or print a loss-run report from any Web page by entering a policy number. Also, a global search function quickly provides a list of relevant documents and data. Customers can keep current with document and data changes in the search results by selecting options for e-mail alerts or Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.

The extranet also contributes to a collaborative environment where the customer becomes an active participant. The new dynamic increases customer satisfaction and raises the professional profile of RSUI. Kelly Walls, Chief Information Officer at RSUI, says, “We expect the advent of a security-enhanced, collaborative workspace where our clients and employees can communicate will significantly increase our competitive stance in the marketplace.”

Increases Employee Productivity

RSUI has already seen a significant reduction in the number of requests for manual delivery of reports and documents. The volume of requests is expected to diminish further as more MGAs and wholesale producers are given access to the site. As a result, RSUI staff have more time to focus on other projects like generating new policies and contacting prospective customers.

The extranet solution brings together familiar applications like e-mail clients and Web browsers with RSUI corporate resources such as loss-run reporting and document libraries. Both employees and customers have access to current policy and procedure documents, which increases efficiency and helps reduce error. Walls notes, “The true value of deploying the extranet and ISA Server 2006 in the RSUI environment is the newfound seamless client transactions and departmental exchanges that will increase corporate productivity and improve customer service. That’s a high priority.”

Helps Provide Security, Eases Expansion

The extranet solution with ISA Server 2006 helps provide the security that RSUI needs to expand its services. As participation in the extranet increases, the company can add more users while protecting critical resources. Preauthentication and authorization identify users before allowing them to connect to the network, and define access to proprietary information and network resources. With access controls in place, RSUI can increase the number of extranet transactions while still maintaining a high level of control over access privileges.

RSUI also takes advantage of the reverse-caching feature available in ISA Server to improve performance and scalability. Reverse caching stores information previously requested by other users. ISA Server 2006 can return that information from its cache instead of forwarding the request to the corporate Web server, thus reducing bandwidth and increasing server efficiency. As a result, more customers can have fast access to extranet resources with the same IT infrastructure.

Finally, by using ISA Server 2006 configuration wizards, RSUI IT administrators can quickly create the complex rules that help provide secure access to Web-based applications. Walls says, “I am convinced that ISA Server 2006 is a key element of our complete solution that will enhance our entire infrastructure. Long-term, this solution will continue to add value as we take advantage of built-in security features for critical next-generation applications that would be vulnerable otherwise.”

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 Intellinet products and services, call (404) 442-8000 or visit the Web site at:
www.intellinet.com

For more information about RSUI Group products and services, call (404) 231-2366 or visit the Web site at:
www.rsui.com

Microsoft Forefront Product Portfolio

The Microsoft® Forefront™ comprehensive line of business security products provides greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis. Forefront is a comprehensive solution that helps provide protection for the client operating system, application servers, and the network edge.

For more information about the Forefront product portfolio, go to:
www.microsoft.com/forefront

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published May 2007