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FAQ
MIS - Information
How long does a complete VisualTIME installation & implementation take? How long for Insurance Business Intelligence (IBI)?
Implementation time of VisualTIME depends on the insurance company, modules to be installed and implementation strategy. Minimum typical implementation time is 6 months, and in some extreme cases, it can take up to 30 months. The difference is due to the amount of changes requested, the data migration problems, the implementation scheme chosen (for instance, some companies choose to implement each business unit (Individual Life, Group Life, P&C, etc), in a sequential manner, stretching the timelines) and availability of all needed resources within the insurance company. Implementation for Insurance Business Intelligence (IBI) are much shorter, usually around two months.
What are the most typical errors in an implementation of this type of system?
The typical ones are:
• Perform unnecessary changes to the software. Changes must be kept at a very minimum. The temptation of achieving perfect software must be avoided.
• Users not involved in the project. Political problems not addressed properly.
• Data migration and interfaces with other systems are underestimated.
• Training is underestimated. It is better to have an acceptable system that the users know very well, than an excellent system that users can't use.
Can In Motion-GIT help avoid these implementations barriers?
Our methodology helps estimate, in an accurate way, the time needed to implement the system. We provide support to the data migration and development of interfaces. In many cases, however, external tools and/or services are required to achieve a reliable data migration. We must stress that the implementation project is a team effort, where success depends on the insurance company as a whole as much as on the implementer.
Can In Motion-GIT provide protection against cost overruns?
Yes. We can perform a "gap analysis", which will produce a document with all the changes required for your company, as agreed with the responsible users. Based on that document, upon request, we could give you a fixed budget, fixed time proposal to implement VisualTIME in your company. Some parts of the project, such as data migration and interfaces, would probably be out of the scope of our work.
Why buy VisualTIME when we can build our own system?
Your company will profit from our knowledge. Rather than start from scratch, In Motion-GIT applies information management knowledge and experience gathered during more than 20 years working exclusively for the insurance industry. Experience has proven that self development is by far the most expensive option to automate the operation of an insurance company.
Should we implement VisualTIME by phases? As a whole?
If you implement by phases (module by module) the amount of risk you are taking is much less. However, the effort is much higher. You will need to develop temporary interfaces with the systems to be replaced, and the effort to build these interfaces could be very high (up to 40% of the total cost of the project). If you implement all the modules at once, risks are higher, but you won't need to spend so much time developing temporary interfaces. The correct answer will depend on the insurance company, the possibility to deal with the risk, the complexity of the interfaces, and many others considerations.
Is VisualTIME user friendly?
VisualTIME screens are easy to understand and use. Any user can begin entry and manipulation of information within a brief training period. There is on-line help at many levels, and most of the transactions are intuitive. However, below the surface, it is a complex system. The personnel in charge of administrating and maintaining the system should be very well trained.
Operations
Will we be able to add more insurance products to VisualTIME after implementation?
Certainly. The core of VisualTIME is the "Product Designer", which allows to create and maintain new insurance products with little or none programming effort. Once the product is added, you will be able to set up and issue new policies, collect premiums, pay claims, perform reinsurance sessions, post to General Ledger, pay commissions to agents... and any other transaction included in the system, since you will take advantage of the integration of VisualTIME. Typical times to include a new product, including specifications and testing, go from one to six weeks.
What reports do I get from VisualTIME?
VisualTIME includes a set of standard reports, which are the most frequent used ones. We are aware of the fact that reports are heavily changed during implementation, and are often changed afterwards. We deal with this situation by providing a data base design that makes very easy to work with reporting tools. The names of the tables and fields are easy to understand and make very easy to generate new reports, even for the end user.
Can I connect VisualTIME to my Call Center?
YES. VisualTIME store all the clients (as well as prospects, suspects, and any person or entity that the insurance company enters in contact with) in one "client database". Information can be accessed by different methods, and two of them are client name and telephone number. This design makes very easy to connect to Call Centers.
Can we combine different insurance products in one single policy?
Yes. Each coverage belonging to a product can be easily reported from three different points of view: accounting, statistics and reinsurance. This allows, for example, to direct the ceded premium of some coverage to be directed to one reinsurance treaty, while others go to a different one. There isn't any limit on how many reinsurance distributions are associated to a policy.
Do I need In Motion-GIT to implement VisualTIME?
No. Your people can be trained prior to the project so they can do it by themselves. It is highly advisable, though, that some percentage of the team has previous experience with VisualTIME. You can also select one of our certified implementors to run the project for you, or at least participate in some degree.
Marketing
Will VisualTIME have an impact on the way we market our products?
Yes. VisualTIME is client centric. It will make your whole organization focus on the client, so you can deliver superior service. You will finally know who your client are, obtaining many different profiles that will help you segment your market and improve your marketing strategy.
Finance & Accounting
Which transactions are automatically posted to General Ledger?
All premium transactions (written, collected, canceled, renewed), all claim operations (reserves, payments, salvages and recoveries), commissions, reinsurance, and all cash & and banking transactions. It is a very high percentage of the analysis work of the accounting department.
Can VisualTIME help me forecast my cash flow?
Yes. VisualTIME stores all information about your policy portfolio, including expected growth and expected renewal, plus the commissions to pay, expected losses, and reinsurance consequences. Based on this, it can help you forecast your cash flow, easily.
