Source: i-flex solutions
i-flex solutions (Reuters: IFLX.BO/IFLX.NS), a leading provider of technology solutions to the global financial services industry has entered into a strategic alliance with Castek Software Inc., a Toronto based provider of insurance systems for the global Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance industry. As part of the alliance, i-flex has established an equity financing arrangement with Castek that allows for i-flex to become the largest shareholder in Castek.
In addition, R Ravisankar, CEO International Operations and Business Development of i-flex solutions has joined Castek's Board of Directors.
Currently, the Property & Casualty industry is dominated by legacy systems, which inhibit response time in operational priorities such as supporting customer centered business models, flexible product management and deployment, claims processing and in business-support areas of risk and profitability metrics. Making changes to existing applications invariably takes many months and is prohibitively expensive.
Castek's Insure(3) (pronounced "Insure cubed") suite, which addresses these challenges, is open-standards driven and ensures new product definition, configuration and deployment across multiple states and for multiple lines in a fraction of the time. The solution integrates seamlessly into existing systems of insurance companies and can be adopted in both mature and fast growing markets.
Celent, a Boston based research firm, forecasts that North American insurance carriers will spend more than US$1.4 billion on policy administration systems between 2004 and 2008. Over 50% of this spend is attributed to the Property and Casualty segment.
"Our investment in Castek creates a winning combination of i-flex's project and quality management skills built over a decade coupled with Castek's advanced product intellectual property and domain expertise. We are committed to the insurance industry and this initiative is in line with our mission of enabling financial institutions worldwide to excel through the use of technology," says Ravisankar.
Added Yung Wu, CEO of Castek, "Insurance companies seeking to upgrade their existing systems are concerned about risks associated with execution of such projects and seek partners who can mitigate these risks. i-flex's investment in Castek creates just such a strong partnership which addresses these issues as well as supports P&C insurers' need to respond in a timely, flexible and reliable manner to ongoing customer requirements."