Miller Fisher and Screensurfer

London (November 30 2000): Miller Fisher has continued the development of its IT strategy by adopting Screensurfer, the leading host integration gateway from iE, to support its loss adjusting business.

Supplied by Cambridge based connectivity and integration specialist Flynet, Screensurfer gives Miller Fisher's roving loss adjusters real-time access to back-office systems wherever they happen to be.

Miller Fisher provides claims assessment and other services to insurance firms. When claims need to be investigated, one of the company's loss adjusters will visit the policyholder's home or premises and then assist in satisfactorily resolving the claim.

Claims records are managed by an AS/400 application at Miller Fisher's London offices. Loss adjusters need to access these records during each assignment and to update them when they produce their reports.

Using Screensurfer, Miller Fisher has overcome the problems associated with dial up connections. The application loss adjusters now see in their web browsers appears exactly at it would on a PC connected directly to the company's LAN. Because it is browser-based, loss adjusters can access the system from any remote internet-capable device. Dial-up and dedicated connections have been replaced by standard internet connections with lower set-up costs and call charges. Users access the system just as they would from their desktops using the same user-name and password.

"The users were always tied to the office because they needed to keep an eye on their case files or come in to make their reports. Some of the loss adjusters preferred to dictate their reports to a secretary, which created more work. Now it's easier for them to make their own changes as they go," said Mark Holloway, head of development at Miller Fisher.

"I was pleasantly surprised at how trouble-free Screensurfer was to implement. There is almost no detectable performance overhead on the server and no hidden costs. We were able to piggyback Screensurfer on one of our existing web servers, we no longer need to install client software on any of the devices accessing the system, telecoms costs are lower, and the training requirement is zero," Holloway said. Miller Fisher plans eventually to extend browser-based access to the system to its customers via an extranet.

About iE

iE (www.ie.com) is an international leader in complex mainframe integration and e-commerce tools. Since 1989, the company's integration products and advanced technology services have enabled clients, to deploy business-critical customer service applications. Starting in 1996, such systems have also been deployed via the Internet. From locations in Boston, MA, and London, England, the company distributes its products in 20 countries and has sold over 10,000 licenses worldwide. Founded in 1985, iE is a public company, quoted on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) as IEN.

Screensurfer provides secure, high-performance, screen-based access to a wide range of IBM, DEC, UNIX and other terminal-based host systems, with fast time-to-market. It is a highly scalable solution that now offers unparalleled integration with pure applet-free HTML, all popular Application Servers including Microsoft ASP/MTS, IBM's WebSphere and Allaire's ColdFusion. Screensurfer invariably is the quickest and most economical means for implementing feature-rich Web-to-host solutions. Screensurfer is used by global leaders such as Merrill Lynch, Johnson & Johnson, MasterCard, Verizon, AT&T, Wells Fargo and Towers Perrin.

About Flynet:

Based in Burwell, just a few miles from the Cambridge Science Park, Flynet has been providing legacy integration tools, services and support to major organisations throughout the UK since 1995. The company is the sole UK re-seller of Screensurfer.

About Miller Fisher:

Miller Fisher is a leading provider of administration support services to the insurance and financial services industries. Its capabilities range from providing complete outsourcing solutions for the distribution and administration of household, motor, commercial and personal lines insurance products through to being one of the major claims handling and loss adjusting Groups in the country