East Tennessee Mutual Insurance Company
New core system enables mutual insurer to triple direct written premiums
Deploying a New System Moved East Tennessee Ahead of its Peers
East Tennessee Mutual Insurance Company (East Tennessee Mutual) was handicapped by an antiquated core system. Daily processing generated volumes of paper. The renewal process was so laborious it had to be started a month early. System limitations blocked agent access and reporting limitations obscured key metrics.
After a particularly heavy CAT, East Tennessee Mutual’s management team knew it was time for a change. The company selected the BriteCore Platform and began to experience significant improvements immediately after moving to the new core system. The renewal process became a simple daily exercise. The company gained access to key metrics and corrected reporting issues hidden by its prior system. BriteCore’s intuitive agent portal was easy for new agents to learn and use, and BriteCore’s automation and online workflows accelerated quoting and claims processing.
Since deploying BriteCore the company has expanded its agent network, completed two mergers, and nearly tripled the direct written premium it writes. East Tennessee Mutual plans to continue growth through mergers and state-wide expansion.
East Tennessee Mutual: Personal Touch and Peace of Mind Backed by Continuous Improvement
Founded in 1896 by farmers, East Tennessee Mutual Insurance Company offers fire insurance for farms and dwellings, and a full homeowner policy. The company follows the values of its founders by emphasizing honesty and providing policyholders with a personal touch and peace of mind. To meet the changing needs of policyholders, the company has expanded its coverages to include mobile homes, doublewides, personal contents, and condos. The company continues to explore new products and new opportunities to serve its policyholders.
Moving Past System Limitations to Secure the Company’s Future
East Tennessee Mutual’s decade-old policy administration system had severe limitations that were impacting the company’s performance. The system provided no access for agents. The renewal process was so labor-intensive it had to be started a month in advance. Claims had to be managed outside the system with a mix of online and offline spreadsheets and documents. Management reports were summaries with limited detail, and these were only available upon request from the system’s vendor.
Establishing a Foundation for Success with BriteCore
East Tennessee Mutual was falling behind the industry. When the company experienced a major catastrophic event that overwhelmed their legacy core system, East Tennessee Mutual’s management approached the board and made the case for a new policy administration system. With the poor experience from the CAT fresh in their minds, the board readily approved. The company selected the BriteCore Platform and completed its implementation before the end of that same year.
New Capabilities Open Opportunities for Growth
Upon implementing BriteCore, East Tennessee Mutual gained new visibility into key metrics, streamlined internal processing, and could now provide its agents with an intuitive portal with quoting and self-service capabilities.
Improved management reporting and insights
With BriteCore, East Tennessee Mutual’s management team gained access to reports with the detail they needed to effectively run the business. They identified and purged undesirable risks, and corrected errors and overstatements that had been hidden in the prior system.
Enhanced speed and processing efficiency
BriteCore’s intuitive workflows for agents and staff made it easy to learn the new core system and to streamline daily processing activities. Presorted renewals were automatically printed and ready for mailing each morning. The claims process, administered within BriteCore, was fast and efficient. New claims could be processed as they were received and the entire claim file, including financials, was maintained in BriteCore and available to all parties.
Accelerated growth through independent agents and mergers
Free from the burden of manual processing, East Tennessee Mutual focused on growth. The company expanded the number of agents actively writing business. Using BriteCore’s rapid product configuration, the company introduced new products and coverages. East Tennessee Mutual also pursued opportunities for mergers. Since adopting BriteCore, the company has successfully completed two mergers.
The company also leveraged vendor integrations, such as Authorize.net for payment processing and InsVista for mortgagee notification, to enable business processes at East Tennessee Mutual to be automated directly from the BriteCore Platform.
East Tennessee Mutual’s improved operations, new products, expanding agent network, and successful mergers have enabled it to nearly triple its direct written premiums since implementing BriteCore. Looking ahead to the future, the company plans to continue their track record of growth within Tennessee, enabled by their modern core system.
