Case in Point
Roll Out New Products, Right… On Target.
The Need
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is a not-for-profit public earthquake insurance program of the state of California. Through this program, participating insurers offer coverage and are paid a commission and servicing fee, while the CEA underwrites the risk.
CEA policies are offered for homeowners, mobile homeowners, condo unit owners and renters. California consumers must purchase their CEA policies from the same insurance company they use for their residential coverage. The CEA does not sell direct to consumers.
Carriers that would like to become CEA participating residential insurers are responsible for managing the needed CEA underwriting forms, notifications and procedures.
A Centralized Processing Solution
To support this need, Covenir worked directly with the CEA to understand its underwriting guidelines. Then, Covenir created a standardized, bundled solution that could be cost-effectively deployed by many different companies.
Eight different carriers have now deployed the CEA’s Centralized Processing Platform with Covenir BPO Services, saving money and avoiding the opportunity costs inherent to development lag time.
Each customer was able to start with the basic CEA service bundle and then add other Covenir service options (such as underwriting, customer service, premium services or print / virtual mail) as needed to get the CEA program up and running quickly.
The Amica CEA Deployment
One of these implementations was for Amica Mutual Insurance Company. Amica already offered earthquake coverage in California, but realized they had more exposure than they wanted. They decided that offering coverage through the CEA would help mitigate the risk. However, quick implementation was essential and there were many nuances in the process.
Amica partnered with Covenir in February with the goal of being ready to roll new customers into the CEA program by the end of the year. To their surprise, all the pieces were in place and working by August 1, almost five months ahead of schedule.
Those who are familiar with Amica know that the company maintains very high service standards, so entrusting the Covenir team to serve their policyholders was a big deal.
“This was the first time we outsourced a product we previously offered. We felt confident about Covenir because of their full transparency, collaboration and willingness to work with us,” says Beth Kozi-Lester, Business Analyst Manager. “They truly care about our customers,” she adds.
Covenir Customer Success Manager, Sallie Ricardo couldn’t agree more. “We always spend a lot of time learning our clients’ procedures and protocols so we can provide a seamless experience and maximize policyholder satisfaction,” she explains.
When Amica writes a California homeowners policy, Covenir is triggered to send out earthquake offer letter and quote. When the customer responds, Covenir manages the underwriting, customer service, premium collection and print/mail processes.
Why Reinvent the Wheel?
With Covenir’s CEA solution, carriers don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They can enter the market quickly, pick up commissions and service fees, and avoid the competitive disadvantage of not being a CEA participating insurer.
This is just one way that Covenir is helps insurers roll out new products quickly.
“The CEA program wouldn’t have come together so quickly without Covenir’s partnership. We are fortunate to work with a team that cares about our customers as much as we do.”
-Beth Kozi-Lester,
Business Analyst Manager,
Amica Mutual Insurance Company