North Star Mutual Insurance Enhances Customer Service with Modernized Applications on Unisys ClearPath MainframeWeb-based application and decision support software cut quote process from days to seconds while pay-for-use economics improve IT ownership costs
BLUE BELL, Pa., October 4, 2006 – Minnesota-based North Star Mutual Insurance Company has completed deployment of a new Web-enabled application solution powered by a ClearPath Libra Model 590 mainframe-class enterprise server from Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS). Complementing a pay-for-use metering capability afforded by the system, the new application reduces from days to seconds the time required to produce individualized insurance quotes, improving service for both independent North Star agents and customers.
Key to the solution is a modernized suite of applications comprising Unisys Business Information Server decision support software and the Internet Commerce Enabler tool, which facilitates development and deployment of Web-based applications.
“North Star is proud of our award-winning customer service, and we always look for ways to make it even better,” said Verlin Scheer, vice president of Information Technology, North Star Mutual Insurance Company. “This advanced application solution on the Unisys ClearPath Libra solution helps us advance that goal of continual improvement. The system not only helps us hold the line on IT costs and improve operational efficiency, but also speeds up service to our policyholders and prospective customers – the most important result of all.”
North Star, employing independent agents across five states with a policy-in-count of more than 205,000, faced several unique business challenges that made the Unisys solution ideal. North Star’s former quote process involved faxes going back and forth between agents and customers – a process that often took days to complete.
With the Unisys solution implemented, North Star agents enter customer data into the Web-enabled insurance application, with quotes delivered in seconds. In fact, during the first three months of 2006, North Star processed nearly 24,300 quotes, with each completed transaction averaging less than five seconds. The end result, according to North Star, is improved customer acquisition, retention and overall satisfaction.
North Star also benefits from the pay-for-use metering capability of the ClearPath Libra system. Unisys servers are designed to power a real-time infrastructure that allocates computing power as necessary to support a client’s strategic business processes. The pay-for-use capability enables North Star to increase computing power whenever necessary while paying only for what it uses. This usage model not only helps the company realize cost efficiencies, but also can afford North Star greater visibility into how computing resources must be allocated dynamically to support its strategic business processes while eliminating system underutilization and the accompanying overhead.
“Unisys has an overriding objective in helping North Star Mutual and other clients build a real-time infrastructure – to provide greater visibility into their business operations that leads to more informed, high-impact business decisions,” said Rod Sapp, ClearPath Systems and Solutions, Unisys. “Also, the pay-per-use model and other advanced features of ClearPath Libra servers help North Star Mutual not only to apply computing resources to pressing business issues as necessary, but also to gain better understanding and control of the true cost of IT ownership.”
The ClearPath Libra 590 lets North Star run its night shift unattended. A text messaging system relays the status of jobs in process to certain programmers. That benefit not only reduces the time that IT staff must invest in monitoring and troubleshooting the system, but also allows them to focus their attention on more strategic areas of the business.
In addition, the computing power of the ClearPath Libra 590 has decreased the time for North Star’s nightly batch runs. Those jobs, which used to take between five and seven hours, now take only one to two hours to complete. That eliminates a pre-midnight crunch and enables the IT staff to start the new day fresh, said Scheer.
By delivering an optimal combination of power, scalability and economy, Unisys server solutions help customers such as North Star Mutual realize the benefits of secure business operations – breakthrough customer service, greater agility in IT management with minimized risk and higher availability, improved operational efficiency and enhanced cost control.
About North Star Mutual About Unisys Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. We provide consulting, systems integration, outsourcing and infrastructure services, combined with powerful enterprise server technology. We specialize in helping clients use information to create efficient, secure business operations that allow them to achieve their business goals. Our consultants and industry experts work with clients to understand their business challenges and create greater visibility into critical linkages throughout their operations. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
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