THE "M" IN SEMCI IS ACHIEVABLE

"A single version of Meridian's APT Company edits currently supports both lines of business for five different vendor systems."

ACORD-based single entry multi-company interface (SEMCI) is alive and well at Meridian Insurance! SEMCI is a key component of Meridian's personal lines strategy--to be easy for independent agencies to do business with us, and to reduce unit costs while improving underwriting results. Nearly a quarter (240) of Meridian's personal lines agencies are realizing the benefits of new business upload for auto and homeowners insurance, and the number of new participants expands weekly. Recent initiatives by several APT agency management system vendors promise to accelerate the rate of implementation. Enhancements are under way to further streamline Meridian's submission process and to route upload transactions through Meridian's new automated personal lines underwriting system. The next major upload deliverable will incorporate endorsement processing.

Meridian elected a non-proprietary SEMCI interface approach in response to agency input. The interactive mainframe system that we had previously implemented did not meet agencies' needs and required dual entry and multiple workflows. Specialized training requirements for the proprietary system further diluted the potential savings of this interface approach. We realized that the most viable approach to reduce agency/company costs was industry standards-based SEMCI which gives agencies a universal way to do business with multiple carriers. The APT software provides an effective way for the company to capture and edit unique underwriting requirements while leveraging the commonly accepted ACORD Standard forms and record formats.

Meridian's year-end goal is to have 50% of personal lines new business submitted via SEMCI upload. We'd like to see all 500 of our download partners achieving the benefits of SEMCI upload. Fortunately, APT has made SEMCI implementation achievable for companies of all sizes. Installing Meridian's APT edits at agencies is a very simple step, whether in the Agency Module or the Stand Alone Module. Most agencies quickly learn upload procedures, and adding a second or third carrier to upload is extremely simple.

We're pleased with the APT software and the editing capabilities of the Company Module. It is an easy-to-use tool, making carriers' implementation efforts with multiple vendors affordable and manageable. A single version of Meridian's APT Company edits currently supports both lines of business for five different vendor systems. The company worked with BWC to reformat the ACORD AL3 elements, and minimized vendor-specific mapping. As a result of standardized approaches, maintenance is easily handled by our current staff.

Meridian currently has 42 production APT upload agencies with AMS (AMS for Windows, Pathfinder Plus/Pioneer Plus, Prime, and Premier), DORIS, and SIS. There are 63 APT agencies in the queue for implementation during third quarter.

Meridian Insurance is a growing regional carrier which operates in 13 states, primarily in the Midwest. Meridian's Agency Interface staff of four is responsible for the development and maintenance of the company's upload and download software, and all agency implementations, including installation, training and help desk support. We're proof that successful SEMCI can be implemented with a small staff, utilizing fewer resources than required for proprietary interface!

Single entry, non-proprietary interface is well established. The technical barriers that once prevented implementation of SEMCI have been eliminated. Agencies are upgrading their management systems at an unprecedented level to comply with Year 2000 requirements--automatically bringing their software to a currency level compatible with the APT upload modules. It's time for the industry to emphasize the 'M' in SEMCI by making multi-company interface widely available to independent agents. With vendors and carriers leading the SEMCI charge through aggressive development, promotion, and education programs, agencies can easily realize a return on their APT software investment. *