Customer experience

Insurity Inc., a ChoicePoint company, today announced that Georgia Casualty & Surety, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlantic American, has selected Insurity's Commercial Intellisys property/casualty policy processing services and software. A complete Web-based rating, intelligent underwriting and electronic issuance platform is being deployed across 11 states for workers' compensation, commercial business auto, general liability, commercial package and umbrella policies.

An Internet-only health plan for individuals and families, called Net Saver, has been introduced by Health Net Life Insurance Company, a Woodland Hills, Calif.-based health insurer.With Net Saver, there are no paper-based application or enrollment materials. Once a secure, encrypted online application is completed by an applicant, it is downloaded by the consumer for record keeping and submitted at the same time to Health Net for processing. Net Saver's online processes help to speed the application submission process. It's not uncommon for applications to be submitted in the middle of the night by Internet-based brokers such as EHealthInsurance.com, according to Health Net Life Insurance Co.

OLDSMAR, Fla. -- eAutoclaims today announced that it has secured a two-year contract with Michigan Millers Mutual Insurance Company. eAutoclaims will provide its national network of body shops and independent appraisers (IA) to process Michigan Millers' automobile and commercial heavy equipment physical damage claims.

New York, NY--Atlantic Mutual announced that it closed the sale today of its subsidiary, Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company, and the renewal rights to select commercial insurance business, including the unearned premiums on the acquired book, to OneBeacon Insurance Company, after receiving regulatory approval. The overall gross written premium for this book of business totals over $400 million.

Maine Mutual Group Insurance Co,, a regional provider with operations in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, has joined a growing number of companies that are partnering with Trusted Choice, the national branding initiative created to educate consumers about the benefits of using independent insurance agents and brokers.consumer branding initiative. Trusted Choice was created by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), Alexandria, Va., and its company partners to highlight the benefits independent agencies and brokerage firms offer consumers–choice of companies, customization of policies and consumer advocacy. Just two years after its inception, more than 3,500 independent insurance agencies and brokerages throughout the country are participating in the branding program.

Nearly half of the top 200 U.S. insurance carriers are using offshore services, according to Celent Communications Inc., Boston. Among the carriers working with outsourcing firms that provide at least some offshore services are: Guardian Life, Manulife, Sun Life, Fireman's Fund, Farmer's Insurance Group, Allmerica, PacifiCare Health Systems, Abbey Life and Royal & Sun Alliance.But try to get an insurance executive to talk about outsourcing these days--especially offshore outsourcing--and you won't find many takers. Several large insurance carriers declined to be interviewed for this article. And, at a recent Insurance Networking News outsourcing conference in Tampa, Fla., several IT managers from smaller insurance companies said they did not want their employees to know they were attending.

If insurance carriers want their online shoppers to become online buyers, they need to give their customers more respect.That's a warning derived from recent analysis of 70 insurance Web sites that gave the insurance industry an average online Customer Service Index of 6.8 out of 10. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that although 93% of insurers post online privacy policies, 35% of them share customer data without the customer's permission.

The personalized attributes of Web portals have generated appeal among a growing number of insurers. But while Web portals possess a great deal of upside, the return on investment (ROI) prospects that portals-as well as extranets - can deliver to an insurance organization are still difficult to quantify.Despite this uncertainty, the perceived benefits continue to propel portal adoption. A study conducted by Stamford, Conn.-based research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. found that 75% of property/casualty insurers and 83% of life/health insurers have developed distributor portals or extranets.

There was a time when Atlanta-based Ebix Inc. and Darien, Ill.-based Quotesmith.com could have been mistaken for one another, but not anymore. In two strategic acquisitions forged in February, Ebix Inc. continues its quest to emphasize its business process outsourcing strengths. This became apparent when Ebix said it was acquiring LifeLink Corp., a provider of life insurance sales software applications.Based in Park City, Utah, LifeLink designs products in partnership with independent brokerage clients to create multi-carrier sales proposals.

When economic times are tough, executives turn their focus to increasing revenues and reducing costs. It's easy to say, but executing this simple idea can prove much more difficult, especially in the insurance industry.The events of Sept. 11, 2001 and the recession have brought the healthy profits the insurance industry saw in the 1990s crashing down into the depths of financial hardship.