New features enhance integration with agency management systems including Applied Systems’ TAM, streamline usability for surety bond processing

WESTBROOK, ME – October 10, 2012 – Insurance Automation Group announces version 5.0 of its iAutomate: Erlon Surety software, a surety workflow automation solution that reduces the costs and the potential for error in developing and managing surety bonds. New functionality includes administrative features as well as improvements in how iAutomate: Erlon Surety integrates with agency management solutions, including Applied Systems’ TAM.

New features and enhancements to iAutomate: Erlon Surety include:

• TAM interface: When users export a new policy into their TAM agency management system, iAutomate: Erlon Surety will now create the transaction information needed to process the invoice. Additional transactions against policies now capture updates to the billing screen to include change in status and to update effective and expiration dates. These new features allow a more efficient workflow for users, and help reduce errors and omissions caused by multiple re-keying of information.

• Manage user lists: The new version enables clients to identify system users as Active or Inactive, enabling them to better manage users lists within iAutomate: Erlon Surety.

• Multiple transaction codes: iAutomate: Erlon Surety can now identify multiple transaction codes against a transaction type, e.g. NEW for New Business, and NEW1 for New Business First Year. Previously, the solution allowed only one transaction code per transaction type.

“This latest version of iAutomate: Erlon Surety is a culmination of technical expertise and user input, with advanced intuitive features and expanded interface capabilities that will deliver a significant improvement to the results produced,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “Our agency customers heavily rely on iAutomate: Erlon Surety to improve their surety bond workflow processing, and we are pleased to work with them to include the features and functionality they request.”

The new version of iAutomate: Erlon Surety is available now and integrates with the Epic, Vision, and TAM agency management systems from Applied Systems; Vertafore’s Sagitta and AMS 360; AFW; QuickBooks; and Peachtree. Insurance Automation Group is an Applied ConneXion® Integrating Vendor.

The March 2012 issue of Construction Executive features an article titled "Software Lets Sureties Focus on Building Relationships." Authored by Jeff Bucci, Insurance Automation Group's Director of Business Development, the story focuses on how surety agencies can improve their workflow and build business using surety automation software. The story features two of Insurance Automation Group's customers: Matt Cashion of The Cashion Company, and Pat Borchers of RJF, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Company. Read the full story.

Surety solution manages workflow for underwriting, booking, and account management, enabling Aspen to focus on their producers and client relationships within their commercial surety business

WESTBROOK, ME – October 5, 2011 – Insurance Automation Group (IAG) announces that Aspen Insurance has chosen its iAutomate: Company Surety solution to help launch its commercial surety business. Aspen U.S. Insurance will use the surety platform for underwriting, as well as integrated booking and account management, as it builds its specialized commercial surety business.

“We have clear objectives for our emerging surety business, and we wanted to focus on our producers and our client relationships rather than on building a software solution,” says Michael Toppi, EVP-Chief Surety Lines Underwriter, Aspen Insurance. “Upon review of several surety solutions available in the market, it became quite obvious to our team that Insurance Automation Group and their products were best suited to meet our specific automation requirements; IAG has a strong surety platform and a robust technical team – this partnership is the right investment for our surety business.”

iAutomate: Company Surety helps surety companies streamline workflow and manage the volumes of information required to support underwriting and portfolio management needs.

“We welcome Aspen Insurance to the commercial surety business, and are pleased the company has chosen our iAutomate: Company Surety solution,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “We look forward to supporting their growth with our technology, our people, and our expertise.”

About Aspen U.S. Insurance

Aspen U.S. is a subsidiary of Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., a leading global insurance and reinsurance company and listed on the NYSE (AHL). Aspen U.S. writes property, casualty and specialty insurance in the U.S. on both a surplus lines and admitted basis through Aspen Specialty Insurance Company and Aspen American Insurance Company. It offers depth of underwriting expertise and the ability to assess and manage technically complex risk. Its commercial surety business was launched early in 2011. For more information, visit http://www.aspenspecialty.com.

