Equator
Overview
Equator is RDT’s award-winning data orchestration tool. It was designed in collaboration with insurers and MGAs, and it’s changing the way that insurance is sold.
Equator, a centralised rating platform, provides accurate real-time risk rating, drawing on data from third party information feeds to enable our MGA clients to calculate the right price for the right risk. With Equator, MGAs can manage their rates in real time and handle 50 million quotes a day.
The reliance on broker software houses to distribute rates is antiquated and Equator does away with the need to distribute rates altogether. Thanks to its lightning-fast capabilities, Equator allows MGAs to update their rates as and when they want to. The cloud-deployed version provides pay-as-you-use cost advantages and rapid scalability for peaks in demand.
Using Equator, MGAs can be confident that they’re writing good quality business at the right price, based on the best available information. The platform delivers rating sophistication and fraud prevention capabilities beyond that enjoyed today by the vast majority of insurers and allows MGAs to stay ahead of the competition by writing profitable business, both at volume and in niche lines.
What it does
Real-time data enrichment at point of quote
Data enrichment is changing the way risk is assessed. At point of quote Equator connects to information feeds such as Experian, Lexis Nexis, HPI, CUE, MyLicence, CRIF and Synectics. It then uses the returned data to supplement details that have been provided by the customer and calculates and prices the risk. This is done sub-second, regardless of whether the quote has come from a broker software house, an aggregator site or an in-house system, meaning that all the calculations take place in real time.
No more rates distribution
Equator removes the need for MGAs to send their rates anywhere or to compromise on the rating sophistication that differentiates their offering. Instead the sales channels, regardless of what type of channels they are, access the centralised rates themselves at point of quote. Equator supports quotes from all types of channels, including aggregators, smart phone apps and direct sales websites. It does this through integration with policy administration systems and with broker software houses including CDL, BGL, Open GI, SSP, Applied Systems, Saga and the AA. Additional software houses continue to integrate.
Rates management, information and monitoring
Equator is service based and can be integrated with all third party software. It enables MGAs to update rates in a matter of hours, while products can be amended as and when required with no downtime.
Equator includes configurable mapping for integration and communication with other systems. It also takes records of transactions and calculates throughput metrics. These statistics, including details about errors and warnings, can be accessed via the platform’s user interface and can also be posted to the MGAs own monitoring system.
Product testing and debugging
Once products have been defined, Equator’s test harness enables business users to generate requests at volume, as if they were being provided by a third party software house. This means that users can test as and when they want to, without having to wait for a test window from the software houses. The test harness can also be used for creating and maintaining thousands of test cases, while the debugging tools allow breakpoints to be defined within the scheme logic. This allows the users to see all internal variables, as well as the XML output file change, as the scheme is evaluated. This improves rating accuracy and can also be useful in verifying rate details for compliance purposes.
Benefits
Revolutionising distribution
For broker-led MGAs, amending a product’s price can mean sending out the same information to each software house separately. And, because of the way the software houses operate, the information must also be developed and tested with each of them, creating further delays. With Equator, MGAs can update their rates as and when they like, and those rates will instantly become available for all their channels to access at point of quote.
Improved data capture and understanding the risk
A huge number of new policies end up having to be cancelled because applicants have provided incorrect information. Using Equator, MGAs are given the most complete view of the risk that’s possible, at quote time. The same applicant may try several channels, not realising they are applying and re-applying to the same business – but with Equator every quote is defended by the MGA’s own rules and enrichment. Using Equator is proven to cut application fraud by up to 60 per cent.
Accurate pricing across the board
Real-time data enrichment at point of quote gives MGAs peace of mind that they are providing the right price for the right risk. There is no reliance on incomplete or inaccurate information from the customer, and MGAs can price good risks competitively and load quotes to price out the bad risks. This makes it so the business is actively selecting the risk, rather than passively being selected against. Equator gives underwriters greater flexibility in managing rates, including the ability to change them as often as they need to, empowering them to respond in real time to current market intelligence.
Scalability
Equator is proven to be both highly scalable and enormously flexible, handling 50 million quotes a day. If hosted in Azure, it can scale up during busy times. This gives the MGA greater operational agility and flexibility while keeping costs to a minimum, as infrastructure is switched on and off as needed, on a pay-per-usage basis.
Other benefits
- Allows businesses to continue selling through their usual channels
- Cheaper implementation of rates
- Spot and rectify errors within minutes instead of weeks
- Optimise customer segmentation
- Rely less on IT department
“Equator gives Markerstudy the business agility to adapt to market conditions swiftly and simply. In short, it helps us to outperform the competition and is a key element in our future growth strategy”
– Chris Staples, Group Product Manager, Markerstudy GroupGet in touch
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