The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is to kick off pilot trials of a programme to automate sales processing between US insurance carriers and distributors.
The service will offer secure access to an integrated suite of tools that will replace the manual processing of insurance sales, says the DTCC. A portal and hub will route messages between insurance carriers, distributors and service providers, replacing disparate technology that currently prevents data exchange between firms.
The DTCC will provide overall system integration, money settlement, communications network, maintenance services and a product profile repository.
The corporation says it will deliver the service by combining its own insurance processing capabilities with products from other service providers ansd vendors. DTCC has recently signed an agreement with BPO firm Bisys and is in the final stages of completing agreements with two other firms.
Randy Grespin, managing director and group business unit executive, DTCC, says the solution will make selling annuities and life insurance products as simple and as easy as selling a stock, bond or mutual fund.
"In this highly streamlined process, insurance carriers should also realise significant expense reductions compared to the largely manual and paper intensive process which exists today," says Grespin.
The service will be piloted with a limited group of participants in Q3 with full production expected in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approval.