CommInsure, the insurance arm of the Commonwealth Bank, will embark on an eight-month CRM project in a bid to improve service efficiency by 30 percent.

The company will rollout the Fineos Front Office system to sales and service staff, before later expanding access to its external network.

CommInsure hopes to put an end to tasks being passed between staff, with the system to provide a single view of customer insurance information across several lines of business.

Legacy workflow software from Phoenix, Kracken and 3R will be scrapped, and Fineos linked to back-office systems that previously couldn't be utilized.

A number of customer databases and small applications will also be replaced, the company said.

As part of the initial deployment, 450 head office staff will gain direct access to the company's policy registry systems. This will be enabled by real-time integration between Fineos and CommInsure's LIFE/400 and Insure/90 back office policy registry systems.

The move means electronic forms can be used for underwriting and will let new business applications and claims management work be redirected.

The company will also link Fineos with existing document management systems.

New business process management tools that automatically create, allocate and monitor tasks, and centralized case management are other major benefits to staff, according to CommInsure.

The initial deployment of Fineos to 450 staff is scheduled to be completed by July, the company said.

CommInsure then expects authorized access for its internal and external adviser network and suppliers to be available by the end of first quarter 05/06.

This stage will let thousands of users monitor claims status and issue and obtain orders.

The company refused to disclose the value of the project.