FALLS CHURCH, Va., Jul 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — CSC (CSC 45.04, -1.14, -2.47%) today announced that its Wealth Management Accelerator and CyberLife software for life insurance and annuity providers received “Positive” ratings in Gartner’s MarketScope for North American Life Insurance Policy Administration Vendors report, authored by Steven Leigh, a Gartner principal analyst.
CSC is one of 11 insurance software vendors whose 12 policy administration systems were evaluated by Gartner. No system received a higher rating than “Positive.” According to the report, “upgrading or replacing aging core policy administration systems has become an important requirement for increasing business, and many insurance companies are pursuing a strategy of minimizing the number of policy administration software systems or, if possible, deploying a single enterprise solution.”
“The fact that CSC signed five new policy administration systems deals in 2009 indicates insurers are looking to simplify their systems environment, speed and enhance support for new products and services, and improve customer service,” said Michael W. Risley, president of CSC’s Life Insurance and Annuity Division. “Whether an insurer’s focus is reinventing processes to improve the customer experience or launching bold new products, CSC’s policy administration solutions provide function-rich, comprehensive support that will help companies accomplish their strategic goals and reduce the risks associated with a system replacement.”
The report includes only the vendors who “demonstrated clearly identified multiple-function applications and/or corresponding modules to serve a diverse market of life insurance and annuities for core policy administration,” defined as the management and maintenance of policy values, customers and transactions. The vendors “must offer their clients differentiating value in price, flexibility, services or demonstrated expertise. Included in this year’s MarketScope are only vendors with six or more production customers, three of which must be Tier 1 or Tier 2 customers in North America.” Criteria for the ratings include market understanding, offering strategy, product/service and overall viability.
Two CSC solutions are rated in the report. Wealth Management Accelerator is a comprehensive system for companies to rapidly launch new products and enable policy owners to freely move between accumulation and distribution in a single contract. Also included is CyberLife, a Web-enabled, real-time system that supports both traditional and non-traditional North American life and annuity products. It offers full processing, regulatory support, correspondence, billing and collections, commissions and financial reporting.
