Customer experience

Survey shows employers not meeting employee desires for health plan programs that are easy to use, motivating, meaningful and personalized.

In a move that reflects global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings’ acknowledgement of the growing role analytics plays across all domains of insurance and risk management, the global insurance broker announced that Rowan Douglas has been appointed CEO Global Analytics for Willis.

Christi Daughenbaugh, 2011 Chairman of the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA), selected Melinda Meyer, VP, Member Office Development for national broker/dealer ValMark Securities, as the recipient of the 2011 NAILBA Chairman’s Award. The honor was presented yesterday at the association’s annual meeting, NAILBA 30, in Phoenix, Arizona.

People in Portland, Ore. are mad as hell at distracted drivers and they’re not going to take it any more, according to a poll conducted by PEMCO Insurance. The problem is: some of those same drivers admit to the driving-while-distracted behavior, violating safe driving laws on a regular basis.

Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA), a subsidiary of insurance broker Marsh Inc., has set forth a strategy to build a preeminent property/casualty and employee benefits organization to serve the needs of the middle market. And, the firm is acting on it. Just in the month of November, MMA announced three acquisitions: Seitlin Insurance, an insurance brokerage firms South Florida, Gallagher & Associates Inc. a property/casualty insurance agency specializing in public school districts, and the employee benefits division of Kaeding, Ernst & Company a Marlborough, Massachusetts-based employee benefits, life insurance, and financial planning consulting firm. Terms of all three transactions were not disclosed.

Roughly two-thirds of life and annuity producers surveyed by Deloitte (http://www.deloitte.com) expect to change carriers within the next 12 months. Twenty-nine percent plan to add carriers and one-third expect to both add and drop carriers. Sales support, speed of underwriting and policy issue, and carrier brand are the top factors influencing these decisions. Forty percent are not satisfied with the support they currently receive. And, with more than 80 percent of a producer’s total compensation coming from two favored carriers, there is room for improved producer loyalty and sales through better support, said Rebecca Amoroso, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and insurance leader.

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (IIABA) recently honored Caliper Corporation's Founder and CEO Dr. Herb Greenberg, for his role over a five-decade period in improving the performance of its state associations and member agencies. In particular, Greenberg was noted for his development of the Caliper Profile, a proprietary personality assessment.

Insurance executives downplay their service delivery and mobile capabilities so far, which is promising.

Accenture survey says industry needs to embrace analytics and better tailor products and services to customers’ needs.

Unpredictability, layers of complexity, yet-to-be-seen risks all play forward into challenges and opportunities for insurers’ social media strategies.