USI Gains Insight into Agency Performance with Vertafore WorkSmart

WorkSmart Helps USI Standardize Processes, Increase Efficiency and Cut Costs; USI Joins Growing WorkSmart Customer Base

Apr 28, 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. (2011 NetVU Conference) – April 28, 2011 – Vertafore (http://www.vertafore.com), a leading provider of software and information to the insurance industry, today announced that USI Holdings Corporation (USI, http://www.usi.biz) has completed its initial implementation of Vertafore WorkSmart, a workflow and content management solution. With WorkSmart, N.Y.-based USI is now able to standardize processes to help its agencies increase their capacity and gain unmatched insight into their business.

The announcement of USI’s implementation of WorkSmart was made on the first day of the 2011 Network of Vertafore Users (NetVU) Conference in Orlando, Fla.

In order to increase efficiency across all its agencies, USI, the eighth largest insurance brokerage firm in the United States, set out to standardize processes and set metrics to gauge success. However, the company soon determined that to meet its expanded metrics, it would need to evolve how its agents worked.

“WorkSmart is enabling our agents to change how they work and allowing them to meet our operational targets without feeling stretched too thin. The solution’s intelligent workflow capabilities automate many of the time-consuming processes our agents are tasked with, giving them more time to spend servicing our clients and less time pushing paper,” said Stewart Gibson, senior vice president and chief information officer at USI. “Not only do our agents feel empowered, but we also have insight into their workflows for the first time, which allows us to better gauge the efficiency of our processes and make adjustments accordingly.”

USI, which operates 74 offices in 22 states, is in the initial phases of a nationwide rollout across its commercial lines businesses. Already, USI estimates that using WorkSmart will allow the company to increase its revenue load per account manager as much as 30 percent over industry averages and enable account managers to focus more on value-add client service deliverables. The company has plans to extend the solution into its personal lines and employee benefits businesses as well.

The company chose the Vertafore WorkSmart solution for its technical sophistication compared to what is currently available on the market, as well as its ability to integrate easily with USI’s existing technology infrastructure, including the Vertafore Sagitta agency management system. In addition to productivity and efficiency gains, USI expects to see significant cost savings in terms of hard costs for equipment and fees for document storage vendors.

“With WorkSmart, USI will be able to meet its aggressive productivity goals,” said Bill Bunker, president of agency markets at Vertafore. “WorkSmart provides a unique form of business intelligence that allows USI to analyze its business in new ways and use that insight to refine its processes so the company can continually provide even higher levels of service to their clients.”

Powered by Vertafore’s award-winning ImageRight product, WorkSmart offers much more than the typical workflow functionality found in agency management or document management systems. For example, while a typical automated workflow is routed from person-to-person, an intelligent workflow can be routed differently based on policy characteristics such as a limit or deductible. Instead of the traditional agency procedures, WorkSmart pushes tasks through an organization automatically, providing a high level of functional efficiency.
USI joins a number of other prestigious agents and brokers who are realizing the value of Vertafore WorkSmart, including, but not limited to:

Bowen, Miclette & Britt, www.bmbinc.com
Located in Houston, Texas, Bowen, Miclette & Britt is the 64th largest commercial retail insurance broker in the United States, offering a wide array of insurance services.
Conner Strong, www.connerstrong.com
Founded in 1959, Conner Strong is the 32nd largest insurance broker in the country offering customized insurance, risk management and employee benefits programs to clients throughout the United States and abroad.
Euclid Insurance Agencies, www.euclidinsurance.com
Based in Illinois, Euclid provides a full range of brokerage services and products encompassing employee benefits, property and casualty and retirement programs.
The Halland Companies, http://www.halland.com
The Halland Companies, located in New York, provides a broad range of insurance and advisory services covering all aspects of insurance.
J. Smith Lanier & Company, www.jsmithlanier.com
Founded in 1868, J. Smith Lanier & Company is one of the largest privately owned insurance brokers in the United States.
Peel and Holland Financial Group, www.peelholland.com
Peel and Holland Financial Group, founded in 1924, provides insurance, risk consulting and employee benefits to its clients. The agency specializes in developing and implementing solutions to address clients’ risks.

For more information on Vertafore WorkSmart, visit http://www.vertafore.com/All-Products/WorkSmart or call 800.444.4813.

About USI
Founded in 1994, USI is a leading distributor of property and casualty insurance and employee benefits products to businesses throughout the United States. USI is headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, NY, and operates out of 74 offices in 22 states. USI is a portfolio company of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, a private equity affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. Additional information about USI may be found at www.usi.biz.