AG Insurance has a longstanding tradition of collaborating with external partners such as banks and brokers who sell AG Insurance products. These partners need a direct connection to AG Insurance software to be able to draw up contracts efficiently, so the insurer wanted to find a way to share information more easily. AG Insurance also wanted to start using external software packages faster without becoming dependent on them. In 2011, after writing to multiple companies, AG Insurance opted to start collaborating with Codit. This IT partner supervised AG Insurance very intensively as a consultant and provided extensive training for the switch to BizTalk. This successful collaboration and knowledge sharing means AG Insurance’s IT department can now implement new integrations independently.

1. Reference Case | AG INSURANCE
www.codit.eu | info@codit.eu | tel. BE +32 3 844 31 72 | tel. FR +33 1 77 18 16 82 | tel. PT +351 21 3304403/4
1
AG Insurance improves efficiency and
flexibility with BizTalk
The client
AG Insurance started operating in the region that later became Belgium in 1824.
The organisation now has more than 3.5 million customers and is the market
leader in the Belgian insurance sector. It employs around 4,400 people across
various branches. AG Insurance has insurance products for private individuals,
professionals, self-employed people and large organisations. Services include
life insurance, indemnity insurance and all possible solutions for supplementary
pensions. AG Insurance products are sold through independent Insurance
brokers and Fintro agents, in BNP Paribas Fortis offices and via bpost bank.
AG INSURANCE
The challenge
AG Insurance has a longstanding
tradition of collaborating with
external partners such as banks
and brokers who sell AG Insurance
products. These partners need a
direct connection to AG Insurance
software to be able to draw
up contracts efficiently, so the
insurer wanted to find a way to
share information more easily. AG
Insurance also wanted to start using
external software packages faster
without becoming dependent on
them.
The solution
AG Insurance decided to stop
integrating its individual systems
manually and instead to switch
to a standard approach based on
Microsoft BizTalk Server (later
BizTalk). In 2011, after writing to
multiple companies, AG Insurance
opted to start collaborating with
Codit. This IT partner supervised
AG Insurance very intensively as a
consultant and provided extensive
training for the switch to BizTalk.
This successful collaboration and
knowledge sharing means AG
Insurance’s IT department can
now implement new integrations
independently.
Referencecase
www.aginsurance.be

2. Reference Case | AG INSURANCE
www.codit.eu | info@codit.eu | tel. BE +32 3 844 31 72 | tel. FR +33 1 77 18 16 82 | tel. PT +351 21 3304403/4
fltr: Toon Vanhoutte, Integration Architect at Codit
- Steven Van Meirhaeghe, I&O Middleware Techni-
cal Analyst at AG Insurance - Dries Verbiest, IS
Integration Architect at AG Insurance
2
“Codit supervised us perfectly throughout our switch to Microsoft
BizTalk Server,” says Dries Verbiest, IS Integration Architect for
AG Insurance. “Our internal processes run much more efficiently
now. We used to program everything ourselves, which didn’t result
in great flexibility. But thanks to BizTalk, we can now integrate new
software packages in half the time it used to take us.” Steven Van
Meirhaeghe, I&O Middleware Technical Analyst for AG Insurance:
“We can start projects or collaborations with new partners much
faster now too. It’s made us a much more flexible organisation.
BizTalk makes the information we share a lot more traceable too
– extra security.”
A total of around 4,400 people are employed by insurance company AG
Insurance. The internal IT department has 600 employees. So it’s a big
IT team, which until recently did all its own software development. AG
Insurance has a longstanding tradition of collaborating with external
partners such as banks and brokers who want to draw up AG insurance
contracts using their own IT systems, so both parties’ software applica-
tions need to be able to exchange and synchronise information. AG Insur-
ance also wanted to do less of its own development: ‘buy before build’. The
aim was to be able to start using standard software packages easily with
an efficient link to the existing environment. This approach also means the
organisation works independently of the software purchased.
No more time-consuming testing
“We used to invest lots of time in our own development,” explains Dries
Verbiest. “And there was no standard approach – different teams had their
own working methods, which made managing the whole environment
much more laborious. It took a long time to test each new application and
build interfaces manually. This has been halved by BizTalk now, depending
on the project of course. Costs have therefore also been halved. The devel-
opment and maintenance costs are much lower with BizTalk than with
our own developments too, and a generic approach means we can often
re-use components. Now that we’re spending less time on development
work, we have more time to focus on the business side of things, analyses
and quality.”
Abstract interlayer
Microsoft BizTalk Server now forms an abstract interlayer that links
the IT environment to its external partners and their software packages
without interfering with existing technology. BizTalk does the conversion
work between the various IT languages, both as far as the content is
concerned – for example the fields in insurance forms - and with regard to
the technological code. AG Insurance employees, partners and customers
can all benefit from the integration channels that BizTalk provides. Some
data is continuously synchronised for online services, with other synchro-
nisations running in the background or at night.
Benefits
• 50% less time and costs required
to integrate and start using new
software
• Extra transparency and visibility
through BizTalk monitoring
• Security based on international
industry standards
• More time for analyses and quality
• Standardisation and improvement
of internal processes
• More efficient collaboration with
external partners
• AG Insurance can now respond to
new requirements and requests
more flexibly
• AG Insurance can now implement
new integrations independently
thanks to the intensive knowledge
sharing with Codit consultants

