Cheltenham, Gloucestershire-based Polaris UK Ltd says the tool set it has developed to enable the standardisation of the presentation of insurance products within the UK will be delivered at the end of March. Polaris is a company created by seven of the UK’s biggest insurance companies with the sole purpose of preventing intermediary methods of selling personal insurance via a broker, in the face of a concerted attack from direct telemarketing companies. Since companies like Royal Bank of Scotland Plc’s Direct Line started, the UK has seen the number of brokers dwindle to 18,000 from 22,000 and the trend is continuing. The Big Seven believe the way to prevent this decline is to standardise the way insurance companies present their products to software houses that then have to turn them into applications for brokers. The disparity in the way insurance companies give software houses information creates delays in getting products to market. But developing standards takes time, during which money is not being earned. This was partly the attraction of establishing Polaris. The set-up describes its tool set, Productwriter, as suitable for low cost electronic trading as it is basically a data dictionary that gives insurers sets of information for all possible details and permutations in the field of personal motor insurance. It enables the rapid production of products in a common format that can then be sent to software houses. There, using a translator, they are rapidly translated into programs that give brokers the basic products of underwriting and rates, data capture and validation, laser forms for customers and message format. ProductWriter is based on IBM Corp’s OS/2 and uses DB2 as the supporting database. Systems generated as data files running under the Polaris interpreter are written in C. Productwriter has been tested at the seven sponsor companies. Polaris will begin working with software developers in April. The developers will be able to buy the Productwriter tool set for a ‘nominal’ fee. Polaris is discussing the viability of a low-cost data integration standard with software companies that will result in specifications not needing to be reprogrammed. However, no agreement has yet been reached as to who will pay for this. But it is hoped that integration of the electronic distribution of point-of-sale completion processes will be launched by the end of the year. Roughly 20 software companies are involved in the project, with the main four being Misys Plc, Quotel Ltd, Northpark Ltd and Policy Master Plc. Polaris also hopes standards on the processes and procedures for full electronic data interchange will emerge. Full cycle means quotes, making new sales, any mid-term adjustments to policies and renewals. Polaris’ seven equal share sponsors are Commerical Union, Sun Alliance, Royal Insurance, Eagle Star, General Accident, Norwich Union and Guardian Royal Exchange which are estimated to sell ú5,000m of the UK’s ú7,000m personal motor insurance. Polaris has 18 associated members.
