Nexus Software, Inc., a provider of integration middleware and services for retail financial front-end and mid-tier systems, announced the latest release within its INvolve family of multi-channel middleware, INvolve 3.7.

INvolve is a middleware suite of products that provides retail banking solutions with one development environment for device integration, enabling financial institutions to deploy technology easily among a variety of channels.  With INvolve 3.7, Nexus continues to lower the total cost of client device management, while providing increased deployment and solution architecture choices.

"With INvolve 3.7, our bank customers gain more flexibility in their ability to deploy solutions across their retail delivery channels, while also ensuring investment protection on their hardware and software decisions," said Skip Williams, general manager for Nexus Software, Inc.  "As with every release within the INvolve middleware product family, our ATM and branch device support has expanded, enabling us to further enhance our extensive technology offering and compatibility with financial systems."

INvolve 3.7 includes major enhancements to distributed client capabilities, which allows a centralized location in the bank network to manage client software and device setup, update and configuration with minimal employee involvement.  The increased development and deployment capabilities of the middleware create a "zero touch" installation and maintenance environment, so the bank can spend more time interacting with customers than its technology.   

"As a result of implementing INvolve 3.7 and distributed client, channel operating and maintenance costs are lowered for banks and integrated software distribution for device management is automated," said Robert Usner, Nexus Software director of Marketing, Product Management and Quality Assurance.  "By removing as much of the human element as possible, a bank can reduce manual error and increase employee/customer interaction and relationships."

INvolve 3.7 supports smart clients and traditional thick clients as well as slim and thin clients within Citrix® MetaframeT and Windows® Terminal Services environments.

Founded in 1985, Nexus Software is a world leader in integration middleware and services for retail financial front-end and mid-tier systems, connecting devices to solutions to delivery channels.  The company's standards-based, vendor neutral solutions are installed in more than 150,000 ATMs, kiosks and branch teller stations at more than 900 financial institutions around the world.  Nexus Software is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., USA, with development offices in Portsmouth, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. 

 For more information on Nexus Software infrastructure for the integrated bank, visit the company's Web site at www.nexussoft.com.

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New TowerGroup Analyst in the Financial Strategies and IT Investments Service Explores the Value of One-to-One Customer Experience

Facing tighter competition and mature, savvy markets, financial services institutions must find new ways to differentiate themselves to achieve organic growth. New research from TowerGroup finds that institutions that provide a superior, one-to-one customer experience will be able to reduce customer attrition and see their asset growth outpace the competition by 30% - representing more than $360 billion dollars in assets.

The author of the research is senior analyst Rodney Nelsestuen, the newest member of TowerGroup's Financial Services Strategies & IT Investments research practice. 

"Many financial institutions put the customer in the center of their organizational structure, touched by discrete processes, people and technologies.  Although such an approach may be appropriate for internal communication and operations, it is not how a true customer experience works and can be both narrow and limiting," says Nelsestuen.  "Customers are increasingly engaging with institutions across all elements of people, process, and technology.  Taking a more holistic approach, viewed from the outside-in as the customer sees it, is what will enable institutions to differentiate themselves and maintain their client base."

Highlights of the research include:

- The degree of customer-focus has proven to be a significantly more important decision factor in which institution a customer chooses to do business with, compared to product or service features alone. However, as customers' lifestyles vary and life-stages change, their needs and wants also change.  TowerGroup believes institutions that understand and anticipate these changes will increase customer retention and profitability compared to simply reacting to change as the customer drives it.

- Traditional demographic segmentation falls short of delivering superior customer experience. Diversity in the marketplace is growing and the idea that any group is discrete - or homogeneous within a specific ethnic group - is short-sighted and will fail to predict individual purchase behavior.  TowerGroup believes that a prerequisite to meeting the customer experience challenge is developing a deeper understanding of growing diversity in the marketplace.
A chart illustrating this can be viewed and downloaded at
http://www.towergroup.com/research/content/page.jsp?pageId=802.

- Becoming a leader in customer experience must be important throughout the business from the corner office to the janitor's closet.  Just as a customer's experience is based on every interaction and connection he or she has with a financial institution, the approach to addressing customer experience must be holistic - involving all points along the continuum of process, people
and technology.

