Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) is to utilise its financial processing centres in India and South Africa to offer back office outsourcing solutions to UK life and pensions providers.
CSC claims that it will be able to reduce administration costs by between 30 and 50 per cent, potentially saving the industry £1bn a year, by using its existing financial processing centres in Nodia and Indore, India and Cape Town, South Africa to manage policy processing and administration.
Andy King, CSC's head of business process outsourcing, financial services, EMEA, says falling equity markets have forced companies to cut back on staff and consider hikes in premium. He comments: "If the industry is to fully recover, new ways of doing business must be looked at, particularly to reduce the huge amount spent on back office administration."
"Policyholders can be confident they will receive the same customer service they're used to," adds King.
The move puts CSC firmly into market space occupied by Marlborough Stirling, the UK vendor which recently reported technical difficulties in implementing its largest-ever outsourcing contract at Sun Life in the UK.