Client: Western Agricultural Insurance Co. Challenge: Introduce an integrated commercial agriculture insurance product for sale by the company’s agents Solution: Outsource support for policy administration and agency services to CSC through CSC’s business process outsourcing (BPO) services Results: Launched new product in six months with Web-based quoting and services to agents, shortened monthly reporting cycle by 10 days, consolidated multiple processing systems and improved the company’s focus on business growth Want More Information? Learn more about CSC's software and services or contact us by phone or e-mail. Only CSC will use the information you provide. Click below to download the full case study (PDF). Download the file

The trend toward vertical integration of farming has created both challenges and opportunities for insurance carriers. Western Agricultural Insurance Company of West Des Moines, Iowa, saw an opportunity to introduce a new integrated insurance product for commercial agriculture, giving policyholders much greater flexibility than anything offered by competitors.

Unfortunately, Western Ag’s commercial lines operations weren’t set up to support the company’s new initiatives. The company had grown through mergers, resulting in three different commercial-lines processing systems, as well as an in-house system for personal lines. The challenge of introducing a product that spanned all systems was daunting.

The Outsourcing Advantage
“Historically, we tended to build everything in-house,” said Ryan Albers, director of the company’s Commercial Ag Insurance. “But times change, and the complexity of what we needed to deliver had changed. We realized we couldn’t deliver the quality product that an outsourcer like CSC can provide — or do it in the time frame we needed.”

Western Ag selected CSC‘s POINT IN policy administration system and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The company was operating an older version of CSC’s COGEN system, and CSC had a good track record. Most importantly, according to Albers, CSC has a reputation of getting things done.

“We chose CSC because of its ability to deliver, marshal resources and get the project done on time,” he said. The company’s first AgMax® policy was issued six months after the contracts were signed with CSC.

Enhancing Relationships with Producers
The new AgMax product, which combines farm property, general liability, auto and commercial umbrella in a single package, was well received by Western Ag agents and policyholders. In addition to a simplified product, the agents got a streamlined process for new business. Using CSC’s POINT IN Agency Link software, Western Ag extended a full range of services to agents over the Web, including the ability to get online quotes for commercial policies as well as check on the status of policies.

As a result, Albers noted, “We’ve seen a two- to threefold increase in activity from our agency force in products they might not have even quoted before. Our agents are more excited now about our organization than at any time in our history. We’re giving agents in rural areas functionality they’ve never seen before.”

‘Ahead of the Competition’
CSC’s POINT IN, used in BPO, gave the company a fully integrated platform for policy processing, billing and collections, document and image management, business intelligence and bureau reporting. In setting up the new relationship, Western Ag personnel continue to enter policy information, underwrite new business and handle customer service and claims. CSC is responsible for billing and payment processing, reporting and compliance, scanning and imaging, printing and mailing, application support, and Web hosting.

“This product really put us ahead of the competition,” Albers said. “Most companies don’t have the scale of farm business that we have, and they don’t invest their resources into IT systems and products to support farm business.”