Enhancements to surety workflow software improve usability and workflows to boost surety agency efficiency and profitability

WESTBROOK, ME – July 27 2011 – Insurance Automation Group announces version 4.7 of its iAutomate: Erlon Surety software, a surety workflow automation solution that reduces the costs and the potential for error in developing and managing surety bonds. The new version adds a number of enhancements designed to improve usability and efficiency, including a timesaving automated bond renewal feature and one that provides more insight into data across modules.

“Anytime we can reduce duplicate steps or decrease the amount of manual data entry, we are adding time and profitability to our agency customers,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “This new version of iAutomate: Erlon Surety improves workflows and provides the insight agencies need to focus on their customers and build their business.”

One major enhancement enables users to preset miscellaneous bonds to renew automatically. Many agencies must renew hundreds of bonds per month; with this new feature, users can identify the bonds to be renewed as they are entered, saving hours of manual labor. Agencies also can process and print bonds in batches based on user-identified criteria.

In addition, users can view a full picture of all of the requirements associated with Contract Bond and Miscellaneous Bond activities of clients without having to switch between modules. Enhancements to the Principal Financial Analysis module provide more user flexibility and robust reporting options. In addition, all rates associated with a Principal now are displayed in the Principal Demographic section of the software.

A new live link enables users to connect directly with the online Help Desk without having to open an external web browser application. Other internet connectivity enhancements include a feature that enables users to access web pages by simply clicking on the URL within a contact’s detail information, and one that enables users to add frequently visited URL to the menu tool bar.

New and Enhanced Features Include:

• Help Desk link: Online Product Support is now an active link that will take users to the Insurance Automation Group Help Desk home page.
• New shortcuts: Obligee and Surety icons are now available in the toolbar to increase user flexibility in navigating from different areas of iAutomate: Erlon Surety.
• Scheduler upgrades: the Surety of record for the bond will also be displayed AND bond statuses can now be changed from the Scheduler and on the fly as necessary.
• Miscellaneous and Contract bonds can now be linked so that a full bond history of all bonds needed for a particular job can be viewed as a package.
• Copy job functionality that existed in T-Erlon is now included in web-based iAutomate: Erlon Surety.
• Multiple enhancements to the Miscellaneous Bond Scheduler.
• Multiple enhancements to the Principal Financial Analysis and Work on Hand tools.
• All rates associated with a Principal will now be displayed via View Rates in Principal Demographics.
• Miscellaneous bond auto renewal functionality and batch printing are new features of the Miscellaneous bond module.
• The yellow highlight in select fields throughout bond processing has been removed as well as the PH and PQ columns and fields.
• Bond rates can now be downloaded directly from the Calculate rates screen.
• Two new Management reports will be available in addition to the standard Management report: by Producer and by Servicer.
• Web pages can now be accessing by simply clicking on the address from the Detail tab of any Demographic.
• Links will now be added to the menu tool bar for quick Internet access to a regularly used website.

New version of surety workflow software will streamline invoicing by eliminating duplicate manual data entry

WESTBROOK, ME – April 28, 2011 – Insurance Automation Group announces version 4.6 of its iAutomate: Erlon Surety software, a surety workflow automation solution that reduces the costs and the potential for error in developing and managing surety bonds. The new version now integrates with Vertafore’s AMS360 agency management system. Insurance Automation Group has signed an Integration Program Agreement with Vertafore, a provider of software and services to the insurance industry,

With this integration, agencies can continue to use iAutomate: Erlon Surety as their end-to-end surety bond processing and reporting system, and export data seamlessly to AMS360 for invoicing and billing. Agencies no longer need to manually re-enter information from one system to the other, saving both time and money in daily processes.

“Invoicing is a common transactional effort, and the elimination of manual data entry will be a significant time saver for our joint insurance agency customers,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group.

Additional enhancements for this version of iAutomate: Erlon Surety include:

• Travelers Time Surcharge, which enables users to calculate time surcharges on long-term bonds, and
• The compression of forms and reports, which provides enhanced management and space within iAutomate: Erlon Surety’s database.

