Baldwin Mutual Insurance Selects Lyzasoft's Data Analytics Software to Gain Crucial Insights From Legacy IBM DB2 and AS/400 Data

The Alabama property and casualty insurer is using Lyza to integrate and analyze historical data for reinsurance modeling and rate analysis

Denver, CO. - July 21, 2009 - Lyzasoft, Inc. announced today that Baldwin Mutual Insurance Company, serving Alabama's property and casualty insurance needs since 1921, has purchased Lyza, the company's desktop data analysis solution, to integrate and analyze historical data for reinsurance modeling and rate analysis.

"As a small, regional insurance company, we operate under the constraints of a tight budget," said Kevin Russell, Vice President with Baldwin Mutual Insurance Company, who in his role is responsible for business intelligence (BI) for modeling policies, pricing, reinsurance, financials, and accounting. "Our BI initiatives seem relatively straightforward until you recognize not only where some of this historical data comes from, but also the sizes of the policy and claims data sources alone. The systems in place before Lyza required intensive development, custom scripting, and rework," Russell said.

Accessing Legacy Data
Baldwin Mutual Insurance has legacy data stored in spreadsheets, AS/400 spool files, AS/400 DB2 tables and MySQL(r) databases. It had become increasingly difficult to access historical data and to integrate these sources manually each time they need to perform an analysis to derive meaningful business insights.

Baldwin Mutual Insurance previously resorted to performing SQL build-ups of the data through temporary tables until achieving the desired query results-not an efficient solution. "We had no automation in place, so it was a custom build every time there was a request for a change to the report, which was taking a considerable amount of time and effort," Russell said.

"With Lyza, we can visualize each step in the data integration process and evaluate the results immediately, without waiting for lengthy SQL queries to run," Russell added. "We've used Lyza extensively to pull datasets from different sources and different formats. It is enabling us to quickly consolidate data, and to conduct rate reviews and to create ad hoc financial reporting for our accountants in a timely fashion."

According to Russell, the insurance carrier's biggest use of Lyza is in "breaking down the policy"; understanding how much premium was generated and how many claims were filed in order to determine whether rates are adequate. "A recent analysis conducted with Lyza concluded that pricing needed to be adjusted in numerous locations in order stay competitive, attract new customers, and to keep our current client base happy," Russell said. "Lyza has proven to be an invaluable tool for us."

About Lyzasoft, Inc.
Lyza desktop software enables analysts to synthesize, explore and visualize data, then to publish compelling reports - all without the reliance on lengthy IT development cycles. With a visual drag-and-drop interface, spreadsheet-like formulas, interactive charting and statistics -- Lyza keeps you in touch with the data as you observe relationships, refine your assumptions, and solve problems iteratively. Lyza provides an environment that enables the sharing and harvesting of data. Derivational insight is provided for the analysts, while also providing the transparency and manageability of information flows for the business and IT.

Founded in 2008, Lyzasoft, Inc. is a spin-off of a successful business intelligence consulting practice. For more information, please call 303.825.1040 or visit lyzasoft.com.



For Lyzasoft, Inc.:
Scott R. Humphrey
Humphrey Strategic Communications
(503) 644-9709
humphrey@strategic-pr.com