- Trading customers with the competition is a zero-sum game. The ability to lower customer attrition rates makes a dramatic difference in overall market share and growth rate. TowerGroup estimates that by cutting the customer churn rate in half, institutions will net a 6.8% asset growth rate compared to 5.2% net for competitors unable to reduce churn.  This 30% difference in growth rate represents more than $360 billion in assets across insurance, banking, and brokerage.  Nelsestuen added, "To enable a true one-to-one customer experience, the enterprise architecture deployed by an institution must also be addressed and each module, application and system coordinated in a seamless fashion.  Institutions should employ predictive analytics to anticipate customer moves and manage the knowledge gained, provide multi-channel integration and deploy collaboration tools." 

With more than two decades experience in financial services, Nelsestuen has served in diverse finance, marketing, credit, operations, and technology roles at both the operational and executive levels.  He spent more than eight years as CEO of an affiliate bank of AgriBank, FCB and six years as the enterprise-level CIO.  He received his Bachelor of Art's degree from the University of Wisconsin and holds an MBA and a Graduate Certificate in information systems management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University.

At TowerGroup, Nelsestuen covers the following topics: improving customer experience; business process management; outsourcing; risk management; and cultivating ethnic and other emerging markets.   The TowerGroup research report titled "Customer Experience: Winning on the Front Lines," is available to qualified members of the press for review.  Those interested in purchasing a copy of any TowerGroup report or subscribing to a TowerGroup research service may call +1.781.292.5200 or email service-info@towergroup.com.

About TowerGroup: TowerGroup is the leading advisory research and consulting firm focused on the global financial services industry. A respected source for trusted information and advice, TowerGroup brings many of the world's leading financial institutions, technology companies, and professional services firms a deeper understanding of the business and technology issues impacting their organizations. Headquartered near Boston in Needham, Massachusetts, and with offices in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, TowerGroup serves a global client base.  Visit www.towergroup.com for more information.

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Company will demonstrate first distributed .NET financial applications on new Windows Compute Cluster Server

Digipede Technologies (www.digipede.net), a leading provider of distributed computing solutions for the Microsoft Windows platform will demonstrate the first .NET- based grid-enabled computing applications in the financial services market running on the new Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server (CCS) at this week's Securities Industry Association Technology Management Conference in New York, June 20 - 22, 2006. The combination of the Digipede Network, HP ProLiant Servers and Microsoft Windows CCS sets a new standard in ease of deployment and use in the grid computing market.

"Our financial services customers continue to amaze us with the variety of applications they have that require a grid computing approach," said John Powers, CEO of Digipede. "To further strengthen our offerings, we are working with HP's Industry Standard Server team and Microsoft's U.S. Financial Services Group to adapt new offerings from Microsoft, such as Windows Compute Cluster Server, to meet these requirements."

Powers continues, "The capabilities we are demonstrating this week at the SIA conference are something the industry has not seen before - the power of a compute cluster, the ease of deployment and administration of Windows Server, and the ease of programming of the Digipede Network. This is what our customers tell us they've been looking for - all in a neat, affordable package."

"Digipede is making a valuable contribution to the market by removing needless complexity from grid computing implementations, complementing HP's Financial Services Industry offerings," said Anne Ambrose, worldwide director, Trading & Investment Solutions Financial Services Industry, HP. "This is what our clients and the global financial markets have come to expect from HP and our partners: the best in innovative technologies providing them with competitive advantage."

Bill Hartnett, general manager of strategy and solutions for the U.S. Financial Services Group at Microsoft, said, "We're extremely pleased to be working closely with Digipede and HP in this process. Through our collaboration in bringing together .NET and high-performance distributed computing, the financial services industry will be able to realize the significant benefits of Microsoft's .NET platform in an expanding set of applications and services."

Powers adds, "The SIA Technology Management Conference is an ideal forum in which to unveil these new capabilities. It's a great event for seeing all the next-generation tools for the securities industry." Digipede will give demonstrations of the Digipede Network in its own booth (#4506) and in the Microsoft booth (#2211). Digipede staff will give away free copies of the Digipede Network Developer Edition in both locations throughout the show.

The Digipede Network is a distributed computing solution that delivers dramatically improved application performance. The Digipede Network Professional Edition offers full support for .NET 2.0, Microsoft's next-generation framework for building and running business applications. The Digipede Network pools the power of Windows desktops, servers, and cluster nodes to deliver dramatically improved performance for real-world financial applications. This solution is radically different than other grid offerings; built entirely on Microsoft .NET technologies, the Digipede Network provides the easiest and quickest way to grid-enable and distribute applications. With the Digipede Network, customers can focus on solving their key business and research problems rather than wasting valuable resources developing a distributed computing infrastructure.