New version of surety workflow software reduces costs and improves efficiency for insurance agencies that sell surety bonds

WESTBROOK, ME – March 24, 2010 – The Insurance Automation Group, a Workgroup Company and Applied ConneXion® Integrating Vendor, announces that it has released Version 4.4 of its iAutomate: Erlon Surety software, a surety workflow automation solution that reduces the costs and the potential for error in developing and managing surety bonds. The new enhancements include the ability to manage dividends associated with Texas-based construction projects, to electronically transmit bid-bond data, and to improve navigation and workflow. New updates include:

• Texas Dividends Module: This new feature enables agencies that write bonds for Texas-based projects to calculate and manage the dividends given to contractors that successfully complete contracts on time with no claims. iAutomate: Erlon Surety enables agencies to calculate premiums based on SFAA rates, as well as manage the process of collecting the dividend owed by the surety and remitting payment to the contractor.

• Surety2000 Interface: iAutomate: Erlon Surety now integrates directly with e-commerce surety bond repository Surety2000, which enables agencies to submit surety bid bond data electronically, reducing clerical errors and streamlining their surety workflow processes.

• Bond Processing Options Toolbar: Buttons used to process bonds have a new static toolbar at the top of the screen.

• Improved Search for Contract Bond Job Name Field: This field is now driven by a unique word look-up rather than via pull-down menu, slashing the time required to find a specific job.

• Principal Bond Card Redesign: The Principal Bond now displays the most commonly used information in the leading columns.

“Our community of users relies on iAutomate: Erlon Surety to streamline their surety bond departments’ workflow,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “They provide solid ideas that help us enhance the software, enabling surety departments to save time and money, improve efficiency, and build their surety business.”

Automation solution enables one of the largest surety bond companies in Puerto Rico to streamline workflow, speed processes, and reduce costs

WESTBROOK, ME – May 29, 2009 – The Insurance Automation Group, a Workgroup Company and Applied ConneXion® Integrating Vendor, announces that Universal Insurance Company has chosen their firm to develop an enterprise software solution to automate its surety bonding workflow. Insurance Automation Group is the developer of iAutomate: Erlon Surety, a leading surety workflow automation solution for insurance firms.

Surety bonds are three-party agreements where sureties issue bonds for principals to provide protection to a third-party – the obligee – for fulfillment of a particular obligation. Principals provide this guarantee in the form of surety bonds, which they purchase from a surety company such as Universal Insurance Company. Surety companies weigh multiple factors when determining whether to underwrite a project, and require volumes of information on work performance, financial health, contractor workload, and more. Managing the flow of information between all parties involved is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process; Insurance Automation Group’s surety software solutions streamline this workflow to improve efficiency and performance while reducing costs and the potential of error. In addition, the software provides decision-tree information to agencies that enable them to make bonding decisions that follow the surety’s protocol, reducing the time required to issue bonds and improving customer service.

“Universal Insurance Company keeps up with the latest technological solutions, in order to provide our employees with the necessary tools to offer the first-class service our clients have learned to expect from us,” says Luis Miranda Casañas, CEO and Chairman of the Board for Universal Group. “The Insurance Automation Group has been key in maintaining our efficiency and improving customer service in the Surety Department.”

“Insurance firms throughout North America use iAutomate: Erlon Surety to manage their workflow and grow their businesses, so it was a natural fit for us to develop a tailored solution for Universal Insurance Company,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “We are pleased to be chosen by Universal Insurance Company, one of the largest surety companies in Puerto Rico, to help automate its surety bonding processes.”

About Universal Insurance Company

Universal Insurance Company is one of the leading property and casualty insurance companies in Puerto Rico. A dynamic organization with more than 800 employees, Universal Insurance works continuously in the creation of personal and commercial coverage, and is active in the implementation of the latest technology and quality systems. It offers miscellaneous and construction bonds, including bid bonds, performance bonds, and payment bonds. For more information, visit www.universalpr.com.

