Indiana Farm Bureau Sees Java as a Bridge to New Policy Admin Technology
According to Clancy, IFB ($650 million in annual premium) originally chose the Exceed platform for its homeowners line in 2003 because the Indianapolis-based carrier favored rich functionality over newer technology and, more important, because of the vendor's stability. "Our No. 1 concern was the staying power of the company -- whether it would be in business and in a leadership position for the long term," Clancy recalls.
Given the current economic troubles, vendor stability is every bit as important today, and the fact that Exceed already is in use for homeowners only increases the solution's appeal for IFB, Clancy relates. At the same time, however, it is increasingly difficult to find staff skilled in COBOL, he concedes. "Today it's more of an inconvenience," says Clancy. "However, it's a longer-term issue that is going to bite us if we don't have some way to get to the newer technologies."
Clancy is far less worried about future-proofing Exceed than he otherwise might be because CSC has just announced the launch of Exceed J, a version of the system written in Java. Although IFB already has moved forward with the COBOL version of the platform, the new Java version "gives us a bridge to get to the newer technologies when we need to," Clancy notes.
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
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