HUMC Hummingbird

Hummingbird partners with on-line Application Service Provider (ASP), The Insurance Workplace, to provide secure, virtual community for content lifecycle management and information sharing TORONTO, ON, and LONDON, England, July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hummingbird Ltd. (NASDAQ:HUMCNASDAQ:TSX:NASDAQ:HUM), a leading global provider of integrated enterprise content management (ECM) and network connectivity solutions, and The Insurance Workplace Software Ltd., has launched a secure online collaboration service for the Lloyd's insurance market in the UK, the world's leading insurance market. The Insurance Workplace (TIW) product has the ability to fully support Contract Certainty and Electronic Claims Files in the market, as well as offering a cost effective means of setting up and maintaining strategic elements of peer to peer relationships. Hummingbird Enterprise(TM) provides the enterprise content management framework for TIW, an internet-based service which will allow brokers, underwriters, reinsurers, compliance officers, wording technicians, claims managers, risk managers and loss adjusters to store and collaborate on policy, underwriting submissions and claims documents. The TIW application allows users to manage an individual document's lifecycle, control and monitor tasks and share information with clients, partners and colleagues anywhere in the world. "With Hummingbird's strong position in the financial services industry as our foundation, we continue to work with key strategic partners who are able to provide and demonstrate great depth and understanding of specific requirements of the sector, to ensure that we are satisfying the needs of the financial services market," said Barry Litwin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hummingbird Ltd. "Hummingbird continues to support and bring backing to its varied partners in the market - from specialist solutions such as TIW, to Lloyd's insurance market specific broker and underwriting system providers, integration consultants and to standards such as the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD). TIW is an amalgamation of what Hummingbird has committed to bring to the UK market: knowledge, understanding of process, commitment to delivery and long-term partnership as we drive modernization and reform in the Lloyd's insurance market together. This initiative further entrenches Hummingbird in the financial services industry," added Litwin. In partnership with Hummingbird, TIW - which is an alliance of Hummingbird partners The Alphabet Group and Web Connectivity - is the first application of its kind to be launched for the Lloyd's insurance market. The new hosted ASP solution means brokers, underwriters and the assured can openly approve confidential documents and have total transparency in the negotiation of insurance contracts, in the knowledge that access to information is automatically controlled in a secure environment. "We designed The Insurance Workplace with every kind of insurance and risk management practitioner in mind, working with Hummingbird as our technology partner," said David Edwards, Director of The Insurance Workplace. "TIW combines the advantages of a secure online community and easy-to-use virtual workspace with a comprehensive wordings library plus a checking and comparison capability. The launch this week indicates substantial demand for TIW from the insurance industry in the UK, where there is an evolving need for a collaborative and secure business environment where important electronic documents can be filed, modified or negotiated rapidly amongst its members, without sacrificing control." With TIW, the insurance practitioner only requires an Internet browser to securely: - manage submissions from risk managers to brokers to underwriters; - store and share confidential documents and spreadsheets from a single location; - efficiently maintain and update detailed memorandums and schedules; - agree and collaborate on versions of wordings with multiple parties; - quickly build and share a library of wordings and clauses; - take advantage of full text and profile search capability; - manage the claims documentation process and connect all parties; - create on-line discussion groups for key issues and topics or new products; - maintain a complete audit trail of any document for compliance and regulatory purposes; - promote corporate governance and provide enhanced management information; - seamlessly connect with other repositories through ACORD Document Repository Interoperability (DRI); Hummingbird Enterprise delivers a fully integrated platform for enterprise content management that provides financial services organizations with solutions to manage and collaborate on documents, contracts and e-mail - linking business processes, information and people together globally. Hummingbird's insurance solutions address the needs for underwriting, policy administration, claims and contract certainty for property and casualty, the life insurance industry, and for agents and brokers. As a member of ACORD, a global, non-profit insurance association whose mission is to facilitate the development and use of standards for the insurance, reinsurance and related financial services industries, Hummingbird is also committed to the highest standards in the insurance industry to this platform. About The Insurance Workplace (TIW) The Insurance Workplace (TIW) is a new venture formed to take advantage of the growing awareness of Collaboration Software and its particular potential within the Insurance and Reinsurance Industry. TIW is a secure area where interested parties can quickly obtain specific and particular wordings, templates and clauses; submit documents for review and publish final versions for distribution to relevant parties. Users can be alerted automatically, by e-mail or SMS, as to when any change has taken place and the providence of all documents will be maintained within the site for compliance purposes. One focus of the product will be to support the Contract Certainty initiative laid down by the FSA for the London Market. It will also support Electronic Claims Files, peer to peer relationships and is ACORD compliant using recognized DRI connectors. TIW believe there is a market for a collaborative workplace for key parties to allow them to construct (by reference to a wordings library), exchange, review and obtain agreement to policy documentation which will allow them to fulfill their regulatory obligations, and avoid the penalties that the FSA are considering for non-compliance. For more information, visit http://www.tiw.org.uk/. About Hummingbird Enterprise(TM) Hummingbird Enterprise provides an integrated platform for enterprise content management that provides global organizations with solutions to manage business interaction information such as documents, records, virtual deal room exchanges, discussions, e-mail or financial data - linking business processes, information and people. Hummingbird solutions are designed as modular applications that are fully interoperable with each other, enabling customers to incrementally build an enterprise content management solution to meet their evolving information needs in a cost effective manner. About Hummingbird Hummingbird Ltd. is a leading global provider of enterprise software solutions. The Company's enterprise software solutions fall into two principal categories: enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, and network connectivity solutions. Hummingbird's ECM solutions enable organizations to manage the lifecycle of enterprise content from creation to disposition, thereby enabling organizations to address critical business needs, such as information management, business continuity, compliance and risk mitigation. The network connectivity solutions provide a comprehensive set of core network technologies that enables the enterprise to connect to any type of legacy system. Founded in 1984, Hummingbird employs over 1,400 people and serves more than 33,000 customers, including 90% of Fortune 100 companies. Hummingbird solutions are sold directly from 40 offices worldwide and through an Alliance Network of partners and resellers. For more information, visit http://www.hummingbird.com/. DATASOURCE: Hummingbird Ltd. CONTACT: Dan Coombes, Director, Investor Relations, Hummingbird Ltd., Tel: (416) 496-2200 ext. 6359, ; Michele Stevenson, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Hummingbird Ltd., Tel: (416) 496-2200 ext. 2623, ; Hummingbird UK Contacts: Rob Taylor, Bite Communications, Tel: 020 8834 3426, E-mail: ; Jill Wells, Hummingbird, Office: 0118 978 2800, Email: ; TIW Contact: David Edwards, TIW, Tel: 0207 264 2078, E-mail:

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