Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
March 18, 2004 at 07:00 PM
With baby boomers representing an increasing share of the retirement and financial services market, agents and carriers are turning to technology for the latest tools to boost sales efforts and aid in serving customers.
Several software vendors have made recent announcements of tools in such areas as sales, illustration and customer service.
Illustrate Inc. of Toronto, Canada, has announced availability of new Web-based in-force universal life and new business policy illustration products. The company says the new products “have the power to provide head office staff and distributors with uncomplicated access, anytime and anywhere, to the most comprehensive and current policy and client data.”
They also can run reports and handle transactions “instantly” and can “submit fully compliant illustrations electronically along with the application,” the company notes. Illustrations can be saved and retrieved online. A field representative can “present the customer with a full view of their options and projections, as well as all supporting materials and forms, in one visit,” says Illustrate Inc.
“These products were built by boomers,” states Mara Bartolucci, spokesperson for Illustrate Inc. “The people youre selling to and the people who built them are the same audience.”
The products typically would be purchased by carriers, who would send them out to brokers and agents, she explains.
“For Illustrate Inc. clients, Web-based applications are significantly reducing application maintenance and support costs, and eliminating distribution and version control expenses,” says Zahir Dhalla, president of the company. “Customers can now efficiently maintain and support a single version of each of their in-force and new business illustration applications on their central servers. Without further intervention, updates, rate changes, product changes, etc., reach all users at once.”
The Microsoft Windows-based products are priced at $50,000 per year for a minimum corporate licensing of components, but costs may range up to $1 million to $2 million, including consulting, for larger installations, says Illustrate Inc.
BISYS has announced its new Rollover Solutions Network, a technology platform that automates opening IRS rollover accounts and facilitates paperless distribution.
According to New York-based BISYS, the network will be accessible in the second quarter of 2004 via the companys Web site for retirement plan participants. The network automates “numerous time-consuming and error-prone manual processes,” the company says. It functions as an electronic interface between BISYS recordkeeping platform and various applications that are used to open brokerage accounts.
The platform facilitates real-time openings of IRA rollover accounts and electronically processes participant distributions, says BISYS. It also automatically tracks distribution and rollover activity.
According to Christopher Guarino, president of BISYS Retirement Services, the new network “streamlines a very manual process” involved in moving from a 401(k) plan to an IRA. Normally, this process involves much paperwork and opening of new accounts. The network, he notes, automatically establishes a new IRA account, generates needed transactions and automatically transfers funds.
“Automating the IRA rollover and distribution process will address an industrywide need for retirement services providers and enable our plan sponsor clients to enhance their participant services,” he continues.
Institutions utilizing the platform pay an account setup fee of $45 per account, he adds. More information is available at www.bisys.com.
Torrid Technologies Inc. has released version 3 of its Retirement Savings Planner 2004-Professional Edition.
