Customer experience

The landmark outsourcing deal that Zurich Financial Services signed in July begs this question: Is outsourcing back in vogue, or is Zurich's situation unique?Insurance executives surely will scrutinize the results and ramifications of Zurich's seven-year, $1.3 billion application maintenance and development deal with CSC. For starters, the arrangement is expected to save Zurich $300 million over the seven-year period. But more importantly, executives will be keenly interested in how Zurich is able to execute its business strategy, now that responsibility for new application development is out of the hands of Zurich's IT staff.

When politicians earlier this year were taking pot shots at offshore outsourcing, some insurance industry experts suggested that the backlash could have a "chilling" effect on potential deals, at least in the near term.However, that notion was laid to rest with the announcement in July that Zurich Financial Services had agreed to a seven-year applications sourcing contract with Computer Sciences Corp.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then U.S. insurance companies are making their contribution to this well-worn axiom.North American insurers currently are pursuing global expansion at the brisk pace rivaling European insurers' foray into U.S. markets in the early 1990s, according to a recent report by Needham, Mass.-based research and advisory firm TowerGroup.

Despite all the progress that has been made in developing agent-carrier interfaces, insurance agents, particularly those who are independent, want more workflow support than they're currently receiving from the insurance companies with which they conduct business.In a survey conducted by Scituate, Mass.-based Deep Customer Connections (DCC), there's a gap between agents' expectations and carriers' performance-a gap that has widened since DCC's first survey last year. The Web-based poll was sent to more than 40,000 independent insurance agencies and brokerages nationwide.

In sports, a coach frequently will encourage an athlete to dig down inside for the motivation to reach new heights. In business, however, improvement often can be the result of a company looking outside its own walls.Many companies across a broad range of industries have turned to outsourcing as a way of improving corporate performance, from call center operations to information technology management. The main benefits of outsourcing are the opportunity to cut costs, to take advantage of state-of-the-art processes and systems and to focus resources on an enterprise's core competencies.

Most laptop computer users remain bullish on this technology as a portable and user-friendly computing alternative, one that enhances productivity.No doubt, that notion-while true-is also relative. Material damage appraisers for Indianapolis-based Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Co. once regarded 4.5-lb. standard-sized laptops as the best available tool to support their workflow efforts in handling auto insurance claims.

Fiserv Inc. has acquired Results International Systems, Inc., a provider of outsourced solutions for the property-and-casualty insurance industry.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Humana Inc. today announced the filing of applications for five patents in pharmacy and health metrics by its Innovation Center. All five of the patent applications are for Humana's use of innovative information technology applications to engage consumers in health benefits.

With boating season in full swing, Safeco has announced the launch of a new specialized claims unit dedicated to handling boaters' insurance claims.

Esurance has the top auto insurance Web site based the site's ability to provide quick answers to consumers questions and its easy rate-quote questionnaire, according to a new report by Change Sciences Group Inc. The report, "Online Auto Insurance Customer Acquisition: Customer Experience Benchmarks and Best Practices," ranks Web sites according to their support for the goals of first-time buyers, married couples, and senior citizens. These goals include: