3i Infotech launches India's first insurance broking exchange

Mumbai: Global provider of IT solutions and the fourth largest Indian Software Product company* 3i Infotech today announced the launch of Premia Insurance Broking eXchange (IBX), a first of it's kind subscription-based internet solution for the Indian insurance industry.

Premia IBX will provide a common pay-per-use platform where insurance brokers can interact with insurance companies and customers in order to provide the best possible insurance cover to consumers across India.

Launched to aid the insurance broking fraternity in India with support from the Insurance Brokers' Association of India (IBAI), Premia IBX is based on the application service provider (ASP) model and hosted at 3i Infotech's Vashi Data Centre in Mumbai.

Premia IBX enables brokers to interact and transact with potential customers across India in real-time. Through the system, they will have access to information on available products, customer requirements as well as exhaustive comparative tools in order to assess various policies and match them to customer requirements.

This will ensure that brokers are able to provide the end customer with insurance solutions uniquely suited to them. Aimed at the larger interest of the Indian insurance industry as well as consumer welfare, Premia IBX will become an all encompassing, integrated system that will provide the industry with a common communication and interaction platform.

The Premia IBX service will be available to the insurance industry including 200 plus insurance brokers and the 30 insurance companies across India. On a subscription-based model, Premia IBX, will be offered with a nominal monthly fee, so as to help brokers to avoid large IT investments in software and related hardware.

Based on a pay-per-use policy, billing to brokers will be dependent on the quantum of usage. 3i Infotech will introduce this service to its customers on September 19, 2006 at the Annual Conference of Insurance Brokers organised by IBAI.

Commenting on the launch, Bharat Boda, president, IBAI, said, "The Indian insurance industry is poised for tremendous growth with the anticipated deregulation. This initiative by 3i Infotech is a step in the right direction, as it will help in future market growth, while providing consumers with customized insurance solutions. Additionally, it will also provide an impetus to insurance brokers - including corporates and individuals - who will now have access to a cost effective IT infrastructure and an insurance industry knowledge base for increased business agility."

He added, "IBAI has long been involved in IT initiatives for the Indian insurance industry. With the launch of Premia IBX, we are glad to enlist the support of 3i Infotech, a renowned player in the BFSI domain and specifically in the insurance vertical."

Elaborating on the rationale for the launch of Premia IBX, Hari Padmanabhan, deputy managing director, 3i Infotech, said, "With the addition of many new Insurance companies in India and the numerous products offered by them, currently Indian insurance brokers face a daunting task of servicing a rapidly expanding customer base. Through Premia IBX, we aim to bridge the information gap between brokers, insurance companies and consumers by facilitating information assimilation and provide customer centric insurance solutions in a competitive market."

"The exchange will enable brokers to have access to a new technology solution without the related concerns about infrastructure and its management. The launch of Premia IBX will empower the insurance industry at large and thus provide the much needed impetus to the insurance market. 3i Infotech's technology edge will power the insurance industry's quest of being an interconnected and agile business community across the Insurance value chain" he added.

3i Infotech, a SEI CMMI Level 5 compliant orgsnisatation with ISO 9001:2000-certified infrastructure services, has been rated by Dataquest as one of the top four Indian software product companies among the two fastest-growing Indian software product companies for the last two years in a row. The company provides software solutions for the banking, insurance, capital markets, mutual funds, government, manufacturing, retail and distribution verticals and services customers in over 45 countries.