PROFIDA Integrates with Stride
The PROFIDA Team, a leading provider of insurance management software, has integrated with the Short Term Insurance Data Exchange (STRIDE) switch. STRIDE, with Astute as its technology partner, is delivering an industry standard to the short-term insura
Says Deon Olckers, CEO of STRIDE, “The STRIDE project was initiated as a joint venture between the South African Insurance Association (SAIA) and the Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA) to fulfill the legislative requirements in the new binder regulations, which require insurers to have access to client and policy data.”
This means that insurers, underwriting managers (UMAs) and broker administrators have to exchange and update detailed policyholder and policy information on a regular basis. This is a change from the way things are currently done, with only some information like policy numbers, policyholders’ names and premiums collected being exchanged. In terms of current practice, insurers are informed about the policyholders’ contact and additional policy details only at the time of a claim.
The new requirements will result in the frequent exchange of high volume data encompassing, amongst others, items and sums insured, policy amendments, as well as claim information. As a result, the exchange of data needs to be as automated as possible across different policy administration and underwriting software systems.
“Without the STRIDE switch implementing such an undertaking would not be feasible due to the fact that the systems used by industry stakeholders have different underlying databases, field structures and technology. These differences make a direct data exchange between systems impossible,” explains Olckers.
The STRIDE electronic interchange acts as a post office between stakeholders to which data is sent, for example, by an UMA. Data is encrypted to ensure security before being forwarded to the addressed insurer. As the UMA sending and insurer receiving data will have both have implemented the STRIDE standard there will be no compatibility issues ensuring the smooth flow of underwriting and claim data between all short-term insurance industry stakeholders.
Astute, the specialist information technology company that provides data exchange services to financial services companies, was appointed as the technology partner to STRIDE early in 2011.
Says Biddie Biddulph, MD of Astute, “This is an industry owned and managed solution. All the necessary processes are in place to ensure security and integrity of the data and no parties other than the intended recipient will have access to the detail of the message being processed.
All parties connecting to the switch require mapping data to the SA ACORD AML standard. This involves software development to integrate with the technology and the completion of a certification process. “
PROFIDA’s policy administration and underwriting software is developed using the latest Java Enterprise technology. It is one of the first systems to complete initial integration with the STRIDE switch to provide copies of policy, claims and bordereaux information to insurers underwriting the specific risk.
Says Daniel Putra, MD of the PROFIDA Team: “As a technology leader it was important to us to enable the sharing of information in line with the legislative change and we are proud that our clients are able to meet the deadline. Our success is largely based on PROFIDA’s speed, agility and flexibility to integrate with different standards and technologies.
Not only will our clients be compliant as of January next year, but they will benefit from a single set of data communication standards that will lead to cost effective delivery mechanisms, improving products and services to the benefit of insurers and policyholders. “
The second phase being implemented by PROFIDA will enable bi-directional messaging. In practical terms, bi-directional messaging can be used, for example, to submit a claim to and then receive claim status updates directly into PROFIDA from the insurer.
