Fineos closes €21m public service deal in NZ


25 Jan 2005

Proving that distance need be no barrier in the software business, Dublin-based Fineos Corporation has secured a mammoth NZ$39m (€21m) deal with the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the state body responsible for administering New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme.

The deal, which Fineos has rated the deal as its biggest ever, is for Fineos’ Claims Manager end-to-end administration system. The contract will include licences, services and committed support over a five-year period.

The contract announcement follows the successful completion of a six-month proof-of-concept project at ACC. This success of the pilot – worth NZ$6.8m to Fineos – was seen as the key factor in Fineos being awarded the final contract. The strength of the Fineos case management functionality and the flexibility of its underlying business rules engine were said to be other factors that influenced the decision.

Phase one of the new project, which will see Claims Manager replace ACC’s existing Pathway claims management system, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2005.

The system, which will allow all parties involved in a claim to work from a central case management hub, will perform a wide range of key functions including the allocation and management of tasks, providing web-based information to third parties and monitoring individual and team performance. Claims Manager will be used by about 1,300 of ACC’s 2,000 staff.

Garry Wilson, CEO, ACC said: “We chose Fineos because of the strength of its case management solution which will improve claim management and enable ACC to adapt quickly to changes in the environment. We expect to be able to further improve our services to claimants and other stakeholders.”

Michael Kelly, CEO of Fineos, added: “This project will allow ACC to automate their entire claims process, enabling them to not only reduce costs and increase efficiencies but also to provide better customer service and satisfaction.” He added that Fineos would use the deal to search for other potential business in New Zealand and the wider Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

The contract awarded to Fineos was the centrepiece of an NZ$120m IT project aimed at transforming the case management capabilities of the ACC. ACC will spend the rest of the budget on testing, training staff and integrating the Fineos system with ACC’s other software.

By Brian Skelly