In a strategic move designed to improve the collection of monthly premiums and the customer experience, Stangen partnered with SilverBridge for the development of a new debit order solution that would be integrated into the Exergy policy administration environment of the niche life insurer.
“We were reliant on an alternative debit order premium collection system but started encountering several challenges with it. For example, manual intervention was necessary on some aspects that not only impacted on the integrity of the data, but also resulted in the non-collection of some premiums. Additionally, there were technical constraints in terms of file structures and layouts,” says William Harris, COO at Stangen.
Another consideration was around the use of Debicheck that requires financial institutions to comply with certain regulations when dealing with a debit order premium instruction. This resulted in Stangen investigating more effective ways of managing its debit orders.
Stangen has a good relationship with SilverBridge with the Exergy implementation and reached out to the organisation to develop a new debit order solution. The core SilverBridge development and client teams worked closely with the Stangen representatives to make sure the new debit order functionality would address all their unique requirements.
As part of the project, SilverBridge used a re-iterative process during design and testing. This resulted in the development of a more streamlined and effective debit order collection process that could be implemented at Stangen.
“Given our knowledge of the customer’s environment and their requirements of integrating the debit order process with Exergy, our team came up with an innovative solution that would support two different collection systems,” says Wouter Mathlener, Implementation Consultant at SilverBridge.
The first is developed around the Naedo principle. This sees the system periodically striking the relevant bank account on the collection date. The debit will take place as soon as funds are available. If the funds are not available on this first strike, the account will automatically be struck until such time that funds are available. The second system is built on the ‘same day collection’ principle. This is where premiums are collected only on the specified instruction date with no other date permitted.
“As part of our work with Stangen, we implemented a comprehensive data checking facility to ensure the integrity of the data would not be compromised as was the case with the previous, manual-driven environment. Using our solution, Stangen was able to streamline its premium collection process and secure the tracking and reconciliation of its data,” adds SilverBridge’s Mathlener.
Stangen’s Harris says the SilverBridge solution provides the insurer with a platform for growth.
“As a result of our new debit order environment, we have been seeing improved business efficiencies. And with debit orders now being processed as instructed by our clients, their experience has also improved due to us eliminating any missed premium collection dates. Furthermore, Stangen now has a platform to implement Debicheck,” says Harris.
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SilverBridge
SilverBridge has over 24 years’ experience as a leading provider of insurance software solutions in the African financial services industry. Our experience includes working with over 60 customers across 16 African countries. SilverBridge’s digital suite allows financial services companies the opportunity to respond quickly to changing markets. With customers throughout Africa, SilverBridge has the knowledge, experience, and technology capabilities to help its clients do better business.