Q&A with Jon Siglar, VP and Chief Sales and Field Services Officer, PacificComp

Not all carriers are ready to replace their policy admin systems. Some are looking to incorporate modern solutions that can boost the capabilities of their legacy technology without a full-scale rip-and-replace. Jon Siglar, VP and chief sales and field services officer for workers' compensation writer PacificComp (Agoura Hills, Calif.), a subsidiary of Alleghany Corp. (more than $100 million in statutory surplus), discusses how a modern underwriting system and agent portal are improving the insurer's policy administration.

What convinced you that your policy admin system was inadequate?

Siglar: In June 2009 we made a decision to stop writing business directly and change to an agent/broker distribution model. Our systems were inadequate both to reemerge into California and to extend into other states. We needed a new underwriting management system that brought efficiencies and automation to the process.

You implemented Bedford, Mass.-based FirstBest's UMS underwriting system and agent portal. How has this improved your policy administration?

Siglar: It's kind of the center of our prospecting business, and it communicates with our policy issuance system. It also communicates with Salesforce.com once a policy has been written. It's a big part of how we did business as a direct writer, and it automated a lot of processes for us. ... One of the major changes with our systems will be a robust policy issuance system, so that if we decide to expand into the Western U.S. we'll have those capabilities in play.

You mentioned Salesforce.com -- how do cloud and software-as-a-service solutions fit into your organization?

Siglar: If we were going to differentiate ourselves, we needed to bring the ease of doing business to the forefront and take a high-tech, high-touch approach. Cloud computing we really believe is the future. We're looking at ways to improve processes and improve the systems in that context.

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio