FINEOS Corporation, the leading innovator of banking and insurance software, has announced it has secured its largest deal to date, within the public sector in New Zealand.
FINEOS will provide the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the state body responsible for administering New Zealand's accident compensation scheme, with the FINEOS Claims Manager solution. The FINEOS contract is valued at NZ$39m and will include licenses, services and committed support over a five-year period. ACC will spend the rest of the project's NZ$120m budget on testing, training staff and integrating FINEOS with ACC's other software.
Phase One of this project should be completed by the end of 2005 and will see FINEOS replace ACC's existing Pathway claims management system. The new FINEOS Claims Manager product will provide ACC with functionality in a number of areas and will be used by about 1300 of ACC's 2000 staff. Critically, unlike process- or payment-driven systems, it will provide all parties involved in the claim with the ability to work from a holistic case management hub. This will lead to more timely intervention, improved collective performance and better outcomes.
Furthermore, the FINEOS Claims Manager will provide process management to reduce overheads around document processing, faxing, photocopying, letter generation, etc.; task management to automatically create, allocate and monitor tasks; relationship management to provide secure, web-based information for third parties; and management information to monitor individual and team performance, check pipelines and manage reserves.
When completed, the FINEOS project will deliver strategic benefit in the following three areas: improved claimant satisfaction; improved scheme performance in terms of cost; and by enabling ACC to engage more effectively with providers and the broader healthcare sector.
Garry Wilson, CEO, ACC said: "We chose FINEOS because of the strength of its case management solution which will improve claim management and enable ACC to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. We expect to be able to further improve our services to claimants and other stakeholders."
Michael Kelly, CEO, FINEOS, said: "ACC is our first New Zealand customer and to have such a respected organisation on our client list is a great endorsement of FINEOS. This project will allow them to automate their entire claims process, enabling ACC to not only reduce costs and increase efficiencies but also to provide better customer service and satisfaction. I am confident that successful delivery on this deal will ensure further successes for FINEOS, both locally in New Zealand and the broader Asia Pacific market."
FINEOS recently completed a "proof of concept" project at ACC worth NZ$6.8m. This pilot project was implemented over a six-month period and its success was the key factor in FINEOS being awarded the final contract. The strength of the FINEOS case management functionality and the flexibility of its underlying business rules engine were also factors in the decision process.