FIREMAN'S FUND'S MCCARTER TO HEAD EPOLICY'S PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ORGANIZATION

Leaving his positions as CIO of Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. (FFIC) and regional CIO, Allianz of North America (FFIC's parent company) William S. "Billy" McCarter has joined ePolicy Solutions as client engagement executive. As head of the Torrance, CA-based vendor's professional services organization, McCarter will establish strategic direction for client engagement management and will oversee all technology projects for clients, as well as core development.

McCarter has been one of the insurance industry's most high-profile technology executives, and was recently recognized as one of Insurance & Technology's Elite 8 CIOs. Fireman's Fund is conducting a search for a replacement for McCarter, according to a company spokesperson.

Having begun at FFIC (Novato, CA, $115 billion in assets) in 1997 to run technology for personal lines, McCarter leaves the insurer after completing a series of major initiatives as CIO, including negotiating a massive outsourcing contract with CGI (Toronto), implementing Internet-based distribution channel enhancements and tightening process and project management discipline.

After accomplishing the goals he had set out, the time was right to make a move, according to McCarter. "I would have been looking for other roles within the company," in the absence of the move to ePolicy. He says. "I've left FFIC a game plan that I think they can carry forward, and hopefully ePolicy will be a part of that."

According to a contract signed under McCarter's watch in 2001 for ePolicy's RightRisk system-a Web-based rating, quoting, policy payment and management and policy renewal tool-the vendor will be part of that game plan during the five-year term of the agreement. "I'm now the client engagement exec responsible for that account. So they're not rid of me yet," McCarter quips.

A search for alternatives to internal management of policy administration first drew McCarter to ePolicy and eventually persuaded him to accept its offer to join the firm. "They're emerging as one of the companies that I think really has a value proposition that carriers can embrace and benefit from," he says, adding that the company's leadership also inspired his confidence in the move. "They're very focused; they know exactly where they want to deliver products and service to the marketplace and they're sticking to their knitting."

McCarter sees his role at ePolicy as facilitating the transition of what has "been running as a start-up company for the last few years" to a new level. "I hope to bring some additional discipline and process and procedures to the organization that they'll need as a more mature company in the marketplace," he says. In executing his responsibility for the company's portfolio of projects, McCarter will be "implementing more of an enterprise program office structure, so that we can ensure that the commitments we make to our clients are met on a timely and cost-effective basis."

Regarding ePolicy's appraisal of what McCarter brings the firm, Lou Kwiker, CEO and president, says, " Billy takes us to a whole new level with his proven and recognized success in technology transformation in the insurance industry." McCarter's move follows ePolicy's October hiring of Christopher J. Magee, former CEO and president of AMS Services (Windsor, CT), as senior vice president of sales.

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