Case Study: ARAG Automates & Streamlines Insurance Claims Process and Increases Throughput More Than 350%

Quick Links
ARAG Challenge	ARAG Solution	ARAG Results

ARAG's Solution:

After reviewing solution options, ARAG selected Snowbound Software’s RasterMaster Imaging SDK and Library for the Java Platform. “In the evaluation process, Snowbound’s RasterMaster solution stood out,” says Frank Gronenborn, IT Architect, ARAG. “Even now, Snowbound’s RasterMaster technology still is one of the best-performing solutions I have seen through 10 years in this business.”

ARAG used RasterMaster to display documents, generate document thumbnails, switch between pages in multi-page TIFF documents, extract metadata, divide / merge multiple documents, and many other vital processing capabilities.

The insurer’s legacy records system would not adequately support a fully functioning Java conversion, indexing and client front-end, so ARAG started in-house development of a custom Java-based records system, leveraging the advanced document processing power of RasterMaster. After only 6 months, the new system began functioning in parallel to the old system, and eventually all of the records had been seamlessly migrated into the new system without any problems. As the application grew, ARAG integrated faxes received electronically and indexed them as if they were created by scanners. ARAG had also started to record AFP documents created by classical Mainframe-Output-Batch by converting the AFP-Files into TIFF Format.

With capture, conversion, indexing, archiving, and client-front end all integrated into the new Java-based system, ARAG began a new phase of development — adding claims processing into the records and workflow system. For this project, they once again utilized Snowbound’s high-performance RasterMaster imaging and conversion SDK.

ARAG’s latest initiatives include supporting electronically received insurance requests which are temporarily stored in PDF format by the company’s sales application. Gronenborn says, “Since ARAG’s records system still only supports TIFF, JPG and plain Text/COLD, the PDF must be converted into TIFF.  RasterMaster helps us manage this conversion step.”

As a result, notes Gronenborn, “We created a Web client interface of our workflow/records system front end which is used in our local intranet. The recorded TIFF images could not be displayed in a Web browser without any plug-ins. We decided that instead of using any client plug-ins, we would convert the TIFF images into PNG format on the server side.”

Since implementing the Web client interface, ARAG extended the application’s document retrieval functionality to remote sales associates and insurance brokers, who are based throughout Germany. These users can now access documents and images in ARAG’s repository through the company’s storage area network (SAN).

ARAG also streamlined its retrieval of electronic policy requests.  The original process entailed collecting thousands of emails with PDF attachments per day. The request team staff would have to manually select the unread messages and create the contracts from the attachment. This procedure was time-consuming and costly because it required that the staff take extra time and care to ensure that the documents were processed correctly.

The incoming email requests can now be checked by an automated system, which imports the PDF-requests directly in to ARAG’s records system; from there they are converted into the TIFF format and are processed through ARAG’s business process workflow system.

The new automated system expedites workflow and ensures timely and efficient processing of all claims. It also enables the company to track and capture a document’s workflow history – including annotations, edits and collaborators; this enhances compliance efforts in a way that the mail workflow could not.

Learn about ARAG's results