Willis Launches Electronic Platform for Faster Premiums, Claims Payments

Willis Group Holdings has launched Willis Accounting, a new global electronic accounting platform designed to speed up cash flow and settle claims more quickly with carriers and clients.

Following a successful pilot, Willis Accounting replaces traditional paper and email delivery of statements with automatic electronic messaging through an online portal, the company said in a statement.

Willis noted that the online portal will be supplied to around 1,100 carrier partners around the world, with comprehensive training materials provided.

“Clients of Willis as well as underwriters will see significant benefits from the new electronic system including enhanced cash flow, reduced risk though guaranteed data delivery and quicker claims settlement,” Willis noted.

The new investment is part of Willis’s Operational Improvement Programme, first announced in April 2014, designed to ensure Willis “remains a market leader in electronic accounting,” the company added.

In recent years Willis said it has won 14 global ACORD Awards for delivery of accounting systems.

“As we continue to implement operational improvements across Willis we are squarely focused on delivering better service for our clients and carriers. Improving our operations will make Willis more globally connected, improve our efficiencies and give us much better tools to do our job even better,” said David Shalders, group operations & technology director for Willis Group.

“The steps we are taking in electronic accounting are a great example of this approach,” he added.

“Our new electronic accounting system is an early example of what can be achieved by innovating with technology and by taking a globally consistent approach to our operations and processes,” he said.

“Willis Accounting will accelerate the process of agreeing claim and premium transactions, support financial reporting and improve the reconciliation process,” Shalders went on to say.

Willis Accounting has been developed in partnership with the software company Ebix.

“Willis and Ebix are leading the global market in electronic accounting and settlement,” said Jeff Ward, vice president and head of Ebix Europe. “This will rapidly accelerate the worldwide adoption of ACORD Ruschlikon* at a speed and cost that peer-to-peer messaging can simply never achieve.”

“[F]aster settlement and the eradication of unallocated cash are now significantly closer,” he added. “We are delighted that our EbixExchange platform was chosen to underpin Willis Accounting which is supported by our renowned team of experts here in London.”

[ACORD says the Ruschlikon Initiative connects leading players of the re/insurance industry to advanced back office processes such as technical accounting, claims and settlement using the ACORD Global Reinsurance and Large Commercial (GRLC) Standards.​]

Source: Willis Group Holdings