GLOBAL XLPro, Outward ReInsurance; Complete and Compliant

LONDON - March 5, 2015 - PRLog -- GLOBAL XLPro, Outwards Re intelligence; Complete and Compliant.

‘Analysing HCCI’s selection process for the most accurate, efficient and cost beneficial Outward Reinsurance Solution’

HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a leading specialty insurer with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland, transacting business in approximately 180 countries and underwriting more than 100 classes of specialty insurance. As a successful Insurer by any yardstick, one of the many challenges created by organic and acquisitive growth is the ability to cost effectively manage the associated outward reinsurance programme.

The need for the international offices of (HCCI) to replace their incumbent system and satellite processes became apparent in 2011. It had become abundantly clear that the existing processes which had evolved over time to support the management of the Reinsurance Programme were ‘creaking’ and action was required to address the complex data, reporting and compliance issues this was creating.

This exclusive article reveals for the first time the in depth analysis and techniques put in place by HCCI to select the most cost beneficial solution for their outward reinsurance needs, GLOBAL XLPro.

Prior Planning

Extensive early planning sessions revealed the need for a deep dive capture of requirements, against which any prospective supplier would have to demonstrate both a complete understanding and prove their ability to translate that understanding into a strategy that guaranteed a successful implementation.

As with any selection process it was not all plain sailing for HCCI. As London Market Operations Manager for HCCI Graeme Clark explains, “One of the key frustrations for us especially during client satisfaction site visits was that it became clear we were re-inventing the wheel. Those we visited had undertaken a beauty parade of suppliers because they thought that it was a compliant and governance appropriate thing to do. However we realised that the comparison should not be supplier against supplier, the comparison needed to be supplier against requirements”.

Functionality

‘’Clarity around your requirements is vital before any engagement with prospective suppliers. We started by documenting the existing processes and superimposed an internal requirement ‘wish list’. As a result we had a clear idea of what functionality we required from an Outward Reinsurance System’’.

Prospective Suppliers

Clark goes onto to explain the extensive nature of HCCI’s selection process, ‘’Originally we extensively reviewed 7 different companies who claimed to have a solution to comprehensively manage our Reinsurance processes. We quickly reduced this number to 3 then 2 before finally selecting Total Objects and GLOBAL XLPro.’’

‘’We were surprised that some of the prospective suppliers fell so far short of our requirements and quickly highlighted that a key requirement was that our eventual supplier would have to be able to demonstrate deep London Market knowledge backed by a track record of incorporating the individual complexities of their client’s Reinsurance Programmes into a successful implementation.”

‘’The four suppliers that we declined initially were rejected for not possessing the required level of functionality, support and London market business knowledge. The remaining three potential vendors were then put through further detailed review sessions. As part of these sessions we provided sample data (but not the resultant Reinsurance results) with a request that draft results be provided to us. The purpose of this was to not only understand whether the expected results were calculated but that the vendor understood the rules and logic behind the calculations where the results differed and these could be revised to then produce the correct results.’’

Clark continues ‘’The whole process of choosing the best supplier took around 5 months, with significant investment in internal time. Our evaluation process included a complex RFP, numerous workshops and of course site visits.”

One Stand out Supplier

‘’By this stage it became clear that Total Objects and GLOBAL XLPro were our preferred option as the system functionally and support had impressed everyone in our selection team.However even at this stage they were not guaranteed preferred supplier status.”

‘’In order to cement their preferred supplier status we attended three site visits with existing users of GLOBAL XLPro to gauge user satisfaction with the functionality and performance. These visits were very positive, providing crucial feedback both about Total Objects and the approach to the implementation.”

‘’We then sat down with Total Objects and discussed how to de-risk the implementation process as we had learnt from the site visits that costs could easily escalate should key requirements be missed and not picked up during implementation. The Total Objects Solution Design Study Approach finally sold us. The Solution Design Study is a document that captures every element of our Outward Reinsurance Process and then maps that to the functionality of GLOBAL XLPro. The building of a prototype at this stage definitively proved that GLOBAL XLPro would work for us and with this agreed, we were then able to build an implementation project plan with key targeted project deliverables to which we all committed. There is no such thing as a painless implementation but with the Solution Design as our reference and the implementation deliverables as our targets we achieved a successful implementation.’’

Hindsight

“What hindsight has taught us is that the Solution Design Study phase is the cornerstone of a successful implementation. It gave us the opportunity to revisit what we thought were our requirements, test them out against London Market ‘experts’,  that is how good the Total Objects analysts are, and then create a revised agreed solution document upon which the implementation plan was agreed. The proof of concept prototype enabled us to visualise and understand this very complex jigsaw, giving us the confidence that the agreed solution was also the correct one for HCCI.

We are delighted to share that we are very happy with the outcome of the selection process and implementation and we will be acting as a reference for prospective GLOBAL XLPro purchasers.’’

The final words on the implementation of GLOBAL XLPro are with Chief Operating Officer of HCC International, Nick Hutton Penman. ‘’We are both very pleased and impressed with GLOBAL XLPro’s ability to capture the intricacies of our Outwards Reinsurance Programme and having done so, automate it’s administration’’.

For information visit www.totalobjects.co.uk