MetLife Auto & Home Taps Xactware

In an effort to speed claims turnaround, Warwick, Rhode Island-based MetLife Auto & Home has chosen Xactware's Xactimate and XactAnalysis estimation software to simplify communication between the carrier's field staff and claims office.

MetLife Auto & Home ($3 billion in premium), a subsidiary of MetLife ($481.6 billion in total assets) had been using an undisclosed vendor previously, however, because of all of the new technology in the marketplace, executives at the carrier decided to reevaluate vendors.

Having determined by early 2005 that the state of estimation software justified reevaluation of its existing technology, MetLife Auto & Home conducted an RFP process and evaluated vendors on the ability to turn around claims information in real time. The process resulted in the spring 2006 purchase of software by Xactware (Orem, Utah), which offered a full line of software and services including graphical estimating, line item entry, summary matrix, grouping and dimensioning, third-party integration, one-click framing, flooring tools, an assignment network and analytical tools.

"Xactware was selected for several reasons including technology, building construction data, network reliability and real time reporting," says Tim Bowen, national catastrophe manager at MetLife Auto & Home.

In April 2006, a 12-person team of both Xactware and MetLife personnel developed a plan to integrate the technology into its proprietary claims system and facilitate the rollout to the field adjusters. While the software was installed on field representatives' laptops, the IT team mapped records from MetLife Auto & Home to the Xactware solution. MetLife then conducted a three-day training program to introduce field representatives to the application.

Xactware's software was rolled out in May to six MetLife Auto & Home offices specializing in homeowner claim handling as well as to all of the carrier's field staff, adjusters, catastrophe adjusters and large-loss adjusters. The Xactware solution spares field adjusters from having to rekey information. Claims turnaround between the claims office and the field representative is now achieved in real time. "Xactimate and XactAnalysis enable us to provide a higher quality service to our customers, enhanced real-time claim management with exceptional integrated data analysis tools," says Bowen.