The Digipede Framework SDK integrates with and fully supports the Visual Studio 2005 and 2003 software development tools and the SQL Server 2005 database. The Digipede Framework SDK includes support for .NET 1.1, .NET 2.0, and COM, allowing developers to use the familiar Visual Studio environment to produce high-performance distributed applications.

About Digipede Technologies
Digipede Technologies is the leading software provider of grid computing solutions for the Microsoft .NET platform. Digipede is led by a proven team of technology visionaries who have developed best-in-class Windows applications for more than 15 years. Digipede is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Digipede is expanding rapidly. For more information visit: www.digipede.net

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Vertafore Names Chris Kinsman as New Vice President and Chief Architect

Technology Veteran to Take Development and Product Architecture Group to the Next Level

Vertafore, Inc., the leading provider of specialized software solutions for the insurance industry, named Chris Kinsman as vice president and chief architect for the company. Kinsman will work with Chief Technology Officer, Dominique Laborde, to drive the next phase of the company's product roadmap. As part of his new role, Kinsman will oversee the definition, promotion, education and support of Vertafore's product architecture.

"Adding an executive of Chris' experience and track record gives us the leadership strength to continue expanding the breadth of our solutions while building processes to manage the company's future through people and technology," said Laborde. "Chris' considerable experience will enable us to enhance Vertafore's competitive position and better serve our customers."

For the past three years, Kinsman worked for AMS Services, a division of Vertafore, as a consultant with the development team and as a lead architect for AMS 360® and the AMS Performance AnalyzerT solution. Prior to joining Vertafore, Kinsman founded Vergent Software and served as vice president of technology for DevX.com. Kinsman is currently a Microsoft regional director, MVP and member of the International .NET Association Speaker's Bureau.

"With Vertafore's track record of innovation, outstanding people and proven ability to create value, the opportunities are nearly limitless," said Kinsman. "I'm looking forward to working with this world-class team of professionals in further expanding Vertafore's market presence."

About Vertafore, Inc.
Vertafore is the leading provider of specialized software services and information for the insurance industry, delivering solutions to facilitate independent agent productivity and carrier/agent connectivity. Vertafore's principal operating entities are AMS Services, AMS Rackley and SilverPlume. AMS provides software and services; AMS Rackley is the nation's preferred provider of web-based and desktop rating, point-of-sale and new business solutions; and SilverPlume is the industry's leading aggregator of insurance reference content for risk analysis and underwriting support. For more information on Vertafore and its operating entities, please visit www.vertafore.com.

About AMS Services
AMS Services is dedicated to helping independent insurance agencies achieve maximum performance and operational efficiency. The business offers a comprehensive, insurance-specific solution for managing critical business activities, including agency management, rating, benefits, performance management and carrier connectivity. With more than 150,000 users in over 15,000 agencies, as well as 300 carrier partners, AMS Services is a proven market leader providing the strategy and scalability to help independent agencies excel now and in the future. For more information on AMS Services, please visit www.amsworld.com

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BT TEAMS WITH MICROSOFT TO DELIVER REAL TIME TRADING COLLABORATION ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE

- BT to demonstrate new capabilities for the first time at SIA 2006 -

New York, June 21, 2006 – BT today announced that it is working with Microsoft to develop a unified communications capability, designed to allow all participants in the financial trade cycle to share information regarding their presence, and preferred means of communication in real time. BT’s Real Time Collaboration capability is one of a series of packaged ITS Myriad applications, designed to enable users to quickly begin realizing the benefits of the Virtual Trading Organization and to deliver increased trader effectiveness.

BT’s ITS Myriad Real Time Collaboration capability is designed to bring the rich communication capabilities of Microsoft Office Communicator 2005, a unified communications client that brings the richness of the PC together with the familiarity and voice capabilities of the desktop telephone, to the trading floor. By utilizing the ITS Myriad event bar within Office Communicator 2005, users will be able to see when vital colleagues are on the phone and either choose to call them as soon as they become available, or make contact with them via the most appropriate alternative channel such as email or instant messaging. Integration with a firm’s corporate directory also makes it easier to find the next best alternative contact, should the primary contact be unavailable.

The Real Time Collaboration capabilities can also be extended to mobile devices equipped with BT’s ITS Anywhere application for remote trading. Users can monitor the availability of all colleagues and easily stay in touch with them, whether they’re in the office or traveling – helping to ensure that no trading opportunity is missed. The technology also provides a complete audit trail of contacts made between all parties and across all channels, with all conversations voice recorded for compliance purposes.

