bswift Introduces “bswift Express”: a Low Cost Online Benefits Communications Tool

Chicago, June 19, 2001 -– Continuing its leadership in online benefits communications, enrollment, and administration tools, bswift has developed bswift Express, a new, affordable, and easy-to-use solution that helps brokers and HR staff communicate benefits information to employees. bswift Express will be available in early July for brokers serving companies with 5 to 1,000 employees.

“Brokers today need competitive weapons to win new business and retain the clients they already have,” comments Richard Gallun, Managing Partner, bswift. “bswift Express offers brokerage firms the opportunity to differentiate themselves without breaking the bank.”

bswift Express is the result of bswift’s experience building tailored benefits portals for over 80 companies. “While most of our clients have chosen bswift for its transaction systems with enrollment and carrier data transmission,” said Gallun, “there are some companies who simply need a communications tool. bswift Express offers that tool in a self-service environment in which brokers and HR staff can easily update benefit information and company news, documents and forms.”

“bswift Express is the first step toward achieving major productivity gains in benefits administration for brokers and employers,” added Ray Seaver, Partner, bswift. “Eventually all mid-sized employers will implement online enrollment, so why not get started today?”

Developed in conjunction with key clients, bswift Express incorporates a new and improved user interface, allowing users to easily navigate the site and find relevant information. Despite its simplicity, the system is powerful enough to provide personalized benefits information specific to an employee’s benefit class.

Key features of bswift Express include:

• Easy client set-up and ongoing self-service for news, documents, calendars, and benefits information
• Customized logos and colors that provide visual consistency with other client Web sites and intranets
• Benefit Inquiry capability that allows employees to view benefit summaries and detail on their benefits, including employer and employee contributions and plan documents (e.g., Summary Plan Descriptions)
• User-friendly plan comparisons highlighting various benefit options and prices
• “Hidden Paycheck Calculator,” allowing employees to model the effect of various choices on their personal benefit statement
• Links to related sites (e.g., health plan provider directories)
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) for employees
• News and Calendar features that allow designated personnel to post news and calendar items for viewing by employees; news may range from specific benefit news items to company events or news
• “Document Depot” - enables designated personnel to post company documents, including employee handbooks, W-4’s, direct deposit forms, etc., for use by employees
• State-of-the-art security.

About bswift

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, bswift provides employers, brokers, and TPAs with online benefits administration solutions, including benefits enrollment, HR/employee communications, time reporting, and voluntary benefits marketing portals. Tailored especially for the particular benefits, procedures, and legacy systems of each client, bswift reshapes the way employees choose and access benefits. bswift’s employee self-service tools result in:

• reduced cost, time and hassle for HR staff and employees
• virtual elimination of data entry and faxing
• more accurate and timely eligibility data
• enhanced employer-employee communication.

bswift’s base enrollment system was runner up in Microsoft’s Best eCommerce Solution Competition out of 15,000 entrants in 1999. For more information, see www.bswift.com or contact Susan Blinkhorn (sblinkhorn@bswift.com ), 1-877-9-bswift