Beacon Selects PCMS Atlas System

Beacon Insurance Group (about $50 million in annual premium) selected Property & Casualty Management Systems' (PCMS; Dallas) Atlas policy, claim and billing administration system to support the Wichita Falls, Texas-based insurer's transformation from a one-segment, one-state company to a more diverse, regionally oriented carrier. Historically a personal lines-driven company, Beacon sought a system to enhance its commercial lines capabilities in response to changing demographics, regulatory issues and judicial interpretations of coverage, according to Chris Belle, Beacon VP and CIO. "It's our long-term strategy to develop a fairly even mix of personal lines and commercial business spread over three or four states," he says.

Beacon began its search for a solution in August 2004 and sent requests for proposals to eight vendors, Belle relates. Among its requirements for a new system, the carrier sought a solution that was Web-enabled, provided agent access or portal capability, supported ACORD XML and ISO-based commercial lines with Texas exceptions, and offered the carrier access to source code. After a six-month selection process that involved site visits and detailed demonstrations structured by Beacon, the carrier selected Atlas based on both functionality and price, Belle reports.

"The Atlas system provides most of the features we require," Belle notes. "Those that were lacking, such as electronic funds transfer and check payment lockbox processing, will be built for us." Belle says the system was built from the ground up using Visual Basic, .NET and a Microsoft (Redmond, Wash.) SQL server database, constituting a platform architecture that permits rapid development of modifications and new functionality. "This was important to us because in the past we have not been able to respond to opportunities and regulatory changes as fast as we would like, due to system limitations," he explains.

Belle praises the fully integrated policy, claim and billing admin system for its consistent feel across all modules. "The design of the user interface provides a much simpler workflow and entry process than our current [RPG-based, AS/400] system," he notes. "This will allow us to achieve better cross-training among our processing teams so we can respond to surges in activity where they occur."

While price was not a top concern, the cost of PCMS' Atlas was nearly half that of its competitors over a five-year cost projection, according to Belle. "Also, [PCMS'] approach to pricing and services does not nickel and dime you," he adds. "We don't have to pay every time we pick up the phone to ask a question - and this won't change after we go live; it's spelled out in the contract."

Beacon plans to go live with the system in the fourth quarter. While Belle declines to disclose dollar figures, he says that license, development and maintenance costs for the Atlas system will account for about 25 percent of the carrier's IT budget over the next three years and about 10 percent thereafter. Belle adds that Beacon expects a return on its investment in Atlas as early as one year from implementation.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio