You have much to consider in deciding whether now is the time to outsource underwriting. The interview that follows with Mr. Ramotar addresses some of the concerns of CEOs and chief underwriters.

When considering outsourcing, shouldn't underwriting departments be concerned they are delegating their established relationships with their field to a third party?

Yes, and we are very sensitive to this. As a third party, we always operate in the background. Basically, we mirror the approaches and philosophy of the underwriting departments we represent so that our involvement is seamless to the agent. Initially, we work with their underwriters to study their philosophy and their approach. We are able to achieve this within a couple of days because our underwriters average over 20 years experience. It has been our observation that when agents become aware of our existence, they accept us because our involvement significantly improves turnaround time. When there have been cases under appeal, which has been rare, underwriters have always found our decisions to be compatible with theirs.

How can you promise a quick turnaround time?

We try to turnaround work within 24 hours even if it means we must pay overtime. On our busiest days, we get the work out on time.

BIUS, Inc. has an effective file tracking system that enables us to locate files immediately. Clients have found that when they contact us, we can actually help them find where files are in their office!

Another advantage we have is that we rarely need to field calls from agents. Thus our underwriters are seldom distracted.

How can you offer quality that matches underwriting departments?

We perform intensive ongoing audits. We audit an average of 100 files per week for underwriting quality as well as for the clerical aspects (procedural audit) of the file.

Won't you cause duplication of underwriting because of in-house underwriters having to review appeals on cases you've done?

Our experience has not proven that. In fact, companies have said that in auditing the cases we have done, they have found our cases match theirs. As a result, they have made the determination not to review cases but to merely pass our decisions on to their agents.

We insist on our cases being reviewed for the first month. Our clients tell us they agree with our decisions and will not take appeals from agents. They have found that when they pull files, it does not change anything.

How can I sell outsourcing to my field when we have been promoting our in-house underwriting to them?

We always deliver on our promise of providing seamless services. Our decisions match theirs... no better, no worse. Our on-time service actually improves the rate cases get to issue departments. Agents love this.