Takaful Malaysia Gears Up For Operational Excellence

23 March 2012, Kuala Lumpur – Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad (Takaful Malaysia) has taken a big step forward in advancing its IT Infrastructure and Operations by launching a cutting edge technology Document Management System (DMS) with its partner Serial Data Sdn. Bhd. (Serial Data). The (DMS) is being implemented to achieve the Company vision, of being the preferred choice for insurance and to exceed customers’ expectations through operational excellence and technology driven capabilities. The (DMS) is specifically designed to streamline operating procedures, increase productivity and aid in expanding the business.

“For the past two decades, we have relied on the traditional paper-based processing to carry out most of our critical tasks such as Quotation Issuance, Underwriting, Certificate Servicing and Claims payout. Our search for the past 2 years in sourcing the latest technology that can help us to address this gap has paid off today,” remarked Dato’ Mohamed Hassan Kamil, Group Managing Director of Takaful Malaysia. The paperless working environment will further improve the operational efficiency and productivity throughout the organization.At the launch, from left to right: Dato’ Mohamed Hassan Kamil, Group Managing Director of Takaful Malaysia; Encik Mahadzir Azizan, Senior Boardmember of Takaful Malaysia; Mr. Archie Koay, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Serial Data; Mr. Miguel Zubizarreta, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Hyland Software and Mr. Donny Yap, Senior Solutions Speacialist of ReadSoft Asia.

This new system marketed by Serial Data, integrates two software solutions, namely ReadSoft (a Data Capture Solution) and Onbase (an Electronic Document Workflow Management solution) for both its Individual and Group Family Operations, covering the end to end process cycle. This includes actuarial quotation issuance, new business processing, underwriting, certificate servicing and claims processing. We are the 1st Insurance Company in Malaysia to adopt this system. It has been successfully implemented within a year and has been operational since June 2011. The first phase is designed for our Family Takaful operations with the General Takaful operations expected to complete by the end 2012.

The technology and system that we have today is a combination of three continents. Our technology partner, Serial Data is an IT consulting company specializing in document technology and is a Malaysia based company. ReadSoft, which has its head office in Helsingborg, Sweden has its operations in 15 countries managing over 6,000 customers worldwide. OnBase Solution is developed and maintained by Hyland Software which has its Head Office based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America. Hyland Software has been established over 19 years ago and has more than 100 customers in the Asia Pacific region. OnBase is used by more than 10,000 customers on five continents.

These software solutions were selected due to their capabilities and flexibility of integrating them into our core line of business applications. ReadSoft, the Data Capture Solution, enables our staff to scan all incoming documents. ReadSoft application will then capture, interpret, sort, and group the documents while extracting key words from the scanned documents to be used as ‘indexes’ or ‘identifiers’. These functions enable easy and quick retrieval by the processing and frontline customer services staff.

The OnBase, electronic document workflow management solution allows us to effectively collect, match and route all the underwriting applications consistently and has the ability to prompt the underwriters to process with ease. The Operations Managers will now be able to monitor all the pending items easily, allowing the team to work with greater efficiency and provide a faster turnaround time to all their valued customers.

“Being a technology partner of Takaful Malaysia, we are committed to render our immaculate technical support to them. Our primary focus and end goal have always been customer satisfaction. With our well-trained consultants and engineers, we respond quickly and ensure zero downtime.” said Mr. Archie Koay, Managing Director of Serial Data Sdn Bhd.

Dato’ Hassan Kamil commented that, “The ultimate challenge for us is to significantly reduce the use of paper to help safeguard the environment, yet at the same time, adhering to Bank Negara’s regulations on data retention. With this in mind, we will ensure that these systems are the best fit for the Company, thus effectively helping us to achieve positive results rapidly while reducing the operating expenses as well.”

This IT based operational improvement has enabled Takaful Malaysia to improve operational capability, enhance customer service and respond faster in a competitive marketplace. The implementation of the e-Solutions is also in line with Takaful Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to promote green ideas. Takaful Malaysia has today taken another significant step forward, in reducing our usage of large quantities of papers.