Bermuda start-up company Worldinsure has announced its first client is to be Canadian insurance giant Royal Sun Alliance Life Insurance Co.

On Wednesday The Royal Gazette revealed that the year-old Bermuda technology company -- the first company in the world to provide a fully automated system for insurance companies to process applications -- was about to close its first deal.

And yesterday it was announced that Royal Sun Alliance Life Insurance Co plans to outsource its front-end application and underwriting services using Worldinsure, making the service available to more than 5,000 independent agents across Canada.

And The Royal Gazette understands the new company may be poised to sign a deal for its business to business platforms for medically underwritten insurance such as life insurance products with an American insurer.

John Hele, chief executive officer of the company, said: "Out sourcing is relatively new for life insurance companies, but the pressure for more sales, lower cost and better service is facing every financial institution.'' He also said there was also an opportunity to attract customers now that most of the big insurance companies have demutualised.

"Obviously there is more demand from the capital markets to increase efficiencies. So we feel we have come in with the right product at the right time,'' he added.

The Bermuda company claims it is the first company in the world to develop a special software package, which will be sold to insurance companies.

Worldinsure claims the product will save time for customers who normally have to fill out reams of paperwork, which can take up to 12 weeks, to get life insurance. Brokers then have to wade through the documents and then track them as they pass through the back office.

Now one electronic form can be filled out on a computer either by a customer or a customer with a broker, and this same document will then be processed through a computer. It is not available directly to the public but is designed for insurance companies and distributors.

Currently trying to register on-line life insurance companies is a limited process because detailed and validated medical information is needed to calculate policies.

The documents generated by the programme will include medical information, which will be plugged in and the programme will calculate the risk and help work out the cost of insurance.

The programme has the capacity to do what is called automated underwriting ie calculating the cost of insurance.

The company, which has funding of $31 million, has been operating for over a year and has been in full swing for six months looking for businesses to take on its products.

It has offices in Hamilton, the US and Canada and a staff world-wide of 50. It hopes to increase this number to 100 by the end of the year.

The investors in the start-up are XDL Intervest Capital Corporation, Dorset Partners, CIBC Capital Partners, Princeton Holdings, Sun Life Financial, New Millennium Internet Ventures Fund Inc, BMO Nesbitt Burns Equity Partners Inc, Bayshore Capital and eLab Technology Ventures Inc.

Iain Scott will head operations in Canada as managing director, while Mr. Hele will focus on building a customer base in the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany from the Bermuda office.