Customer experience

SIMSBURY, Conn.--Looking to meet a growing financial need, The Hartford Financial Services Group is introducing a new last survivor universal life insurance policy to help affluent couples transfer their wealth to children and other loved ones. Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL is a flexible premium universal life policy that is issued by Hartford Life Insurance Co. and Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Co., subsidiaries of The Hartford. Last survivor policies insure two people, typically couples, and pay a death benefit upon the second death. Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL provides affordable, permanent life insurance protection with an available secondary guarantee for the death benefit. The death benefit guarantee for Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL is based on the claims-paying abilities of Hartford Life and Hartford Life and Annuity.

TAMPA, Fla.-- SCI, a national leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO), announced today that it has renewed its agreement with top-rated insurance carrier Zurich, North America to provide workers' compensation coverage for its client company employees effective March 1, 2005, through February 28, 2006. "Our renewal with Zurich, once again, reflects the continued strength of SCI as a leading provider of PEO outsourcing services in the marketplace," said J.C. Dominguez, president, SCI. "We continue to improve our performance and refine our processes to exceed customer expectations. Working with the best companies in the market will allow us to extend the best products and services to our clients; Zurich is just one example of that."

PEARL RIVER, NY--ACORD and XBRL examine the need for data standards and their own roles in the overall communications flow in their newly released white paper, "XML Standards and the Insurance Value Chain." The document focuses on the flow of data within the insurance value chain and the importance of data standards to transport the information along the path for financial reporting and regulatory compliance.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--In response to a rapidly growing voluntary benefits market, UnumProvident has announced enhancements to its critical illness and individual short term disability insurance products. The specified critical illness insurance now includes the option of base or enhanced coverage. Base coverage features a benefit payout for heart attack, stroke, permanent paralysis, kidney failure, organ transplant or coronary artery bypass surgery. Enhanced coverage includes all conditions listed under the base plan, plus an additional benefit if diagnosed with cancer. Enhancements also include increased benefit amounts for covered children, and, for eligible employee groups, the first $10,000 in coverage is guaranteed-issue (some restrictions apply).

Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. announced that Chuck Brady has joined the company as president of the professional liability division, located in Torrance, Calif.

Over the next 18 months, employees will be spending more time online--not surfing the Web or checking e-mail but rather logging onto their company Web site and signing up for employee benefits with a click of the mouse. According to MetLife's recently released 2004 Employee Benefits Trend Study, employee self-service on the Internet is an important benefits strategy, particularly among large employers. As a result, companies expect a huge surge in e-benefits use over the next two years.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.--As some insurance carriers tinker with proprietary policy download solutions in their electronic interfaces with independent agents and brokers, agents are seeing increased workflow time as well as other unanticipated issues, according to the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), the user group of Applied Systems agency management technology. "Agents are paying the price for unconventional download," said ASCnet President Robby Dunn. "For years, IVANS, trade associations, carriers, agents and their vendors have worked side-by-side to integrate common, multi-company communication components, develop file retrieval and update processes, and establish clear agency support services. We all saw the advantage of an industry solution. Competing on technology in this space did not make economic or business sense then, and it still doesn't."

SIMSBURY, Conn.-- The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., one of the leading sellers of group life and disability insurance in America, has acquired 100,000 group life and accident policies from the Union Labor Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of ULLICO Inc. The $29 million purchase is a strategic acquisition by The Hartford's group life and accident insurance businesses, according to Richard Mucci, executive vice president of The Hartford's Group Benefits Division. The Hartford sells group life and accident policies through Hartford Life Insurance Co. and Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co.

ATLANTA, GA--The year 2005 should be challenging, with additional complications from regulatory and legislative issues, say members of the LOMA Board of Directors. LOMA's Resource magazine surveyed members of LOMA's board for their views on what the industry can expect in 2005.

ISO, a provider of anti-fraud and personal injury claims solutions, has identified ten key factors that can help insurers reduce the rising costs of handling personal injury claims.