New Contracts

SHERWOOD/CHINA LIFE

China Life (Taiwan) is deploying London-based Sherwood International's Amarta solution as its core processing system for China Life's first variable annuity product. Eventually Amarta will be used to replace all existing processing for traditional insurance products.

$25m CSC ORDER

Computer Sciences Corp. (Austin, TX) has won a $25 million task order from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to improve the accuracy of information about Medicare beneficiaries' homecare or nursing home services.

ALLEGIENT WINS GMAC

Detroit-based GMAC Insurance has selected The Allegient System, from Allegient Systems, Inc. (Wilton, CT), to review invoices received from legal counselors to ensure their compliance with GMAC Insurance billing guidelines.

VISA/BCBS-CA DEAL

Blue Cross of California (Carmel) members will have the option of paying premiums automatically with their Visa cards, following the insurance company's signing of an agreement with San Francisco-based Visa USA.

PRINCIPAL/BENEFITPOINT

The Principal Financial Group (Des Moines) will use the BenefitPoint (San Francisco) technology platform for the distribution of its portfolio of group health employee benefit products over the Internet.

INTERSTATE/ITS

Torrance, CA-based Insurance Technology Solutions has been chosen by Interstate Insurance Group (Chicago) to automate real-time rating, quoting, binding, policy issuance, renewals and endorsements.

SIRIUS/R&SA

The Bahamas operation of Royal & SunAlliance has chosen Sirius Financial Systems' (London) Windows-based Sirius software to improve underwriting functionality, including Web-based product delivery, of its existing AS/400- based solution.

LIFEPRO LICENSE

Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Co. (Glenview, IL) entered into an agreement to license Professional Data Management Again's (Indianapolis) LifePRO life insurance administration system to replace its current legacy system.

FARMERS ALLIANCE

Farmers Alliance Companies (McPherson, KS) signed a three-year agreement to use the drivershield.com Corp. (Plainview, NY) CRM system for its auto collision claims.

ITER8/GORE MUTUAL

iter8 Inc. (Toronto), a Web and back-office solutions provider for the insurance industry, contracted with Gore Mutual (Cambridge, ON). Gore Mutual will use the company's software distribution solution, which, according to iter8, was designed to reduce operations and claims costs.

BCBS-NC/REALMED

Chapel Hill-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will deploy real-time claims resolution technology with Internet-based technology from Indianapolis-based RealMed Corp.