Customer stories

Acuity

Acuity streamlines personalized, multi-channel correspondence. Insurance provider saves time, secures compliance with OpenText Exstream

Challenges

  • Manual document creation from a library of nearly 2,400 templates
  • Compliance risks from files frequently being downloaded for easy access
  • No centralized repository with version control for company-wide consistency
  • Lack of governance, causing costly IT management, decreasing productivity and increasing resource needs

Results

  • Reduced volume of forms by close to 30 percent

  • Expected savings of 70,000 business user hours, 9,000 IT hours every year forecasted

  • Mitigated risk, enhanced service with compliant, personalized communication

Story

While Acuity consistently met client and employee needs, some legacy technologies and processes were no longer efficient. To correspond with customers, employees manually created documents from an unwieldly library of close to 2,400 templates for use within three applications, including an end-of-life mainframe print system and a proprietary internet application. Files were frequently downloaded to desktops for easy access which led to unnecessary risk. While forms were updated, the company lacked a centralized repository with version control for company-wide consistency. The lack of governance proved cumbersome for users and costly for IT management, decreasing productivity and increasing needed resources.

a man in a tie talking to a couple

Using OpenText, we’ve reduced the volume of forms by 28 percent, and based on business user experiences thus far, we expect annual savings of 70,000 business user hours once all of the centralized printing is complete.

Marcus Knuth
Vice President for Enterprise Technology, Acuity

To continue to meet growth and customer experience targets, Acuity’s leadership team established enterprise goals for digitization. The insurance provider embraced a corporate Global Forms Solution, powered by OpenText Exstream™ Customer Communications Management. It engaged ValueMomentum, an OpenText solutions provider and integration partner, to help develop and combine system components.

“Acuity replaced resource-intensive manual business processes and numerous outdated IT technologies with a modern, centralized and intuitive platform in Exstream,” said Chris Lensmeyer, a senior business analyst with the insurance company. “OpenText Exstream™ Empower Editor enables business users, enterprise-wide, to easily create personalized communications while ensuring appropriate governance.”

Acuity expects to streamline operations by eliminating redundant forms and consolidating required files for users across all business lines and several business groups. Customer representatives create and deliver correspondence via the browser-based Exstream Empower Editor with automated form creation workflow. Interactive communication will be distributed via multiple channels, including print, email, social media and video. Policies and bills are also being converted and, eventually, all forms will be accessible via an Acuity integration layer that communicates with Exstream: updates will stay universal and branding consistent while document controls will ensure legal and regulatory compliance.

“Quantitatively, the project achieved impressive results,” said Marcus Knuth, vice president of enterprise technology at Acuity. “Using OpenText, we’ve reduced the volume of forms by 28 percent, and based on business user experiences thus far, we expect annual savings of 70,000 business user hours once all of the centralized printing is complete.”

In fact, following the implementation of its Global Forms Solution powered by OpenText, Acuity reduced resources required for form changes and maintenance by 65 percent year-over-year. Business users enthusiastically embraced the elegant design and productivity-enhancing capabilities within Exstream Empower Editor, including automatic prefill, computations and references. “We have gained a modern, intuitive customer communications creation system that slashes effort while enabling relevant documents to be generated anywhere, anytime using laptop, hand-held and mobile devices,” Lensmeyer said.

Through the elimination of legacy systems and associated maintenance costs, Acuity foresees annual savings of 9,000 IT hours. Executives also anticipate a redirected focus to more value-added projects to improve hiring and retention of IT talent as well as drive other modernization efforts, including key enterprise-wide initiatives to expand into new markets and implement electronic fulfillment.

Acuity achieves governance and compliance by making forms available only via the centralized Forms Portal and a restricted edition option, enabling managers to control which versions are used throughout all Acuity business units and lines of business. “This ensures our forms are always consistent with our corporate branding while also reducing the legal and regulatory risks associated with generating documents based on outdated forms,” Lensmeyer noted.

Following its investigation of customer communications management solutions, Acuity selected Exstream and Exstream Empower Editor for its centralized repository, flexibility in rich media and intuitive, integrated platform. Leveraging internal expertise and off-site consulting in agile methodology from ValueMomentum, the implementation team converted approximately 1,100 templates and trained 50 people across Acuity business units to develop form specifications.

The Global Forms Solution currently addresses the needs of claims, billing, loss control, marketing, premium audit and customer service across personal and commercial lines. Acuity plans to continue streamlining forms creation for its employees, adding capabilities, including e-signatures, to the portal.

About ValueMomentum

ValueMomentum provides software and services to insurance, healthcare and financial services firms. It maintains delivery centers in Piscataway, New Jersey and Hyderabad, India.

We have gained a modern, intuitive customer communications creation system that slashes effort while enabling relevant documents to be generated anywhere, anytime using laptop, hand-held and mobile devices.

Chris Lensmeyer
Senior Business Analyst, Acuity

About Acuity

Acuity built its reputation by protecting what matters to its customers and providing what works for its employees and partners. Acuity operates in 26 states, employs 1,300 people and manages nearly $4 billion in total assets. The property and casualty insurance company also maintains an independent agent network of close to 25,000.

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