All communication, including voice calls from ITS.Netrix, a turret or PBX phone, as well as emails and instant messages can be initiated from the ITS Myriad event bar within Communicator 2005 on the desktop, and buddy lists or speed dials can also be listed here – so that the trader has everything he needs at his fingertips.

Rod MacDonald, managing director, BT Trading Systems, said: “BT’s ITS Myriad Real Time Collaboration capability is a key component of our strategy for enabling the Virtual Trading Organization and promoting improved trader effectiveness. Traders are reliant on collaborating with colleagues throughout all stages of the trade cycle – from identifying opportunities through to post-trade resolution. Giving traders the ability to detect the presence of their colleagues across a variety of channels, understand the best way to reach them, and initiate all contacts from their desktop, will be crucial in helping traders develop and execute successful trading strategies in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

“The integration of BT’s ITS Myriad with Communicator 2005 enables real time access between the trading-floor environment with other groups within an organization, such as middle and back-office support groups,” said Marc Sanders, senior product manager in the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft.  “This capability provides additional reach and functionality for securities industries professionals many of whom use Communicator 2005 and BT turrets today.”

BT’s ITS Myriad Real Time Collaboration capability will initially support communication between colleagues within the trading enterprise, but BT also envisages making the technology available for users across different organizations. This will give trading organizations greater visibility of their customers, and other external parties, and help them deliver a more effective service.

About BT

BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries.  Its principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.  BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2006, BT Group’s revenue was £19,514 million with profit before taxation of £2,040 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.  BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York. 

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Please contact Fleur Sohtz, BT, on +1 917 601 8284 or Sharon Nieuwenhuis, Write Image on +1 973 714 0433, email: sharon.nieuwenhuis@write-image.com. Alternatively you can see BT on booth # 1509 at the SIA show in New York.

Inquiries may also be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All news releases can be accessed at our web site: http://www.bt.com/newscentre

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US and UK Buy-side Firms’ External Equity Research Spending to Fall from $7B in 2006 to $6B in 2008 with Sell-side Dropping 30% of Analysts, Says TABB Group Report on the Future of Equity Research  

The Bundled Share of Total US Research Spending Will Fall 50% by 2008 Due to Pricing Pressure and Unbundling by Large Asset Managers

NEW YORK, NY, June 27, 2006 – After a decade of scandal and increased regulatory scrutiny for the equity research industry, a paradigm shift in how buy-side firms secure, value and pay for external research is underway.  TABB Group, in its newest industry report released today, “The Future of Equity Research: A 360º Perspective”, says that external spending on research by US and UK buy-side firms will fall from $7.09 billion this year to $6.03 billion by the end of 2008 as they begin to generate research in-house while paying greater attention to the external research they continue to buy from sell-side firms. 

According to Jeromee Johnson, senior research analyst at TABB Group and the report’s author, this is occurring at the same time trading commissions are plummeting at global investment banks, still under tightening scrutiny, forcing them to reduce analyst pay, cut the number of analysts and tighten the focus of their research coverage.  “We estimate that the number of sell-side analysts, roughly 16,200 in 2000 and currently approximately 9,300 will fall to 6,000 by 2008,” writes Johnson.  “However, the age of the independent research provider is here.  Prognosticators have been calling for it for years, long before the global research settlement.  Recently, we’ve seen a glut of independent firms come to market, creating an oversupply that we are still working our way out of.”  

Further addressing this dramatic shift, he says, “over the next two years the equity research business model will drastically change as buy-side and independent research firms will take over for sell-side firms in the majority of research production.”

The report also covers regulation and its impact on payment mechanisms used by US and UK firms.  Johnson explains: “For all the similarities in between the SEC and the FSA and their rules and regulations; for all the talk of working together and sharing information, up to and including the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in March 2006, the two bodies have different approaches to Commission Sharing Agreements, despite the SEC saying they approve of how the FSA proceeded with CP176 and PS05/09, mandating unbundling and disclosure.”  He adds, “By making it harder to direct commission dollars to independent research providers, the SEC has limited the effectiveness of their other regulations, which have been intended to foster business for the independents.” 

The new TABB Group report analyzes the current state of the equity research industry, interviewing 78 firms on all sides of the industry, from primary consumers (asset and investment management firms) to research producers (independent research providers and broker/dealers with and without investment banking).  Based on recent, significant changes to research regulations by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, approximately 33% of the firms interviewed were UK-based.

