INSURANCE AGENCY SOFTWARE on LINUX
introduction
Are you looking for a way to earn income from your investment of time
in linux? Perhaps you will be interested in our vertical market
package for independent insurance agencies. Compuwork has taken its
package and has converted it to run under linux. If you are looking
to earn initial and ongoing income utilizing your computer skills in
the small business arena, please read on.
There are approximately 35,000 independent insurance agencies in the
United States. For a listing in your area look under "Insurance"
in your local telephone Yellow Pages. These are small to medium sized
businesses. Many have automation systems. Your market includes those
that don't or that need to upgrade hardware and/or capability are your
market.
about compuwork
Compuwork has developed and sold agency software since 1979. Starting
on proprietary hardware and moving to Motorola unix systems in 1990
and then DG Avion and RS6000, Compuwork has used Unixware for the past
3 years. With the development and stability of Linux, we believe it
provides a solid platform for vertical market software solutions such
as the Compuwork Agency Automation System.
insurance agency vertical market
The typical insurance agency needs a policy management system to track
and manipulate customer coverages and changes. They need a complete
accounting package tailored to insurance. They need word processing
to communicate with prospects, customers, and their companies. They
need tools to help them market their services to prospects and
existing clients.
They need to have their hardware serviced and maintained in a
professional and prompt manner.
They need someone to administer their operating system and someone to
open their agencies to the facilities of the internet.
compuwork user manual & sample screens
& hardware diagram
changing marketplace
Over the past several years the availability of lower cost hardware
has changed the marketplace for vertical market solutions such as the
Compuwork Agency Automation System. The $30,000 computer of five years
ago is now $3,000. The price of off the shelf software has plummeted
likewise. Compuwork has 30 systems in 4 states, mostly in Georgia and
the support costs dictate the future to be a local company providing
local support to the agency in a cost efficient manner.
hardware requirements
An Intel based system with sufficient memory to handle the number
of users wanted. This may be a combination of X-terminals and ASCII
terminals and PC's. It must support serial communications for
multiple printers and modems and ASCII terminals. It must support
tcp/ip for X-terminals and/or PC's. It must provide tape backup
capability.
Additionally, an agency will want to run DOS/WIN applications they
purchase or are given to them by their companies. You may use an NT
server and PC's as terminals using tcp/ip and access the Compuwork
window via a telnet session.
The Compuwork system also requires the use of a Kyocera laser printer
since we use the Prescribe language provided by Kyocera in our system
to create forms, etc.
software requirements
The agency needs the Compuwork Agency Automation System for agency
functions. It will need peripheral software such as xv, seyon, etc
for their capabilities.
Additionally internet connectivity for web browsing and especially
e-mail and web server support will become important to agency
interaction with companies and clients.
your investment
You must be prepared to invest time and some money to get started.
There are 3 areas of expertise required to support the Compuwork
system. The first is linux system administration and you should
already be qualified in this area. The second is hardware support and
maintenance of the linux box and peripherals. You should already be
qualified in this area. The third is the Compuwork software support.
You should be prepared to send someone to Atlanta, GA. for 1 week of
training on the system.
your return
initial
The initial license of the Compuwork System is based on the number of
agency users of the software. You will pay a 50% royalty to Compuwork
based on this price. You will price all hardware with a reasonble
markup plus setup time, shipping, and installation. Agency wiring
will most likely be required.
ongoing
You will accrue income for your services to your clients in 3 ways.
HARDWARE SUPPORT FEE: This fee is based on the amount, cost, and type
of equipment in your customer's agency. You must provide timely,
typically next day, response to a hardware problem and be prepared to
resolve the problem and have them up and running again that day. A
typical fee would be about $200 per month for a small system.
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION FEE: This fee is based on linux system
administration support to maintain the integrity of the system and to
handle situations beyond the scope of the agency. This may be
extended to internet services. A typical fee would be about $100 per
month for a small system.
COMPUWORK SYSTEM SUPPORT: This fee provides you an income to support
questions and problems concerning the Compuwork Agency Automation
System. You will need to provide phone and modem support to your
customers. A typical fee would be $300 per month depending
on the number of users on a system. Compuwork would recieve 50% of
this as a royalty and 50% for Compuwork to provide support.
Does this seem to be an opportunity for you? If so,
please fill out the following information
GOTO COMPUWORK HOMEPAGE
Creation date: Fri Jan 2 1998, 08:47:47 am