iC Group - In The News

Facelift for special event Web site - Version 2 streamlines process for agents and customers

The Rough Notes Company Inc. - By John Chivvis – February 2006

“You name it—concerts, weddings, golf events, drag racing, festivals, reunions, conferences, trade shows, charity events, and even a 60th birthday party—we’ve seen it all,” says Scott LaCroix, director of underwriting for iC Group LP, of Winnipeg, Canada. As purveyors of contingency products that range from hole-in-one and prize insurance to event cancellation and non-appearance coverage, iC Group is used to dealing with a wide variety of specialty needs, LaCroix says.

“Let’s face it, we’re in a commodity-type business,” explains LaCroix. “We have no minimum premium requirement, so with a wedding or 60th birthday party, we may see premiums as low as $90. That can’t be profitable for a broker if efficiency isn’t built into the site.”

Thanks to key upgrades, Version 2 of iC Group’s Web-based rating site streamlines the process of rating, quoting, binding, and policy issuance for agents or brokers and their customers. Version 1 of the site was developed to take into account the myriad factors, variables, and qualifiers that go along with event-cancellation and non-appearance risks. “With this new version of the site, brokers will find that for most risks, they can quote, bind, and issue online—in real time,” says LaCroix.

With the release of Version 2 of the site, the idea has been to “cut down or cut out” much of the paper and time it traditionally took between customer, agent/broker, and underwriter, by simplifying the process and making it more efficient. “Before, we were dealing with paper-based workflows where applications had to be handwritten,” says LaCroix. He adds that his company also learned from Version 1 of the site that greater efficiency could be realized by pushing electronic access down to the customer level.

Now customers who have event or non-appearance risks are given a Web site address and access code by their agent or broker. The customer fills out and submits the risk information online, and the site alerts the broker to approve the information. “This way, we are able to get clean and structured data for underwriting and rating,” says LaCroix, “while eliminating the need for brokers to collect the data themselves.

“The site allows us to look at it [a customer’s specific risk] on a really granular level,” LaCroix continues. “Because we know what is required and what we’re comfortable with—dates, jurisdiction, chances of adverse weather, number of previous claims and so on—for standard risks, we’re able to virtually eliminate the need for a broker to talk to an underwriter.”

Once the broker has assessed a customer’s proposal, he or she submits it for automatic rating. The site then checks it against 15 different conditions, such as matching countries of agent and customer, number of events, length and start of event, range of insured amount, weather, and number of claims in the past five years. If the criteria are met, the site will rate the risk and generate draft policy wording automatically.

A red flag against any of the 15 conditions moves the submission into a “Special Acceptance Underwriting” category, and the site will automatically open up a dialogue box that provides access to an underwriter—all electronically and online. “While we are trying to create efficiencies for the broker,” says LaCroix, “the process must be efficient for the underwriter as well.”

The underwriter will then look over the proposal and send the broker a rate through the site. “All of the dialogue can be tracked online, and we’ve set it up so brokers can have the dialogue entered into the policy wording if they desire,” says LaCroix.

Once the broker gets an acceptance back from the customer, the broker can log onto the Web site and can bind and issue a certificate within five minutes. Brit Insurance Limited/Lloyd’s of London underwrites all of iC Group’s event cancellation/non-appearance risks.

LaCroix says that the ease of pointing and clicking through a Web site, the reliance on the customer for data entry, and the increasing comfort level of using online technology all simplify the integration of the site into an agency or brokerage’s business processes.

The portal-style interface allows the broker to go back in and make adjustments or resubmit a proposal. Upon binding a quote, the site will even generate a broker/agent-branded invoice. And because customers are entering data directly into the site and not through the agent/broker, the site becomes a single, secure source for data retention with the ability to manage PDF-formatted invoices and certificates as well as generate Excel-formatted activity reports.

The updated site also provides tools for agents and brokers to expand their business beyond their agencies, cities, states, and countries. “With Version 2, brokers can also ‘subcontract’ other brokers on the site—in a sense, they become a wholesaler,” says LaCroix.

LaCroix says that the fact that the site is available 24/7 has been “key” for some businesses due to different time zones, business hours, or operations of their customers. “We already have a large number—and a wide range—of brokers using the site,” says LaCroix. “A greater success is seen in the volume of events we’ve insured—over 600 events.”

Agents and brokers are also able to obtain policy wording and produce certificates in different languages.

While the site was specifically designed for event cancellation and non-appearance risks, the success of Version 1 (which has been in place for one year) and the increased functionality of Version 2 have iC Group looking at its other insurance offerings. “We’re already looking at event liability and other product lines that fit into this mold,” says LaCroix.

To get started, agents can contact iC Group via their Web site to fill out a registration form and receive a user ID and password. Once the agency or brokerage has been “licensed,” iC Group provides online site demonstrations, training, and reference materials.

Basically, LaCroix says that the overriding goal of the iC Group site is to cut the “work” from the process. “Our development efforts have been to help agents and brokers eliminate all of the paperwork, so they are able to generate more revenue with the same resources,” says LaCroix. “A site like this helps them maintain fantastic customer loyalty.” *

About iC Group – www.icgroupinc.com

Since 1989, iC Group is a leading provider of contingency insurance to the promotion, insurance, sports and entertainment industries. Our range of specialty insurance products includes event cancellation and non-appearance insurance, contractual bonus insurance, prize and over-redemption insurance and hole-in-one insurance. iC Group’s underwriting facility provides solutions in over 60 countries and is backed by top rated insurance companies to ensure our clients are protected with the highest levels of security. iC Group specializes in developing technology solutions capable of marketing insurance products via the Internet.