Ark Syndicate Management, a newly launched UK-based company, which will begin writing policies April 1, used Microsoft-based N-DEX from Northdoor to launch quickly with customized policy and claims administration. The syndicate, which is Lloyd's newest managing agency, “will underwrite a composite account to include casualty reinsurance, hull and cargo, marine aviation and transit reinsurance, energy, war and property direct and facultative, property reinsurance and marine and energy liability,” said Lloyd's.

The system was both customized for the new company and implemented by Northdoor in just 11 weeks. It handles Ark’s policy and claims administration, credit control and transaction processing. It also monitors contract certainty and provides a view of risk performance. It enables Ark to comply with the regulatory information requirements of Lloyd’s and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and is compliant with ACORD messaging standards.

Also important for the new company, the solution is hosted, allowing Ark to get off the ground quickly, yet with a customized solution.

“We selected Northdoor as our solution provider because its N-DEX suite supports other syndicates very successfully. We wanted something bespoke, yet based on a solution proven to be robust and scalable – and we wanted it quickly,” said Nick Bonnar, director of underwriting for Ark Syndicate Management. “We also wanted the solution to be hosted, managed and supported, enabling us to focus on underwriting insurance risks, rather than running IT.”

Northdoor is an independent IT consultancy rather than a traditional vendor, and it allowed Ark to own the customized solution. This gave Ark greater control than licensing a packaged solution owned by a vendor. Ark is also using Northdoor’s Application Line and Managed Line services for long-term application support and management.

The N-DEX Suite is a Microsoft Windows-based solution running under CITRIX which means authorized Ark employees can access the system from anywhere via a Web-browser. Northdoor’s data warehouse service has been integrated for Ark and Hyperion’s Business Intelligence tool will aid management analysis of business performance and risk.