Customer experience

Gig Harbor, Wash. - Jon Kaplan, head of financial services, advertising, for Google, Inc. and Roger Dawson, a nationally recognized speaker, negotiator and author, will headline the 2007 annual meeting of the Insurance Marketing Communication Association (IMCA), June 3-6, 2007 in Newport, R.I. In his role, Kaplan sets the overall strategy for Google's national advertising sales team and for enhancing product offerings, and works with regional sales teams on strategic clients. Roger Dawson, a full-time speaker and author, is considered a negotiations expert. A full-time speaker since 1982, Dawson has trained managers and salespeople at top companies and leading associations throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Jeanne Salavatore, senior vice president, public affairs, Insurance Information Institute, is also scheduled to address the group. She will "grade" the insurance industry on how well it is doing in its communications in her presentation, "Why Insurers Should Care About Communications." Source: Insurance Marketing Communication Association

Chicago - The fortunes of two industries are beginning to intertwine, according to Cards & Payments, a Chicago-based sister publication of Insurance Networking News.

DIRECT MARKETING TOOL ENHANCEDMelissa Data announced the addition of multi-platform capabilities to the Canadian Address Object, a complementary product to the Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. company's Data Quality Suite, a direct-marketing tool that verifies and corrects address, phone and contact data.

STRATEGIC GOALS GUIDE IT SPENDINGSenior insurance IT executives are making strategic investments, but budgets and staff size are generally flat or growing only modestly.

INSURER AUTOMATES INTERNAL CONTROLSPhysicians Mutual, based in Omaha, Neb., selected OpenPages FCM for its financial controls management initiatives. OpenPages FCM is an enterprise financial controls management solution designed to reduce time and resource costs associated with ongoing financial reporting regulations. It is expected to reduce Physician Mutual's time and costs associated with efforts to comply with changes to National Association of Insurance Companies financial reporting regulations. "OpenPages allows us to automate our ongoing assessment and monitoring of internal controls and ensure that compliance initiatives align with our business strategy," says Barbara Bergmeier, senior vice president of internal audit, Physicians Mutual.

Waukesha, Wis. - Markel American Insurance Co. launched its new Web site (www.markelinsuresfun.com). The site is designed to provide a single access point to people seeking to insure their recreation. The site enables customers and potential customers to quote and purchase insurance for their motorcycle, boat, personal watercraft and ATV all in one place. In addition, the site will be regularly updated with industry news, stories and trends to provide visitors with the information they are looking for to stay up to date on their favorite activities.

Franklin Lakes, N.J. - Patients are 58% more likely to switch to a lower-cost prescription drug when assisted by an online tool that allows them to compare prices, a new study from pharmacy benefit manager Medco reveals.

Bloomfield, Conn. - Juan Conde joined Bloomfield, Conn.-based CIGNA HealthCare as CIO. He is responsible for the IT strategy and delivery of CIGNA's consumer-focused technology solutions.

Chicago - Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Illinois announced that it plans to expand its e-prescribing initiative throughout Illinois. This follows on a plan BCBS announced in January in which the Anthem BCBS group would expand the effort in Ohio.

New York - Look for accelerated growth this year of the outsourcing trends that predominated in 2006: Expansion of business process outsourcing (BPO), the maturing of the offshore market and more multi-sourcing at the expense of single, one-off “mega-deals.”