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Transamerica Reinsurance Awarded Patent for VELOGICAŽ Underwriting Technology
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Charlotte, NC -- Transamerica Reinsurance, a leading provider of life reinsurance and value added solutions, today announced that it has been granted a patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,831,451 B1) for its VELOGICA® underwriting technology for non-medically underwritten life insurance. Transamerica Reinsurance is a division of Transamerica Life Insurance Company, an AEGON company.
VELOGICA is a fully automated underwriting solution for simplified issue life insurance. Designed for transactional sales, VELOGICA uses information from the life application, prescription drug databases, motor vehicle records and Medical Information Bureau reports to deliver virtually instant underwriting decisions.
"The awarding of a new patent on the VELOGICA technology is an exciting event," said Dave Dorans, vice president of Mortality Solutions for Transamerica Reinsurance. "This new patent highlights the distinct advantages of the VELOGICA approach to underwriting non-medical, lower-face amount business, and allows our solution to stand entirely apart in its ability to reach an underwriting decision quickly while still achieving mortality objectives.”
As described in the new patent, VELOGICA technology uses multiple databases including ones that provide information on prescription drugs dispensed to the insurance applicant.
Since its inception, VELOGICA has distinguished itself in its use of prescription drug data in a simplified issue (SI) underwriting process. “To maximize speed and still get protective value it is critical to use a sophisticated algorithm that puts the information from the Rx profile into context,” Dorans said.
VELOGICA does not simply rate a drug but, rather, uses all of the information at its disposal – the application information, the entire drug profile with dosages, prescribing doctors and other available data. The VELOGICA algorithm analyzes the data, then rates the applicant, not the drug. This approach produces a more accurate prediction of the underlying medical conditions of a proposed insured.
“Experienced underwriters do this all of the time, but with a system like VELOGICA, this analysis can be done instantaneously,” Dorans said. “To match this speed, many other programs must settle for a less informed decision. To match the sophistication, they must refer the case to an underwriter and wait for a decision,” he said.
In addition to the VELOGICA patented technology, clients also get the benefit of product pricing coupled with the availability of reinsurance that matches that pricing. “Because we are on the risk, we have a strong incentive to continually update (at no additional expense) the Rx data and refine the underwriting rules. As a leading life reinsurer, we have a deep understanding of the mortality drivers and an ability to analyze and incorporate data like Rx into mortality expectations.”
For more information about VELOGICA or for Transamerica Reinsurance’s Mortality Solutions for fully underwritten business, contact the company at www.TransamericaReinsurance.com.
About Transamerica Reinsurance
Transamerica Reinsurance is a division of Transamerica Life Insurance Company, an AEGON company. It is one of the largest life reinsurers in the U.S. based on recurring new business and inforce volume, according to the most recent Munich Re Survey of U.S. Life Reinsurance conducted for the Society of Actuaries. It offers broad capabilities in risk, capital and expense managements to help companies improve the competitiveness and profitability of their life and annuity products. Transamerica Reinsurance supplies automatic and facultative reinsurance, product consulting and development and alternative underwriting solutions to more than 500 companies in North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe. Its main marketing office is located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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