Additional findings and forecasts include:

·         TABB Group predicts that from 2006 to 2008, internal spending on research will climb from $7.68 billion to $7.91 billion; spending on broker-generated research will fall from $5.60 billion to $4.25 billion; and spending with independent research providers will grow from $1.49 billion to $1.78 billion

·         TABB Group estimates that in 2006 combined internal and external research will top out at $14.77 billion with 52% of the total being internal this year, rising to 57% by 2008 

·         The bundled research share of overall research spending in the US will fall from 19% of spending in 2006 to 11% by 2008 due to pricing pressure and unbundling by large asset managers

·         Only 18% of large US buy-side firms are actively working on or are currently considering unbundling

·         While the overall external research market is shrinking, independent firms – those lacking traditional brokerage operations – are gaining market share, growing their business at over 9% CAGR between now and 2008

“There are changes underway in the investment research industry that are here to stay, such as transparency and disclosure,” adds Larry Tabb, CEO and founder of TABB Group.  “The buy-side will continue to invest in better monitoring and evaluation tools, driven by regulation and competitive forces.  Their attention to valuation will focus greater attention on the costs of their providers, creating continued pressure on the research providers, especially investment banks, which will continue to pare their offering, forcing traditional analyst coverage to become even more balanced, but also much narrower in its focus and scope.”  To compensate, adds Johnson, “the buy-side will continue to bring research in-house long term, increasing cost-of-ownership.  The independent providers will win business, but in the US it’ll be a struggle to pay them with client assets for the near future.”  

The 56-page report includes over 50 exhibits that cover the top 15 research providers by usage and those delivering the highest levels of client satisfaction; what buy-side firms are paying for research; how research is being used as a differentiator; which financial organizations are creating research offerings; how research is used in the investment process and is expected to change; the off-shoring (or outsourcing) of analysts and India’s role in this shift; factors in research selection; research sources by payment type; research evaluation systems and rate of evaluation; research price factors; payment models; SEC/28(e) direction; compliance status, costs and shifts concerning the FSA’s PS05/09; buy-side plans for unbundling; consumer thoughts on unbundling; and future regulatory trends.

The Equity Research report is available for purchase.  The report and a copy of the executive summary can be found at http://www.tabbgroup.com/research.

About TABB Group

TABB Group is a financial markets advisory and thought leadership firm.  Focusing on the intersection of the financial markets and technology, TABB Group has produced major studies on the future of trading technologies, the impact of the market structure changes on the use of real-time technologies.  TABB Group analysts are regularly cited in the press and speak at major industry conferences.  For more information, go to http://www.tabbgroup.com.

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Fairfax County Federal Credit Union Selects
Open Solutions Enabling Technology

-- Open architecture enterprise-wide data processing platform chosen to
replace credit unions’ legacy system --

GLASTONBURY, Conn., June 22, 2006 –Fairfax, Va.-based Fairfax County Federal Credit Union has chosen to partner with Open Solutions Inc.® (NASDAQ: OPEN), a provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial services providers across the United States and Canada, and will implement Open Solutions’ credit union enterprise software solution, The Complete Credit Union Solution®, to handle its data processing needs. The credit union has also selected several of Open Solutions’ complementary applications including cView™, the company’s CRM tool; the collection module and financial accounting products including general ledger and ProfitVision for profitability.

Fairfax County Federal Credit Union, with more than 18,000 members and $210 million in assets, recently expanded its charter to serve the entire county. As a result, the credit union sought a new core processing system, as its 27-year legacy system could not accommodate its growing needs. Fairfax County Federal Credit Union executives wanted a comprehensive, integrated core data and transaction processing solution capable of providing real-time member information across all delivery channels.

“We want the most enhanced, up-to-date products available,” said Joe Thomas, president and CEO of Fairfax County Federal Credit Union. “We needed a next-level solution that could fully integrate with our operations – from lending to investments and deposits. After evaluating several vendors, it was a unanimous decision to implement Open Solutions’ The Complete Credit Union Solution. The system’s open technology and real-time operations enabled us to improve efficiencies and provide comprehensive sales and management tools to our personnel while enhancing our superior service levels to our members.”

The Complete Credit Union Solution is built on a powerful, centralized Oracle® relational database and is designed to be an open architecture application, creating the flexibility necessary for running a service-oriented financial institution. It helps credit unions streamline both front and back office processes and creates a centralized view of members, employees and business partners. Open Solutions provides credit unions with a fully featured strategic product platform, integrating core data processing with strategic applications such as Internet banking, business intelligence, financial accounting applications, electronic imaging, payment and interactive voice response solutions.

