SDT signs R2,9m deal with Best Funeral Society

SDT, the insurance software specialist in the JSE-listed SilverBridge group, has added The Best Funeral Society to its growing list of Exergy customers in a deal worth R2,9 million.

The Best Funeral Society is part of the Hollard Insurance Group and operates independently as a provider of tailor-made funeral package benefits, white label membership and comprehensive claims administration services to insurers, unions, companies, major retailers, undertakers and affinity groups such as churches, burial societies and stokvels.

The Best Funeral Society assists its partners and customers with product design, risk pricing, distribution and marketing strategies that allow them to brand their own unique product offering through appropriate channels. In addition, it offers a full membership and claims handling capability with embedded call centre facilities.

Situated in central Johannesburg, The Best Funeral Society is an established player in the micro-insurance market, providing funeral cover to its customers on a group basis, along with an individual retail sales offering.

The Best Funeral Society, while well established in the South African market, was looking for a proven administrative solution for the micro-insurance industry which would take it into developing countries throughout Africa.

It was vital that the specialist IT partner selected was well established in the micro-insurance industry, displayed very strong corporate governance and that the solution was scalable, says John Turnbull, MD of The Best Funeral Society.

In addition, the architecture had to be right, the fundamental underlying logic had to support this and the correct support infrastructure had to be in place. It was vital that the solution would support the companys growth plans and its requirements regarding off-site branch flexibility.

The selection process kicked off with eight possible candidates who were evaluated with assistance and expertise provided by Hollard. The emphasis was on a company with a proven track record in the insurance industry, together with the architecture and the fundamental underlying logic that allows for expansion. The initial eight possible candidates were reduced to five, then three and finally SDTs Exergy was selected.

SDT and The Best Funeral Society combined their experience in life insurance administration and system design to create and implement CommCentre Retail, a Web based-retail fulfillment application. "This exciting innovation forms part of SDTs solution portfolio," says Gawie Erasmus, COO of SDT. "Together with Exergy, CommCentre Retail will allow retail-based insurers such as The Best Funeral Society to accelerate their time to market, giving them a clear edge over their competitors.