IWIF Selects FirstBest Underwriting System and Agent Portal

The Injured Workers' Insurance Fund (IWIF; Towson, Md.) has selected and begun deployment of the FirstBest (Bedford, Mass.) Underwriting Management System (UMS) and the FirstBest Agent portal. The workers' compensation carrier expects to increase underwriting profitability, achieve growth and deliver better ease-of-doing-business for agents, according to a FirstBest statement.

"We have engaged FirstBest for their industry expertise and best-practice collaborative underwriting system, so IWIF can be as competitive as possible," comments Thomas Phelan, president and CEO, IWIF. "With new automation and easily accessible comprehensive information in place, we'll empower underwriters to price each risk competitively and profitably, while improving the speed of service. At the same time, by providing our agent partners with real-time access to data, instant quotes, and faster service, we expect they will send more business to IWIF."

IWIF has identified the following strategic goals for FirstBest UMS:

- Transform the roles of underwriters with one-stop underwriting, so that they can drive the business, focusing on comprehensive risk analysis and pricing accuracy versus information gathering and paper pushing;

- Appeal to and empower agents for all account sizes, by collaborating, bringing them into the underwriting process, providing portfolio dashboards and analysis, and delivering competitive quotes much quicker than today;

- Fuel growth and increase productivity by increasing underwriting automation to better scale and pursue a broader array of accounts;

- Improve technology by delivering more value in less time via a modern and packaged front office solution based on industry best practices, enabling IWIF to quickly seize new market opportunities

"We're seeing more and more workers' comp insurers seeking outside expertise and leveraging solutions that set them apart, particularly in a hardening market," comments John Belizaire, Founder and CEO, FirstBest Systems. "FirstBest's professional services team carefully listened to IWIF's unique needs and mapped out a high-level strategy that paves the way for growth and enables the carrier to continue its legacy of innovation."

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