USI, largest national broker and administrator of employee benefits, selects Ultralink as technology partner
Partnership with UltraLink represents first phase rollout of USI's new ResourceOne web-based service offering
UltraLink, a leader in the exploding Internet-based employee benefits services industry, today announced a strategic alliance with USI Insurance Services Corporation, the largest national employee benefits broker and ninth largest third party administrator (TPA). USI was recently named the top benefit broker by revenue, by industry-leading publication Business Insurance. UltraLink will be the preferred online benefits enrollment vendor for USI.
UltraLink will provide essential Web-based technology for USI's ResourceOne program, a highly customized, single-source solution for all the employee benefit needs of employers, from health care administration to pension plans to compliance consulting. With UltraLink, USI will offer clients an employee benefits management and voluntary benefits purchasing system that includes online enrollment and administration applications.
"In keeping with our goal of giving clients more time to focus on their core
businesses, we are partnering with UltraLink to offer our customers business-changing technology," said Bernard H. Mizel, Chairman and CEO of USI.
Under the terms of the partnership, beginning on November 15, 2000, USI will begin using UltraLink as a data management platform for employer groups initially totaling over 10,000 employees. Over the course of the next two and a half years, USI is expecting to enroll more than 100,000 employees, via UltraLink' iElect™ online enrollment system, in response to increasing employer demand for self-service solutions to traditionally paper-intensive administrative activities.
Mizel noted, "We have chosen UltraLink over other technology providers in the industry because of their solid technical and benefits expertise and because they will enhance our ability to meet diverse client demands for voluntary benefits delivered in the appropriate methods."
"We are extremely pleased to partner with USI; they are a major force in the employee benefits industry," said Jeff Graves, chief executive officer, UltraLink. "Beyond the services that we offer today, UltraLink will develop further technological innovations as part of USI's ResourceOne solution."
UltraLink's core, proprietary applications – iElect for enrollment and iAdmin, for benefits administration – allow employees to learn about and enroll in benefits from their personal computers, while giving employers and their brokers the tools to manage, communicate and document benefits information online. UltraLink's back-end database for both applications feeds data to employer payroll systems or payroll vendors, allowing benefit premiums to be deducted from employee paychecks automatically, where applicable. The products will be private-labeled for USI clients.
Additionally, both iElect and iAdmin can interface with most existing HRIS and ERP systems to synchronize all employee data. Employee benefit selections, eligibility criteria and other data can also be uploaded from the UltraLink database to insurance carriers who will accept the data electronically.
About UltraLink
Headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., UltraLink provides technology and full-service solutions that reduce the pain and cost of employee benefits procurement, enrollment and administration. UltraLink serves companies with 200 or more employees and has a 10-year track record of service to Fortune 500 employers. The product of a merger between iBenefits, Inc. and UltraLink, LLC, the company brings accuracy and access to the data-driven benefits management process. UltraLink's combined proprietary technology and service offering streamlines communication and transactions between employees, employers, brokers, consultants, insurance carriers and third party administrators. For more information about UltraLink, visit www.UltraLink.com.
About USI Insurance Services Corporation
USI is a diversified insurance services firm focused on a technology enabled, fully integrated delivery of general and specialty property and casualty insurance, financial services such as employee benefits outsourcing, and related consulting. Founded in 1994, it has grown rapidly through a series of strategic acquisitions and internal growth to become the sixth largest insurance and financial services broker in the United States and the largest broker of employee benefits nationwide. Headquartered in San Francisco, USI currently operates out of 81 offices in 21 states. For more information about USI, visit the company's web site at www.usi-insurance.com.