Diligenta bags open-book deal from Friends Life

TCS' UK-based subsidiary Diligenta has secured a new multi-million pound contract with Friends Life Management Services Ltd (Friends Life) for its international operations.
Under the terms of the multi-year deal, Diligenta will configure and implement Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) solution -- BaNCS -- to support the international operations of Friends Provident International, TCS said in a statement issued here today.
The solution will provide multi-geography, multi-time zone and multi-currency capability to help the firm deliver seamless service for customers across markets in Asia Pacific and the Middle East, it added.
This platform will also support the growth strategy by introducing new products at a faster pace.

"This is a landmark deal for Diligenta, which demonstrates our capability to support new business for the international life insurance, savings and investments market," Diligenta MD and Vice Chairman and TCS Director Phiroz Vandrevala said.
In an open-book deal, the buyer and seller of work/ services agree on which costs are remunerable and the margin that the supplier can add to these costs.

Established in 2005, Diligenta specialises in business process outsourcing (BPO) services for UK's life & pensions industry.
It currently administers about 6.5 million live policies on behalf of its clients.
In 2006, Diligenta secured its first GBP 486 million deal with the Phoenix Group (formerly known as the Pearl Group).

Since then, it has secured a number of new clients in the life and pensions sector, including a 15-year deal with Friends Life worth USD 2.2 billion, which commenced March 2012 to support its UK-based closed and open book operations.
"This new deal will enable us to streamline our systems, improve services to our customers and put us in a strong position to continue growing new business," John Van Der Wielen, CEO International at Friends Life, said.