From paper to efficiency: FCCI Insurance streamlines $525M in premiums with ReferenceConnect and Web Publishing

Company snapshot

Sarasota, Florida-based FCCI Insurance Group began as a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund in 1959. Over the years, the company has grown in geography and depth. Today, with five regional offices writing business in 17 contiguous states, FCCI has become an established leader in commercial property, casualty, and workers' comp.

FCCI Insurance Group centralizes information electronically and creates a better experience for employees and partners using ReferenceConnect.

"I told them it was well worth spending the money. And that’s proven to be true.”

– Jan Kendall
Manager of Product Management, FCCI Insurance Group

Growing pains

FCCI Insurance Group is a success story in and of itself. This Sarasota, Florida-based carrier originated as a workers’ compensation self-insurance fund back in 1959. Through key acquisitions and organic growth, FCCI has become a regional commercial carrier, writing $525 million in premiums by offering a full range of insurance options that protect businesses, property, and people.

FCCI used to keep paper copies of reference materials, rates, rules, and employment forms in filing cabinets and binders for many years.

“Employees had a huge binder of information on their desks. We distributed updates manually—many of them never made it into the binder,” explained Jan Kendall, manager of product management. “This wasn’t a huge issue when we were primarily workers’ comp, but as we grew as a commercial carrier, we knew we needed a more efficient system.”

Kendall was familiar with Vertafore’s ReferenceConnect solution from her previous company, which was eventually acquired by FCCI. So, she had already compared the solution against the competition.

“When my original company was looking for an online reference library, I networked with other companies to see what they were using and did thorough due diligence on each,”

When her company was acquired by FCCI, ReferenceConnect was already up and running. Kendall encouraged FCCI management to implement the solution company-wide. “I told them it was well worth spending the money. And that’s proven to be true.”

Centralizing Information

Vertafore solutions

ReferenceConnect®
Web Publishing Tool

Proven results

Provided “one-stop shopping” for all carrier information to employees and agency partners
Enabled customizations for deviations from bureau guidelines
Increased efficiency when updating company information
Moved one full-time employee to a more strategic role due to efficiency gains

The ReferenceConnect Web Publishing tool is the only insurance-specific solution that enables carriers to easily publish, manage, and share content in one convenient location.

Web Publishing replaces tedious spreadsheet updates

With ReferenceConnect in place, FCCI needed to find a more efficient means of publishing.

“Using our old methodology, we handled publishing through numerous long Excel spreadsheets. If something changed or we needed new content, our subject matter expert would fill out a form and submit it to a full-time publishing administrator who would locate the appropriate cell in the spreadsheet and make the change,” Kendall said. “It was inefficient with a lot of opportunities for error.”

So, when her Vertafore representative asked FCCI to beta test Web Publishing, Kendall was up for the challenge.

“I have an IT background, so I’m interested in companies that try to stay current, and Web Publishing is a good example of how Vertafore is keeping up with technology,” she said. “My first thought when they asked us to beta test Web Publishing was ‘kudos.’ I was happy to be the first one. I wanted to have a voice and provide input into the enhancement.”

According to Kendall, the application is a “far cry above” the laborious spreadsheet method of publishing.

“Web Publishing segregates what you’re doing, enabling you to go right where you need to make the appropriate change, instead of going cell by cell. It mirrors the industry layout and, because of its ease of use and its quicker, cleaner functionality, we can share publishing tasks among our subject matter experts.”
– Jan Kendall

Now, instead of filling out long forms for re-entry, the subject matter experts can handle the publishing themselves, with another expert in the specialty area, like Marine, Auto, Farm or General Liability, providing quality assurance.

“Vertafore represents a variety of publishers, so you can locate a lot on a topic,” Kendall said. “If our people spend too much time researching—going from place to place to find what they need—we lose efficiency and speed to market. And for us, it’s all about gaining efficiency.”

Kendall also appreciates the fact that she can utilize ReferenceConnect Web Publishing to make the solution even more valuable.

“We can mold ReferenceConnect to make it our own, adding in our specific company information to create a ‘one-stop shopping’ resource for everything. For example, we can add FCCI’s deviations from the standard main street industry guidelines.”

Not only can FCCI employees pull up this information and compare what the company is offering to bureau guidelines, but any agency with ReferenceConnect can pull up this information as well and see FCCI’s unique rules, forms, and requirements.

Happier employees, happier partners

With ReferenceConnect Web Publishing, FCCI employees and agency partners can quickly look up the most up-to-date FCCI materials, rates, rules, and forms. The Web Publishing tool also allows employees to spend less time on tedious tasks and more time on work that matters. Having information readily accessible to employees and partners creates a better experience and makes FCCI easier to do business with — making them a carrier of choice.

Ready to see what ReferenceConnect Web Publishing can do for your company?

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