WEB SERVICES PROVIDED TO INSURANCE COMPANIES BY AGROSEGURO

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2 WEB SERVICES PROVIDED TO INSURANCE COMPANIES BY AGROSEGURO Vienna, 1 October 2013 Ignacio Machetti Agroseguro - Chairman

3 CONTENTS I. Web services (WEB-S) 1. What is a web service? 2. Functions of a web service 3. Advantages and disadvantages 4. How web services work II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 1. Origin 2. Development of the WEB-S 3. Available web services 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S 5. Future web services III. Conclusions

4 I. Web services (WEB-S) 1. What is a web service? 2. Functions of a web service 3. Advantages and disadvantages 4. How web services work II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 1. Origin 2. Development of the WEB-S 3. Available web services 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S 5. Future web services III. Conclusions

5 I. Web services (WEB-S) 1. What is a web service? We can basically say that a web service is a technology for offering services (functions) based on data exchange between different software applications developed in different programming languages and operated via any platform. Web services can be used to exchange data either across internal networks (Intranet) or via the Internet. CLIENT CLIENT CLIENT CLIENT WEB-S SERVER CLIENT

6 I. Web services (WEB-S) 1. What is a web service? A step forward... In recent years, insurance companies have been looking for greater interoperability with fast access to a high volume of information but without losing any freedom with regard to their use of technological systems, programming languages, etc. These requirements have been met through the implementation of web services, which have proven their effectiveness by offering good results. This has all been made possible thanks to the use of a set of communication protocols and standards supported by major technology manufacturers (IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, HP etc.) and with a text-based format that makes it easier to access their contents and understand how they work.

7 I. Web services (WEB-S) 2. Functions of a web service In general, web services can be used in any area of work where data needs to be exchanged between different applications, and they are particularly suitable for conducting inter-company operations. Several usage examples of WEB-S include: - Obtaining calculation results - Accessing databases and collecting records - Validating information On the other hand, the ability to combine multiple web services opens the door to new business opportunities as it is easier to interact with business partners thanks to the ability to share internal services with a high degree of integration.

8 I. Web services (WEB-S) 3. Advantages and disadvantages a) Advantages WEB-S promote interoperability, enabling different companies in different geographic locations to share information and to have access to integrated services. Flexibility: as the application using the web service and the service itself are entirely independent, there is no reason for changes to one to affect the other. Easy to implement, as based on easily understandable standards. Tools exist that make it easier to develop and create web services. Cost reduction: the functions are developed by the company offering the web service while the clients who use the services simply have to program the calls to the services and incorporate the results into their applications.

9 I. Web services (WEB-S) 3. Advantages and disadvantages b) Disadvantages A sole point of failure can be identified: the risk of system downtime or dropped communications. However, this can be minimised through equipment redundancy and data transfer lines in different locations.

10 I. Web services (WEB-S) 4. How web services work Web services involve the following activities: The client sends a request to the WEB-S server by transmitting different parameters previously agreed between the two parties. The server conducts the necessary IT processes and returns a response to the client. The client incorporates the data received into its information systems in line with its needs. C L I E N T COMPANY SERVER AGROSEGURO SERVER

12 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 1. Origin The gradual increase in lines of insurance, new types of cover, the combination of insurance options and the like progressively increased the complexity of managing agricultural insurance, especially with regard to the contracting processes used by the insurance companies. Every change to the conditions of every line of insurance was associated with the dispatch of high volumes of information that the insurance companies had to incorporate into their IT systems. This almost always involved a significant investment to adapt their applications to the changes, during which time was a key aspect. This situation led us to instigate a search for a solution to mitigate the existing problems. We found this through the... DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF WEB SERVICES

13 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 2. Development of the WEB-S Over the last few years, AGROSEGURO has worked on the design and construction of web services for use by the insurance companies in the co-insurance pool. This new technology was implemented with the following aims: To ensure standardised and centralised data handling. To reduce investments in IT development, especially by the client (coinsurance companies). To optimise our business processes, incorporating a more flexible data exchange system with enhanced data quality. WS COMPANIES

14 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 2. Development of the WEB-S The web services at AGROSEGURO are principally intended to integrate companies applications with AGROSEGURO s applications (B2B). They act as business tools that standardise data (risks, rates, prices etc.) and business rules in a central location, in contrast to the traditional data input models and standards for the development of applications. WS BUSINESS RULES DATA COMPANIES

15 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 3. Available web services Currently, there are 15 web services available, which offer functions principally aiming at simplifying policy subscribing processes for insurance companies. They can be divided into groups as follows: a) Policy subscribing-related services: - Calculation of yields and adjustment of the expected production - Original calculation, validation and printing of the policy b) Policy management-related services: - Review and printing of the updated policy situation - Listing and review of receipts - Requests for and dispatch of policy amendments

16 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S In general, the use of web services for managing agricultural insurance has made it possible to: - Eliminate information distribution processes. - Publish changes online without needing to distribute amendments or new annexes. - Make it easier for companies to manage their contracting processes, enabling them to retain their designs and corporate images. - Reduce costs. - Reduce the time it takes to receive documents. - Increase the quality of the data received. - Improve our internal processes.

17 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S In particular, the implementation of the WEB-S for policy amendments has enhanced our business process due to: - Reducing the timescales for processing change requests. - Automating a key part of the process (which also involves a cost saving). - Increasing the quality of the data received as this can be validated before it is sent.

18 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S a) Reduction of timescales As an example, timescale reductions in the process for managing policy amendments are: 2012: 41,095 change requests Average time for a request processing Previous system WEB-S without automatic update WEB-S with automatic update 3 minutes 1 minute 0 minutes Annual time (based on 2012 data) Previous system WEB-S without automatic update WEB-S with automatic update 2,054 hours 684 hours 0 hours Annual saving: From 1,370 hours To 2,054 hours

19 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 4. Improvements facilitated by WEB-S b) Cost reduction F O R M E R P R O C E S S COMPANIES Creation and dispatch of change requests POSTAL COSTS Management of the decisions Communications Printing of change requests PRINTING COSTS Recording of change requests RECORDING COSTS Preparation and dispatch of the written decision (by post) POSTAL COSTS TIME DIFFERENCE C U R R E N T P R O C E S S COMPANIES Creation and transmission of the change Management of the decisions WEB-S WEB-S Printing of change requests POSTAL COSTS ONLINE Recording of change requests POSTAL COSTS Dispatch of decision data

20 II. WEB-S at Agroseguro 5. Future web services COMMUNICATION OF CLAIMS SIGPAC IDENTIFICATION (zoning, tariffs) WS QUERIES ON AN ADJUSTMENT PROCESS S SITUATION INSURED S INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR CONTRACTING PURPOSES QUERIES ON A CLAIM S SITUATION

22 III. Conclusion The usefulness of web services in organisations depends on the functions that these services offer and their ease of use. The use of this technology is advisable for processes that involve an exchange of information (data or images). Considerable time and cost savings are made.

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