San Francisco, CA, USA October 18, 2006
Celent looks at insurance accounting and financial system solutions.
In a new report, Insurance Accounting System Vendors 2006, Celent looks at insurance accounting and financial solutions from five vendors. Solutions fall into two groups: enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors and independent software vendors with a broad insurance focus. The report features Celent"s ABCD Vendor View, which presents a comparative view of the vendor marketplace that visually represents four elements: Advanced technology and technical flexibility, Breadth of functionality, Customer base, and Depth of client services.
Each of the five insurance accounting and financial solutions profiled in this report has its own strengths. Some offer a broad set of financial functionality bundled with a general ledger application and are integrated with more general ERP applications. Others have been created specifically for the insurance industry and linked to statutory filing systems and investment management systems. Some are built with modern languages and can run on almost any platform. Others emphasize innovative account code structures, integration methods, and ease of use.
"There are only a few compelling reasons that would make an insurer change its accounting system," said Donald Light, senior analyst and author of the report. "These include: pain from an inefficient and inflexible legacy system; the speed, accuracy, and efficiency offered by a new and integrated set of accounting and financial applications; and the benefits of insight into how activities contribute to revenue, expenses, and profit through the use of cost accounting, performance, and analytics. This report provides an informational foundation for any insurer looking for a new accounting and financial solutions."
The 47-page report contains three figures and 38 tables. A table of contents is available online.
