“After partnering with clients—including program administrators—for more than a decade,” says Kevin Grimes, CEO of Epic-Premier Insurance Solutions, “we have found one common fact: every organization has unique needs.” Such an observation represents a tall order for any solution provider. For Epic-Premier, it fuels higher levels of creativity.

Grimes describes his firm as “the leading technology and business solution provider of enterprise level solutions in the TMPAA [Target Markets Program Administrators Association] marketplace.” To maintain this position requires commitment, something Grimes says the company is demonstrating with the latest release—version 10—of its flagship product, ConceptOne™. Available later this year, the new release provides many features to benefit the unique needs of Target Markets Program Administrators Association members.

ConceptOne™ is a comprehensive management solution that produces results in various and unique environments. “During the current soft market environment, for instance, it provides our clients unparalleled efficiencies,” Grimes notes. “During periods of growth, program administrators enjoy the ability to easily add new programs and carriers, which bring unprecedented competitive advantages.” The solution is easily scalable for clients of all sizes, he adds, including single office organizations, large processing centers and multi location firms.

The product incorporates unified policy, accounting, claims, document and workflow management functionality. “Designed with the market’s information access demands in mind, it is structured for rapid integration with portal and other Web services,” adds Epic-Premier co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Keeney, who says the design was driven by a shift in market interest from rigid modular solutions to a singular “open architecture” solution.

Epic-Premier also meets a market need for a single solution that combines software and consulting services. “The mission of our Business Solutions team is to meet that demand,” notes Keeney.  Team members—project managers, business analysts and technical analysts—work with clients to generate enterprise level needs requirements, gap analysis and implementation strategies.  “This same team manages the implementation,” Keeney explains. “This ‘single point of accountability’ helps drive client satisfaction and maximize return on investment.”

Given the interdependence of insurance industry technology, Epic-Premier’s design team continually monitors and evaluates which technology and functionality advances will provide clients the greatest flexibility to respond to changes throughout the insurance supply chain. “We continue to expand and enhance our XML policy and claims transaction engine,” Keeney explains, “and we continue to provide easy integration points for various Web services.”

According to Grimes, ConceptOne™, Version 10.0 is the result of client feedback, technological progress and industry experience.  “As most people can attest by feeling out of date with a three-year-old laptop, technology moves at a lightning fast pace,” he explains. “In this environment, program administrators need solutions that can rapidly incorporate the latest technologies.  This release, combined with our industry-leading Business Solutions team, demonstrates our commitment to providing innovative solutions to the TMPAA marketplace.”

Epic-Premier’s partnerships with program administrators have grown throughout—and in a number of cases, as a result of—the firm’s longtime TMPAA involvement. “We are proud to be part of a dynamic organization that serves a growing segment of the insurance marketplace,” notes Grimes, “and we actively work to support the mission of TMPAA.

 “Strategic business partnerships make the difference,” he adds, “and Epic-Premier believes partnering with clients is the foundation of our business.  As a result, Epic-Premier does not want to simply be a ‘vendor of choice.’ Instead, we commit to being a valued business partner.”