Executive Summary History of the Division Division Overview Accounting Section Administrative Services Section Asset Recovery and Management Section Claims Section Estate Management Section Legal Services Section
Legislative Update 2007 Appendices

Information Technology Services Section

Mission

The Information Technology Services (ITS) Section supports the Receiver’s mission, goals, and objectives by providing leadership and management in the effective use of Information Technology (IT) for the Division’s own infrastructure and each of the estates administered by the Division. In furtherance of this mission, the ITS Section is committed to achieving the following objectives:

  • Alignment of IT resources and priorities with those of the Division.
  • Continuous improvement in business applications to provide ease of access, analysis and processing of information.
  • Continuous improvement in application development and infrastructure support processes.
  • Education of users to assure peak productivity.
  • Ongoing evaluation of current and emerging technology for a cost-effective application of technology to benefit the Division.
  • Implementation of integrated communications with remote locations, companies, and sister organizations to maximize efficiency.

Program Responsibilities of the Section

The ITS Section is charged with managing all Information Technology resources under responsibility of the Receiver. The ITS Section strives to improve the IT environment, improve access to information, and facilitate the development of more effective and efficient Receivership operations. Specifically, the ITS Section is charged with:

  • Managing under the direction of deputy receivers, the computer and information resources of companies in receivership.
  • Developing and implementing integrated applications and procedures to support productivity within the division.
  • Providing support for the Receiver’s application systems, office networks, and computing equipment.
  • Managing information exchange and systems access with guaranty associations and third party administrators.
  • Providing training to ensure productive use of IT applications and office technologies.
  • Monitoring security and implementing procedures to protect the IT assets (data, software, hardware) of the Receiver.
  • Implementing controls and procedures consistent with legal statutes and the Department of Financial Services' standards to assure that individual rights to privacy are appropriately protected.
  • Identifying and evaluating new technology to determine appropriate application for the Receiver.
  • Managing the performance of contract providers involved in section activities.

Accomplishments in the 2006-2007 Fiscal Year

  • Eliminated hard copy timesheets for all employees effective July 1, making Microsoft Business Portal Time Entry the single entry point for employee time tracking.  This system provides improved estate-related litigation expense and recovery tracking which directly ties to the strategic goal of improving Case Management within the Division.
  • Executed a contract for an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) after a successful Request for Quotation process, with FileNet as the software product selected.  The EDMS directly ties to the strategic goal of improving Case Management within the Division.  The following major tasks have been completed since the contract signing:
    • Preparation and configuration of FileNet system servers and scanning workstations

    • Installation of all purchased FileNet components in both the development and production environments.

    • Business analysis activities to determine FileNet system settings supportive of the Division’s electronic document management requirements.

    • System configuration of the FileNet development environment for testing and training purposes.
  • Completed phase one of Web Services integration between the Division’s internal claims system and ClaimNet, an online proof-of-claim (POC) system developed by NAIC.  Florida supported the Exotic Warranty Company’s POC process via ClaimNet and became the first state in the nation to implement ClaimNet in production.  Close to 80% of the Exotic Warranty Company proofs-of-claims received were submitted via ClaimNet.
  • Installed and configured a new Dell EMC CX300 Storage Area Network (SAN), which greatly improves capacity and performance for our electronic storage needs.
  • Planned and completed the IT set up at the Florida Select Insurance Company’s Sarasota office to sever their dependency on parent company systems.
  • Completed plan for IT staff and systems at Doctor Care, Inc. supporting the company’s office closure.
  • Completed new abandoned property process for converting Solomon distribution accounting data into abandoned property data. This process replaces a cumbersome manual data entry process resulting in much higher efficiency.
  • Prepared for and participated in the DIS Disaster Recovery exercise at Sungard facilities in New Jersey.
  • Completed the Unearned Premium calculations for all three Poe estates involving over 300,000 policies. This information, along with supporting detail, was delivered to FIGA and Citizens to satisfy one of the key terms of the court approved transition plan.

Goals

The ITS Section has a number of strategic goals that will drive activities over the next two years. They include:

  • Continued implementation and upgrade of systems to address the Division’s Case Management strategy, including the production deployment of Electronic Document Management, Electronic Records Management and the upgrade of the Microsoft Business Portal system.
  • Migration of current SQL Server based business applications to Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
  • Migration of the Division’s internal claims system (OLCPSQL) to Microsoft.Net.
  • Continued ClaimNet integration, including support for the claims determination objection process.
  • Specification of a system to support insurance policy information requirements for the Division’s management of estates in liquidation.
  • Continued improvements in estate financial reporting capabilities, with expanded usage of the Receiver reserving module and financial data from guaranty associations.

Staff and Contact Information

The ITS Director oversees the daily operations of the ITS Section’s 10 professional, technical, and support personnel.  The ITS Section can be reached at the Division’s main telephone number, (850) 413-3179, and via the Internet at www.floridainsurancereceiver.org.