Patra Corporation

The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers announced today its endorsement of Patra Corporation's back-office outsourcing services that are designed to lower operating costs, reduce risk exposure and improve customer service.

Operating in both the United States and India, Patra is dedicated to providing back-office services to the insurance industry by leveraging expertise and economies of scale. It maintains a corporate office and printing/mailing facility in San Carlos, Calif., as well as a 24-hour operations facility in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), India. Patra recruits, trains and employs highly educated Indian professionals, with bachelors and masters degrees, who work in teams dedicated to each customer, providing round-the-clock service.

"With increasing costs and lower premiums, outsourcing back-office tasks is an attractive option for widening margins and remaining competitive," said Council President Ken A. Crerar. "By outsourcing a range of insurance functions,such as policy checking, certificate issuance, direct bill reconciliation and loss-run ordering with their 24-hour international operations center in India, agents and brokers can see dramatic decreases in errors, be more productive and serve clients better," he said.

Advances in technology and real-time communications enable firms of all sizes to take advantage of overseas staffing. According to some experts, offshore insurance-related services are expected to more than double from the current $790 million to $2 billion by 2010.

"Patra customers have reported reducing their expenses by 1 to 2 percent of their top-line revenue while being able to reallocate their existing staff and resources in more customer-focused capacities like direct client service and proposal creation," said Patra co-founder and CEO John Simpson.

"We've worked with Patra for over two years now and it's been a great partnership. We use them primarily for certificate issuance. It's seamless and very accurate with a maximum 24-hour turnaround. By outsourcing this back-office function we have been able, over time, to reallocate staff to more client-centric work," said Steve Brockmeyer, president and CEO of Bolton & Co.

Under The Council/Patra partnership, the initial implementation fees for Council members are waived (subject to the terms of their agreement). Interested members may contact Dave Tight, Patra's VP of Business Development, at 415.595.9987 or dtight@patracorp.com.

Founded in 1913, The Council is the premier association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries. The Council represents the leading commercial brokers and agents in the United States and abroad. Council members annually place 80 percent of all commercial property/casualty premiums in the United States and administer billions of dollars in employee benefits accounts.