Fineos wins claims service contract with public insurer

FINEOS, THE Irish insurance software provider, has won another contract to provide claims management services for a public insurer.

It has been appointed by the Lifetime Care Support Authority (LTCSA) of Australia to deliver disability claims management for catastrophic personal injuries arising from motor accidents.

The deal is the fourth contract Fineos's claims division has won so far this year, and the firm has hired an additional 80 employees over the past year to service these contracts as well as existing business in its disability and income protection claims division in North America.

These new staff members, 56 of whom are based in Ireland, will support contracts either directly (by going on-site) or indirectly, through head office functions such as product research and development.

Fineos is also actively recruiting to fill more vacancies, and plans to hire an additional 20 people this year, 14 of whom will be based in Ireland.

The LTCSA is the statutory corporation responsible for paying for the treatment, rehabilitation and care expenses of people with serious injuries caused by motor accidents, regardless of who is at fault.

As part of the LTCSA contract, Fineos will provide a range of services.

These will include disability case management for severely injured people, scripting for initial intake notification, management of scheme eligibility criteria through the use of business rules and complaints, and disputes handling.

Government business, such as this contract, is a major growth area for the firm and Fineos cited its experience in the public insurance arena as being key to its selection by the LTCSA.

Fineos already supports the "no fault" claims management scheme for ACC in New Zealand, and will shortly replace the existing legacy claims system at the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) of Victoria.

In addition, earlier this year, Fineos won contracts from other public insurers such as South Africa's Road Accident Fund, which is the government body that operates South Africa's compensation programme for people injured in road accidents. It also won a contract from Canada's Manitoba Public Insurance, which is a non-profit Crown corporation.

The majority of Fineos's business is now international, with just 10 per cent of its turnover coming from Ireland.

According to a spokesperson for Fineos, the firm currently has a strong sales pipeline, particularly in Europe and Australasia, both in public insurance as well as other areas such as life and health.

Fineos employees 352 people and is headquartered in Dublin, with operations in North America, Europe and Australasia.