Customer experience

If a slightly improved economy is lulling insurers into a sense of relative security concerning their customer-base, they need to think twice, according to a new report by Boston-based Celent. The report, “Insurance Customer Service Trends in North America,” notes that it has never been more important to keep the clients insurers have.”

While many Asian consumers are staring to purchase policies from banks, the majority still prefer the personal touch of agents.

Insurers may want to ensure consumer adoption of their mobile wares doesn't fall short of expectations, as experts predict banks will struggle without proper promotion.

Allstate announced the launch of Tag In, its latest mobile messaging smartphone app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry users.

Individuals can securely purchase policies online and immediately print policies and ID cards.

Solution intended to foster payor/provider alignment, promote engagement with two-way communication through a provider portal and interactive dashboards.

Aetna announced today that Chairman and CEO Ronald Williams will retire from in April 2011. Effective Nov. 29, 2010, he will become executive chairman, and Mark Bertolini, currently Aetna’s president and head of business operations, will be appointed CEO and elected to the company’s board of directors. Aetna said the board intends to elect Bertolini to the additional role of chairman upon Williams' retirement.

It’s no secret that agents and brokers continuously rank “ease of doing business” as one of their top priorities when choosing a carrier partner. The subject of a recent survey, 7,800 independent agents and brokers were asked to rank more than 200 property/casualty carriers, and name their top performers.

Preliminary research results from NCCI indicates a 4% drop in claim frequency for 2009.

To date, insurance pricing and conditions have remained stable, with flat or lower pricing being typical for the majority of insureds in the majority of coverage lines, notes insurance broker Marsh, which issued a report this week on the state of the P&C and reinsurance markets.