Steel Card Delivers Web-Based Quoting Solution to California State Automobile Association
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--July 14, 2003--Northern California's Largest Insurer Capitalizes on Steel Card's
Apogee(TM) to Deliver Automobile Insurance Quotes in a Fraction of
the Time
Insurance technology pioneer Steel Card today announced the completion and launch of a new web-based insurance quoting system based on its Apogee(TM) platform for the California State Automobile Association (CSAA). With the Steel Card solution, CSAA for the first time is able to provide California consumers with instant, online quotes for automobile, homeowner's, rental and condominium/townhouse insurance.
CSAA, the AAA chapter serving Northern California, Nevada and Utah, insures one of every four cars in Northern California, making it the largest provider of auto coverage in the northern part of the state. CSAA is California's fourth largest insurer of residential property.
"Delivering the online quoting solution for an insurance industry icon like CSAA is a big win for Steel Card and our Apogee solution," said Max Drucker, managing partner at Steel Card. "CSAA prides itself on superior service and wanted that same experience to extend to the web. Steel Card has helped move CSAA in front in terms of its web quoting capabilities."
Online Quotes--Instantly
CSAA rolled out its new online customer quote system this month following an intensive four month collaboration with Steel Card. Prior to the online quoting system, CSAA insurance customers could request information via the web, visit a regional CSAA office or speak with an agent over the phone to secure a quote and coverage.
Now, by logging on to www.csaa.com, consumers can obtain a "2 Minute Quote." The web-based quote solution is dynamic, allowing consumers to change their coverage options and instantly review how those changes impact their policy cost prior to talking to an agent. Once a quote is displayed -- or while a consumer is obtaining a quote -- they can request to speak with a CSAA agent. Selecting the "Contact Me ASAP" button prompts a call from a CSAA representative agent within 15-minutes (from 8am - 8 pm, PST). Consumers also have the option for a call-back within one business day from an insurance representative based in their local CSAA office. Information gathered on the new online quoting solution feeds directly into CSAA's lead management system, providing instant access for both CSAA's direct and district office sales channels.
"Since our founding more than 100 years ago, CSAA's goal has been to deliver information and services in the best, most convenient and cost-effective way possible. We have no doubt -- the web is an invaluable tool in the insurance industry and Steel Card's Apogee has proven to be an ideal foundation," said A.J. Goldsmith, Vice President, IT Business Development at CSAA. "We are committed to providing our customers with easy-to-access online information backed by top-notch, personalized service. We believe this combination of technology and the human touch will continue to set us apart in the $900 billion property and casualty insurance industry."
Insurance quotes for "non-standard" automobile coverage can also be obtained through CSAA's new online quoting solution. These policies are underwritten by Western United.
Apogee: The Foundation for Web-Based Insurance Services
Apogee utilizes an innovative design that allows CSAA to centrally manage rules and processes, as well as product, and other variances across the enterprise. With Apogee's fully decoupled architecture, seamless integration with third party products and CSAA's legacy systems is possible, providing CSAA with the flexibility to extend its solution to other areas of the insurance "life cycle," as well as to support other insurance products.
"From rating and underwriting to policy administration and customer relationship management (CRM), Apogee is able to serve as the cornerstone for insurers seeking to lower costs, increase production, and maximize underwriting effectiveness," added Drucker. "The platform is designed to grow with the company, helping to eliminate the high costs and programming hassles often associated with extending web-based business processing to each area of the enterprise."
Steel Card's Apogee is an enterprise-ready solution, including comprehensive support of widely used technologies and established standards, including XML, Java, and ACORD. With its modular architecture, Apogee can seamlessly allocate hardware resources by task, user type, or load profile, delivering performance and flexibility beyond any client-server and 3-tier system on the market today. Additional servers can be brought online in under an hour with no additional software costs or programming required. Apogee also provides enterprise-grade security with support for full system lockdown and encryption at every level, as well as sophisticated access control tools.
About Steel Card
Headquartered in Santa Barbara, Calif., Steel Card is the developer of Apogee, an end-to-end, robust, and remarkably flexible net-centric platform that enables insurers and financial institutions to sell and service property and casualty insurance. Founded in 1998 by the award-winning team behind eCoverage, Steel Card produces technology that empowers companies to be proactive in the insurance marketplace. For more information, please visit www.steelcard.com.
About CSAA
Established in 1902, AAA is a not-for-profit, fully tax-paying federation of 77 motor clubs with more than 1,100 offices, serving 46 million members throughout the United States and Canada. The founders of the California State Automobile Association (CSAA) were pioneers interested in progress, dedicated to service and committed to their communities. Today, with four million-plus members in Northern California, Nevada and Utah, CSAA offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to meet its customers' changing needs.