Novarica Cool Capabilities Report Highlights Five Innovative Insurer Technology Initiatives

Report cites “Cool Capabilities” at PacificComp, Patriot Risk, Progressive,
Montana State Fund, and PURE

November 3 (NEW YORK) – Novarica, a research and advisory firm focused on operations and technology strategy for insurers and financial institutions, today launched the inaugural edition of its new “Novarica Cool Capabilities” report series, highlighting five clever applications of technology by US Insurers.

“As industry observers, we are frequently asked what we’ve seen lately that’s ‘cool,'” said Matthew Josefowicz, director of Novarica and lead author of the report. “Most of our research is focused on helping CIOs solve big problems – application portfolio optimization, legacy migration or mitigation, leveraging emerging technology, organizational design, business/IT relationship management, and other complex issues. But every once in a while we come across something that a company has done that just makes us say, ‘Huh. That’s a really good idea.’ Most often, these involve using simple technology to solve small nagging problems, or to simplify unnecessarily complex processes.”

Each quarter, Novarica’s Cool Capabilities reports will highlight a handful of technology-enabled business capabilities that are notable for their simplicity and utility. The current report features profiles of:

  • PacificComp, for its agent upload capability that leverages the data embedded in the standard PDFs output by agency management systems.
  • Patriot Risk Management, Inc, for deploying iPads to replace laptops for some field personnel and senior executives.
  • Progressive Insurance, for its VIN look-up capability, which simplifies the online application process.
  • Montana State Fund, for creating a Certification Watermark that incents business users to prioritize data quality and governance.
  • Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), for its interactive e-billing and e-delivery capabilities.

Cool Capabilities cross a broad range of functional areas, but they tend to incorporate some common themes:

  • Simplification
  • Use of Extant Data and Capacities
  • Behavioral Incentives

The report is available online at http://www.novarica.com/cool_capabilities_2010Q4.

About Novarica

Novarica provides information, insights, and perspective on markets, operations, and technology to financial services and insurance executives. www.novarica.com.