NEW YORK, May 23--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest
Both companies to jointly develop and market insurance applications
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."
About Castek
Castek Software Inc. (Toronto, ON) specializes in strategic business
software for Property and Casualty insurance. Recognized for the advanced
architecture and flexibility of its products, Castek provides carriers with a
suite of core business processing systems for insurance product and process
configuration, policy processing, customer billing and claims management.
For more information, please visit http://www.castek.com or call
(416) 777-2550.
About i-flex solutions
i-flex(R) solutions (Reuters: IFLX.BO & IFLX.NS)) is a world leader in
providing IT solutions to the financial services industry. i-flex has serviced
over 540 customers in more than 110 countries. i-flex's range of products and
customized services enable financial institutions to cut costs, respond
rapidly to market needs, enhance customer service levels and mitigate risk.
For further information please visit: http://www.iflexsolutions.com
FLEXCUBE, Reveleus, PrimeSourcing, DayBreak Lending Suite, and other
i-flex products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective
logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of i-flex solutions limited in
India and in several other countries all over the world. All other product and
service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies
SOURCE: i-flex solutions
CONTACT: In North America, Penney Richardson, Phone: +1-415-771-8106,
Fax: +1-415-492-2810, [email protected],
In Europe, Sunil Robert, Phone: +44-2075314424,
Mobile: +44-7834461271, [email protected],
in India, Eapen Thomas, Phone: +91-22-2823-5190, ext. 5132,
Fax: +91-22-2836-3140, [email protected], or
in India/Apac, Parvez Ahmad, ext. 7515,
[email protected], or
Ramya B S, ext. 7294, [email protected],
Phone: +91-80-2208-3000 or 5759 3000,
all of i-flex solutions
Web site: http://www.iflexsolutions.com
http://www.castek.com
--Distributed by AsiaNet (www.asianetnews.net)--