3. Reference Case | AG INSURANCE
www.codit.eu | info@codit.eu | tel. BE +32 3 844 31 72 | tel. FR +33 1 77 18 16 82 | tel. PT +351 21 3304403/4
3
BizTalk has another positive effect
on working methods. It brings
consistency to the whole environ-
ment, so integrations are now always
unambiguous via BizTalk. Clarity and
uniformity triumph.
Standard software the most
profitable option
“Our decision to stop programming all
our own software means that we now
always check first to see if there is a
package available on the market that
meets our requirements,” says Steven
Van Meirhaeghe. “We also check to
see which option is most beneficial
– also in terms of maintenance. It’s
clearly more profitable to purchase
standard software for our integra-
tion layer; it’s easier to collaborate
with other companies with standard
software, and easier to find consult-
ants who know the technology well
too. BizTalk has also been developed
in .NET, so we can re-use lots of our
existing .NET framework, and we also
don’t need to resolve ‘out-of-the-box’
needs with Extensibility in .NET. We’re
a Microsoft-oriented company, so
the choice for BizTalk was obvious.
Building our own integration layer
to that standard would certainly be a
very difficult task.”
“MicrosoftBizTalkServerisacomplete
integration package which has
already proven its quality and stability
extensively,” adds Toon Vanhoutte,
Integration Architect for Codit. “It’s
been around for more than 14 years
and is implemented worldwide with
a very large and varied customer
base, so any teething problems were
resolved a long time ago.”
Intensive supervision and
knowledge transfer
AG Insurance collaborates with
Codit - who mainly took the lead as
consultant in this project - at all levels
for the BizTalk project, from software
teams to infrastructure architects.
Everything took place in consultation,
and Codit supervised the implemen-
tation using its own methodology
and best practices. “We were here
almost all the time to start with,
then that became once a week, and
now someone visits twice a month,”
says Toon Vanhoutte. “Following this
intensive knowledge sharing and four
training sessions, the AG Insurance IT
department was able to continue the
implementation independently.”
AG Insurance is also very happy with
these training sessions. “When we
“The integration of each new
application used to require
a long time to test and build
interfaces manually. This has
been halved by Microsoft BizTalk
now, depending on the project of
course. Costs have therefore also
been halved. The development
and maintenance costs are much
lower with BizTalk than with our
own developments. And now
that we’re spending less time on
development work, we have more
time to focus on the business side
of things, analyses and quality.”
Dries Verbiest, IS Integration
Architect at AG Insurance

4. Reference Case | AG INSURANCE
www.codit.eu | info@codit.eu | tel. BE +32 3 844 31 72 | tel. FR +33 1 77 18 16 82 | tel. PT +351 21 3304403/4
4
recruit a new member of staff, we send them to Codit for 4 days’ training as
standard,” says Steven Van Meirhaeghe.
“Codit offers much more than
just the standard training too,”
adds Toon Vanhoutte. “We base
ourselves on our own experience
built up in projects. When we’re
already familiar with the client, as
in this case, we know exactly which
aspects we need to look at, so we
can make optimum use of our
time.”
Futureproof work
AG Insurance can always call on
Codit with specific questions about
BizTalk when it can’t immediately
find an answer itself. Steven Van
Meirhaeghe: “We can always reach
Codit when we need help or advice, and we’re always given a correct answer.
They visit regularly to see what else can be improved. Because Codit is up
to date with news from the ‘BizTalk Community’ and has direct contact with
the Microsoft product team as a Microsoft Gold Partner, we always get good
advice. Its BizTalk and integration events are also very interesting. They
show for example what latest versions have to offer, so that we can work in a
futureproof way, without having to do all the leg work ourselves.”
“Codit always gives us correct answers to our questions.”
Steven Van Meirhaeghe, I&O Middleware Technical Analyst
at AG Insurance
www.aginsurance.be
“We base our training sessions
on our own experiences built up
in projects. When we’re already
familiar with clients, we know
exactly which aspects we need to
look at.”
Toon Vanhoutte, Integration
Architect at Codit
fltr: Dries Verbiest, IS Integration Architect at AG
Insurance - Steven Van Meirhaeghe, I&O Middleware
Technical Analyst at AG Insurance