Surety broker that specializes in non-traditional markets uses iAutomate: Erlon Surety to streamline and manage workflow processes

WESTBROOK, ME – May 12, 2009 – The Insurance Automation Group, a Workgroup Company and Applied ConneXion® Integrating Vendor, announces that CCI Surety, Inc. has chosen its iAutomate: Erlon Surety workflow automation solution. CCI specializes in underwriting non-standard surety bonds, and iAutomate: Erlon Surety enables it to manage the specific notification and reporting processes required for that market space while streamlining its entire surety workflow processes.

CCI provides surety bonds to contractors that are entering the commercial marketplace. Because these contractors present a higher risk than those with commercial experience, CCI needs to consider a broad variety of parameters when deciding whether or not to issue bonds. The company chose iAutomate: Erlon Surety for its ability to manage and track this information, and seamlessly transmit it to agencies, surety companies, and the contractors.

“We researched a number of systems before deciding on iAutomate: Erlon Surety. Current users shared their great results, and recommended the product highly. And the company was extremely responsive in answering our numerous questions,” says Michael D. Williams, President, CCI Surety, Inc. “We believe iAutomate: Erlon Surety will help to make CCI even better at what we do every day in the Surety world.”

“CCI works with a market sector that requires it to track and manage a large volume of information – a challenge that requires a reliable and efficient automation solution,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “We’re pleased that CCI chose iAutomate: Erlon Surety to streamline its surety bonding workflow processes.”

About CCI

CCI Surety, Inc. (“CCI”) is a licensed insurance agency specializing in the surety bond industry. Organized in 1999, CCI specializes in non-standard underwriting of contract and commercial surety by applying non-traditional solutions such as funds control, collateral, engineering, or SBA guarantees. CCI represents A-rated and Treasury Listed companies and has single bond capacity up to $50 million to handle the larger accounts as well as the day-to-day routine accounts. CCI is based in Golden Valley, MN. For more information, visit www.ccisurety.com

iAutomate: Erlon Surety will export bond data seamlessly to Surety2000 to provide secure electronic surety bonds without manual re-keying, improving efficiency and reducing costs

WESTBROOK, ME – April 27, 2009 – The Insurance Automation Group, a Workgroup Company and Applied ConneXion® Integrating Vendor, announces that it has signed an agreement to integrate its surety workflow automation solution, iAutomate: Erlon Surety, with Surety2000.

Insurance firms and contractors subscribe to the Surety2000 system, which submits their bid bond directly to the owners/obligees electronically, free of clerical errors, paperless, and protected from fraud by utilizing a digital signature. Surety companies can track and monitor surety bonds and powers of attorney electronically, while surety agents can issue bonds instantly. With the new integration, firms that use iAutomate: Erlon Surety will be able to transmit surety bond data directly to Surety2000 without re-keying. This will save considerable time and money by expediting the process of submitting a bid bond electronically. Additionally, it is expected to help eliminate duplication and reduce errors.

”This integration falls within our initial workflow model wherein surety processing systems can move data from the surety agent to the owner/obligees,” says Joe Sforzo, President, Surety2000. “Integrating with a state-of-the-art system like iAutomate: Erlon Surety is a great step toward recognizing Surety 2000 as the national repository for surety bonds.”

“Electronic submission of bid bonds is rapidly becoming the industry standard, and insurance firms need to streamline the steps involved with processing surety bonds,” says Jeff Bucci, National Sales Manager, Insurance Automation Group. “With this new integration to Surety2000, firms that use iAutomate: Erlon Surety will be able to enter data once, and transmit it seamlessly.”

About Surety 2000

Surety2000 is a web-based system designed as an e-commerce clearinghouse for the insurance industry. Through its two flagship products, Bond Management System 3.0 and CertFocus, the insurance professional now has a leading-edge tool to provide reliable, timely, and validated electronic certificates of insurance and surety documents to a certificate holder and owner/obligee. For more information, visit www.surety2000.com.