Customers Case Studies Navy Mutual Aid Association
Navy Mutual Aid Association
INSURANCE - Workflow / Archival
A Veteran's benefit organization, established in 1879, Navy Mutual Aid Association (NMAA) serves all uniformed and retired personnel of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Public Health Service. NMAA provides service personnel and their families with life insurance and with assistance in obtaining any federal benefits due them. The Association is located adjacent to Arlington Cemetery, near the Pentagon.
Problem
NMAA needed a better way to find, retrieve and safeguard documents. With over 130,000 insurance policies and more added everyday, the sheer volume of paper files presented a management problem. In addition, each file contains an average of 40 pages - applications, documents, insurance certificates, and most importantly, beneficiary information. Two rooms were filled with files. Occasionally, a file would be misfiled or misplaced. If just one file is lost, an excessive amount of time is lost in locating it. It is critical that nothing is misfiled or lost. The events of 9/11 were a solemn reminder of the importance of disaster recovery, particularly since the plane that hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 flew very near the NMAA building. The Association was very aware that beneficiary information was vulnerable in paper form. The urgency of implementing a document imaging solution grew after September 11.
Selection Criteria
The primary consideration was the ability to integrate the imaging system with their life insurance administration system, without extensive custom programming. Another important goal was to implement a workflow system to improve the movement of applications and related insurance documents in the office. The Association also was looking for a single-source vendor with a long track record of success with document imaging solutions. "The Quick Integrator sold me the system," says Tom Edwards, Vice President of Plans and Systems. "I was also impressed by the excellent features and enhancements of the FDD [Feith Document Database]."
Solution
Navy Mutual conducted research and evaluation of possible solutions for over two years. After thorough due diligence, the choice was Feith Systems & Software. With 15 years of document imaging experience, Feith's scalable enterprise solution met the Association's criteria. Feith offered a product line with the maturity, features, and flexibility that met NMAA's requirements. Feith provided Navy Mutual with an enterprise-wide document database solution that included rules-based workflow, scanning with bar code recognition, and one-button integration with their life insurance administration application.
NMAA uses a Kodak 2500 scanner with Feith VIP bar code recognition software to automatically scan and index documents into Feith Document Database. The documents then enter Feith's rules-based Workflow iQ for routing to the proper person or department for further processing. Quick document retrieval is available directly within FDD or via Feith's Quick Integrator one-button integration with LifePRO.
NMAA is implementing both a back-file and day-forward process with FDD. The old files are being scanned and indexed into the system. At the same time, new ones are set up as electronic files in FDD without ever having a paper folder created.
The safety and security of their data is so important that NMAA places special emphasis on their backup and continuity of operations processes. Two servers are located at separate sites in the building as well as having a "warm" contingency site hundreds of miles away. In order to enhance security of the data a backup tape is sent out of the D.C. metropolitan area everyday. Now, there is no way to misfile or lose a file, because they are stored electronically in FDD.
Rollout
Future plans include adding additional desktop scanners, implementing FDD in additional NMAA departments, and using Workflow iQ for automating other processes throughout the organization. "What we are shooting for is complete integration between our administration systems." added Tom Edwards.