Xuber and Howden Insurance Brokers Limited case study1. Xuber Case Study
Xuber and Howden
Insurance Brokers Limited
We’re not so different.
When Howden wanted to enhance its agility to further
improve client service, it looked no further than Xuber, its
incumbent partner for Brokasure Desktop, to provide it with
solutions that transformed some manually intensive tasks.
The Customer
Founded in 1994 with just one office, Howden Broking Group has extended its reach as a global provider of specialist
insurances to have over 40 offices in 22 countries today. Awarded Insurance Broker of the Year in 2011, Howden has
a strong reputation for understanding its clients’ in depth wholesale and reinsurance requirements and delivering
exceptional service, from initial negotiations right through to the settlement of claims. Used by particular divisions
within Howden Insurance Brokers Ltd for many years, Brokasure Desktop is part of a software family that can
automate the entire insurance life cycle for international intermediary insurance firms around the globe.
2. The Challenge The Approach
Managing a number of varied risks for clients, would help us to move away from paper-based As its incumbent software solution for a large
Howden needs to produce a large volume of manual tasks to one that used real-time data proportion of the business, Brokasure Desktop
client account statements on a regular basis, all more effectively, thereby providing a better delivers several different modular products.
of which were manually produced and printed service for our clients”.
“Seamless integration of any new tool is
every month, and then posted to clients.
Another challenge facing Howden was how to of significant importance to us and Xuber,
“Producing statements for our clients provide management and the business with and they were able to enhance our existing
was a time consuming task,” commented accurate and up to date information quickly in solution to address our challenges,” said
Jackie Hobbs, Business Process & Systems a variety of formats. As Hobbs outlined, “We Hobbs. “Xuber developed a new module
Implementation Manager for Howden. “We found it difficult and time consuming to turn our (eStatements) for a sister company, which they
had to manually raise and print each individual data into flexible and useful information”. then adapted to suit our requirements, thereby
statement and then post it out. Special allowing us to automate our manual statement
Howden needed to harness the power of its
stationery was required and the relevant printer processing, and together with a reporting
data to help its operational team drive benefits
was out of action for other users for an entire tool provided by Xuber (SID), allowed us to
for the company.
day each month. We needed a solution that manipulate and report on our data”.
The Xuber Solution End Processing
In addition to running and maintaining Brokasure its exact needs. “Our account manager is
eStatements Desktop, and providing tailored modifications an ‘industry expert’, and his experience and
The comprehensive Insurance Broking to the solution, Xuber also performs Howden’s knowledge means that any requested changes
Accounts (IBA) ledger incorporates key facilities Brokasure Desktop operational tasks. “This to our Brokasure solutions are incorporated
aimed at ledger control and bad debt exposure. time-critical processing, which Xuber performs within a very short space of time”, said Hobbs.
eStatements reduced the time for Howden at the end of each day, month and year, enables
to prepare and distribute statements, which our in-house IT resources to concentrate on Accuracy of Information
improved the flexibility of service Howden other areas”, commented Hobbs. Prior to implementing SID, Howden used to
was able to provide its clients. manually run system default reports. “We can
The Benefits now run pre-built reports around aged debt,
SID Reporting Tool for example. At the push of a button we get a
Cost Savings
This tool provides the ability for Howden to clear picture of specific, real time data which
By automating the creation and production of arms our finance team with the information they
extract critical information from a central SQL
its accounting statements, Howden has realised need to concentrate efforts in this area, making
database for comprehensive management
cost savings in both employee productivity the process more effective and efficient for all
reporting without reducing the performance of
and physical resources. “eStatements has parties concerned”.
the processing application. The tool enables
enabled us to save not only on postage and
ad-hoc queries or scheduled reports to be built
stationery, it has reduced the workload of a Partner Confidence
quickly and uses real time data from the MI SQL
senior IBA technician’s in relation to these
database, which is subject to daily integrity Brokasure Desktop has been a market leading
tasks significantly”, confirmed Hobbs.
checks to ensure the MI data is in sync with product for over 30 years, proving its continued
the detail contained within Brokasure. worth to the insurance market. “By meeting
Enhanced Customer Service
changes demanded by the market such as
“The reporting tool provides us with the ability Howden can now automate the frequency of its regulatory requirements or integration with
to easily perform simple ad-hoc enquiries and statements, giving their clients an up to date view Microsoft platforms, we can see that Xuber is
searches from complex reporting without the of their situation. “eStatements has made a huge committed to keeping their product up to date
need for specialised IT technical knowledge. difference to the IBA team, releasing the pressure and relevant, which is important to us”, said Hobbs.
We can now see information electronically in and helping them to provide a more accurate
a variety of formats and distribute this quickly service to our clients with real-time statement The Future
to our management or divisional teams as information. In addition, SID is very agile and
required”, commented Hobbs. “The tools main Howden actively works with Xuber to enhance
fast in producing reporting in a format that can
benefit for Howden is that it provides the means Brokasure Desktop through a joint development
be tailored with our own corporation details
for people without an IT technical background initiative. “We have a say in how the software
and sent to whomever requires the information.”
to accurately provide up to date information as is developed, and work as an integral part of a
and when required. Additionally, reports can be team that makes sure that the solution supports
Responsive
published to a web based application, meaning our objectives”, concluded Hobbs.
they can reach a wide audience, wherever Xuber employs experienced insurance
they are situated. And when we don’t have professionals, which means its clients benefit
the resources to do that, Xuber does it for us”. from working with a partner that understands
To receive our latest customer case studies,
or if you would like to become one, please
contact us at xuber.com
©Xchanging 2012 Xuber UK Xuber USA Xuber India Xuber Malaysia
Headquarters 200 W. Adams, Suite 1175, 271 Udyog Vihar, Phase-II, Unit 2B-2-1, Plaza Sentral,
34 Leadenhall Street, Chicago, IL 60606, USA Gurgaon-122016, India Jalan Stesen Sentral, KL Sentral,
London, EC3A 1AX, UK +1 877 288-3333 +91 (0)78382 43333 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+44 (0)20 3604 3333 team@xuber.com team@xuber.com +91 (0)78382 43333
team@xuber.com team@xuber.com