“The Complete Credit Union Solution was designed to be an open technology application, giving credit unions the necessary tools to be flexible and member-centric at the same time,” said Louis Hernandez, Jr., CEO and chairman of Open Solutions. “We believe being chosen to replace a 27-year incumbent core processor is a testament to our innovative approach to the marketplace. We remain dedicated to giving our clients the tools and resources they need to offer a higher level of service to their members. The Complete Credit Union Solution delivers real-time core processing, business intelligence capabilities, and combined with our financial accounting suite, we believe it enables credit unions, such as Fairfax, to develop even closer member relationships.”

About Open Solutions Inc.
Open Solutions Inc. offers a fully featured strategic product platform that integrates core data processing applications built on a single centralized Oracle relational database, with Internet banking, cash management, CRM/business intelligence, financial accounting tools, imaging, Check 21, digital document, interactive voice response, network services, Web hosting and design, and payment and loan origination solutions. Open Solutions’ full suite of products and services allows banks, thrifts, credit unions and financial service providers in the United States and Canada to better compete in today’s aggressive financial services marketplace, and expand and tap their trusted financial relationships, client affinity, community presence and personalized service.

For more information about Open Solutions or its financial product line, contact Mickey Goldwasser by email at mgoldwasser@opensolutions.com by phone at 860.652.3153 or via fax at 860.652.3156. Visit Open Solutions’ Internet site at www.opensolutions.com.

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Washington Trust Uses Open Solutions’ Image-based Item
Processing Solution, ISCheckÔ

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WYNCOTE, Pa.—A new suite of processing capabilities that enables small insurers to support their agents and MGAs with web-based policy processing has been introduced by IDP. The suite,  called AgentXpress, is available to new and existing clients of IDP’s VISION 21™ policy management system.

AgentXpress’ functionality includes online policy inquiry for billing and claims information; and quoting, application submission and issuance.

According to IDP President & CEO Gary Gilbert, AgentXpress was developed in response to growing needs among small p&c insurers to provide agents and MGAs with web-based policy processing and to lower internal costs associated with existing agent-response methods.

“Many small p&c insurers are employing phone and fax to field their agents’ inquiries and to provide quotes,” Gilbert says. “The process is cumbersome, time consuming and often uncertain. Agents may face situations where they require feedback during off-hours. Or the insurer’s employees responsible for addressing agents’ requests may simply be unavailable. Web-based AgentXpress makes the insurance company’s inquiry, quote and related functions available to the agent network 24 hours every day.”

The suite’s ultimate purpose is to help agents achieve greater customer satisfaction through quick response to customer questions, and to help agents capture additional sales. In operation, an agent simply enters a customer’s name or unique identification data, such as policy number. He or she can then obtain the status of a bill or a claim, or obtain an accurate quote, in seconds.  Subsequent to providing a quote, AgentXpress will permit the agent to electronically submit the application to further speed the process that may lead to a sale.

AgentXpress’ functionality is based on input collected from managers at small insurance companies, and their agents and MGAs. The field-proven suite is priced to appeal to small, value-conscious businesses.

“Web-based processing for agents has become a mature business practice throughout most of the property and casualty insurance industry,” Gilbert notes. “But the price of web-enabled processing has kept smaller carriers from investing in it and realizing its benefits. At IDP, we want our small carrier customers to be very competitive. Accordingly, we have brought to market an affordable solution for small carriers that helps keep them as attractive to agents as the largest players.”

About IDP

Founded in 1949, IDP is among the most experienced property and casualty management system companies in the U.S. IDP launched its first electronics-based insurance products and services in 1963, accounting for over 40 years experience with high-tech insurance management. The company is headquartered in Wyncote, Pa., with a branch office in Solon, Ohio. Mission priorities include timely responsiveness to customer needs and creative problem solving. Software products range from policy rating and issuance, claims administration and accounting, to regulatory compliance and bureau reporting and submission. IDP lays claim to an extraordinary skill level for consulting on both insurance business and technical matters. The organization’s management team combines depth of experience with multi-discipline expertise.

Visit IDP at: http://www.idpnet.com.

IDP

One Washington SquareWyncote, PA 19095

Attention:  Mike Vaccarello

Phone:  215-885-2150

Fax:  215-887-4621

E-mail:  info@idpnet.com

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