South Carolina-based health and life insurer, Kanawha Insurance Company and CGI Group Inc. (CGI) (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB) announced today the expansion of their long-term IT partnership. Kanawha has selected CGI for a ten-year business process services outsourcing contract valued at US$12 million. As part of this contract, CGI will deliver complete, onsite document management services. Specifically, CGI will provide inbound and outbound mail management; paper to digital conversion; document validation and indexing; procurement; production print of all policies, billing forms, reports, and explanation of benefits statements; other production print; distribution services; and facility support. As part of this contract nineteen Kanawha professionals are joining CGI. This new agreement is an expansion of the 10-year full IT outsourcing contract previously announced in 2003.
"Through our collaboration with CGI, Kanawha has seen firsthand the benefits of partnering with a company focused on the quality delivery of practical solutions for our evolving business needs. Our solid business relationship coupled with the team's performance and our creative shared savings model has propelled us to expand our relationship with CGI. This new contract will further enable us to better predict our IT and document management services costs and effectively manage increased volume, which is our goal," says Stanley D. Johnson, president and CEO for Kanawha.
Joseph Saliba, president, business process services for CGI added: "We plan on making the South Carolina site a regional document processing center, enabling us to provide onsite services to Kanawha as well as bring additional client business to the location. In doing so we are expanding CGI's presence and capabilities in South Carolina. Additionally, through our work with Kanawha, we are building a new, custom-designed application for explanation of benefits statements. This new application will provide Kanawha with an enhanced, more efficient service supported by state-of-the-art technology. This new service will be added to CGI's suite of document management service offerings and made available to insurance carriers in the USA."
About Kanawha
Kanawha (ka-na'-wha) Insurance Company is one of the largest privately-owned life insurance companies in the Southeast. It is licensed as an insurer in 45 states and as a reinsurer in New York. Kanawha has had at least an "A- (Excellent)" rating by A.M. Best Company for 20 consecutive years and has been rated "A (Strong)" by Standard & Poor's.
Long Term Care and Worksite products are currently distributed in more than 40 states and represent the prime strategic markets for Individual insurance, accounting for 90% of new sales. This marketing thrust is supported by extensive proprietary producer training and sales support mechanisms that take full advantage of new technology.
Kanawha HealthCare Solutions, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, is one of the largest Third Party Administrators in the Southeast. Kanawha Marketing Group, Inc. was formed January 1, 2003 to distribute Kanawha products and other carriers' product lines not manufactured by Kanawha.
Kanawha's assets under management now exceed $660 million. Kanawha's success in reaching this level has been a direct result of Kanawha's reputation for service to policyholders, customers and agents, a dedication that continues. Â
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent information technology and business process services firms in North America. CGI and its affiliated companies employ approximately 25,000 professionals. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific as well as from centers of excellence in India and Canada. CGI's annualized revenue run rate is currently CDN$3.8 billion (US$2.8 billion) and at March 31, 2004, CGI's order backlog was CDN$12.0 billion (US$9.1 billion). CGI's shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices.. Website: www.cgi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements represent CGI Group Inc.'s intentions, plans, expectations, and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements.
These factors include and are not restricted to the timing and size of contracts, acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified employees; market competition in the rapidly-evolving information technology industry; general economic and business conditions, foreign exchange and other risks identified in the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) in CGI Group Inc.'s Annual Report or Form 40-F filed with the SEC, the Company's Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities authorities, as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future revenue from outsourcing contracts are forward-looking statements. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. .
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For more information:
Kanawha:
Larry Higgins
(803) 283-5316
CGI:
Investor relations
Julie Creed
(312) 201-4803 or (514) 841-3418
Ronald White
(514) 841-3230
Media relations
Eileen Murphy
(514) 841-3430
