Digital Platforms

Hartford, Conn. - Specialty Risk Services LLC (SRS), a property-casualty third party administrator for workers' compensation and general liability claims, is offering its clients access to a suite of tools to monitor their program's performance on its newly redesigned Web site.In SRS' password-protected Employer's Toolbox, clients have secure access to resources, including industry statistics, employee training materials, libraries of legislative and industry updates, loss control and safety tips, and links to national and industry Web sites.

Philadelphia - Cigna has introduced a new tool designed to allow companies to stay connected to employees during times of crisis. Travel Locator Service is a Web-based tool that combines worldwide medical and security intelligence with illness and accident medical coverage designed expressly for international business travelers. Philadelphia-based Cigna says the tool is available with its Medical Benefits Abroad service, and is designed to provide companies with employees abroad a detailed alert to quickly identify which employees are traveling on business and where -- pinpointing the exact whereabouts of traveling professionals down to country, city, and hotel location - so that employers can immediately communicate with traveling employees.

Los Angeles - Undervaluation statistics for the U.S. homeowners business have continued to improve since 2004, according to Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MS/B), a provider of building cost data and estimating technology to the property insurance industry.MS/B has been tracking home valuation statistics since the early 1990's and reports it as the MS/B ITV Quality Index". In 2005, MS/B's research shows the percentage of undervalued U.S. homes has dropped over the prior year from 61% to 59%, and the average percentage of undervaluation has improved from 25% to 22% across the industry. This is a significant improvement from five years ago when approximately 73% of homes in America were undervalued by an average of 27%, according to MS/B.

Hartford, Conn. - Aetna is launching an online customer service program that lets consumers find out what they can expect to pay at the doctor's office before going in for a visit. The service will allow consumers to better estimate their out-of-pocket health care expenses by having online access to the actual discounted rates for up to 25 of the most common office-based services offered by their own primary care or specialist physician. The program will initially be piloted with information for approximately 600 distinct procedures provided by 5,000 individual physicians and physician groups in Cincinnati, Dayton and Springfield, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

Stamford, Conn., - While property and casualty insurers need to implement the same standards to provide real-time transactions for brokers and agents, survey results by Gartner, Inc. show that many insurers have been slow in offering the technologies necessary to implement these transactions.A Gartner survey of 72 members of the Council of Independent Agents and Brokers (CIAB) conducted between January and April of 2005 showed that agents and brokers prefer to do business with insurers that provide real-time transaction capabilities to better service policy holders. However, adoption of single-entry multiple-carrier interfaces (SEMCIs), which enable distributors to send and receive data seamlessly, continues to lag among insurers and distributors.

Hartford, Conn. - If small businesses always maintained the same workers, locations, fleet vehicles or inventories, then reporting changes for their premium audits would be easy. Reality, however, is quite different. The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has introduced an online Premium Audit Reporting tool that dramatically simplifies the process of submitting information to reconcile insurance premiums.Most commercial insurance premiums are provisional, calculated at the beginning of the policy year based on estimates of the business operations throughout the year. At the end of the policy year, the business's records are audited for changes that may affect the premium, including increases or decreases in payroll and sales. When the audit is complete, the premium is modified accordingly.

Brea, Calif. - XDimensional Technologies Inc., the provider of Nexsure, the Internet insurance agency management solution, and The Ohio Casualty Insurance Co., Fairfield, Ohio, have extended the inquiry services available on Nexsure."Our company is committed to providing cutting-edge technology to agents in order to help them succeed in the competitive marketplace," says John Kellington, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Ohio Casualty. "We work with innovative, proven vendors to help us achieve this goal. For example, agents using Nexsure from XDimensional Technologies and leveraging extended services are able to access a wider variety of information exactly when they need it, to speed business along. Specifically, Nexsure users are able to access selections of loss run and document retrieval information through this process. This provides an advantage over the traditional process, yielding a timely, accurate and convenient solution."

Northbrook, Ill. - Allstate Financial Corp. has launched a new illustration system for its variable annuity product line called ClearCast Illustrations. This new illustration system enables producers to create hypothetical views of the entire variable annuity product suite.ClearCast walks the user through the process of selecting features, riders and subaccounts. The system has several unique characteristics that include:

Jersey City, N.J. - ISO has acquired eLIENS, a unit of Xtria LLC. eLIENS provides lien holder and mortgagee notification services for insurance carriers. Xtria is an information technology and services company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.Lending institutions that finance the purchase of autos, homes and other property typically require borrowers to maintain minimum levels of insurance coverage. As a lien holder or mortgagee to the property being insured, these lenders are entitled to receive many of the same notices that are sent to policyholders. The result for insurance companies is often a very paper- and labor-intensive notification process.

Newark, N.J. - Prudential Financial Inc. has launched a Women & Finance section on its consumer Web site. The new section of the company's site provides information and tools designed to help women address the unique financial issues they face."Bringing education to the online experience is just one way we hope to provide women with the tools they need to help secure their own financial futures," says James Brett, vice president and head of eBusiness Development for Prudential. "In today's fast-paced world, a great way to provide knowledge is through the convenience of the Internet."

Hinsdale, Ill. - In the past few years, organizations with contact centers have been at risk of a multi-million dollar exposure due to a phenomenon known as Katz telecom licensing fees. To help educate enterprises regarding their options in this area the Opus Group LLP, an operational performance management firm has published a white paper that describes the benefits of performing a telecom operational analysis after receiving a so-called "Katz letter."Ronald A. Katz telecom licensing fees are assessed for the use of technologies covered under a variety of patents. Most of these patents cover technology that ties telephone and online/computer equipment together, a practice that is almost universal in today's contact centers. The Katz letter estimates the fees owed based on public records and standard industry practices. Until now, organizations have had to choose whether to pay the fees as stated or fight them in court. To date, according to a research note from Saddletree Research analyst Paul Stockford, the Katz organization has never lost a case.

Hartland, Wis. - AQS Inc., a Hartland, Wis., policy administration software provider, announced an agreement with the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) to provide its forms, rules and rating information in AQS' commercial policy administration systems for farm and inland marine to AQS clients that are AAIS members. Wheaton, Ill.-based AAIS, which acts as a product development resource for insurance providers, offers expertise in product development, actuarial analysis, and regulatory filings. The relationship between AAIS and AQS' Bureau Unit expands bureau-related information available to AQS clients and fosters straight-through processing by providing clients access to the information electronically.

Mississauga and Toronto, Ont. - Chubb Insurance of Canada, a subsidiary of the Warren, N.J.-based property and casualty company Chubb, has implemented MS/B's IntegriClaim property claim estimating technology as a desktop application into Chubb's property claims management process. Chubb Insurance of Canada, located in Toronto, will use the Los Angeles-based company's technology to help facilitate its continued development in the Canadian market.IntegriClaim is a suite of property claims solutions for the P&C industry. It is designed to deliver more consistent and accurate estimates reflective of localized costs by using total component data researched from nearly 100 unique cost locations in Canada.

Greensboro, N.C. - DataDelta Inc. has launched its first "Single Customer View Accuracy Survey" in partnership with market research firm The CDI Institute. Burlingame, Calif. The purpose of the survey is to measure single customer view accuracy that results from customer data integration (CDI) projects.The initial survey results will be presented at the 17th Information Quality Conference hosted by Larry English and The International Association for Information and Data Quality (IAIDQ) September 19-23 in Houston, Texas.

Los Angeles - While most believe insurance is important to protect assets and, in the case of life insurance, their families, Los Angeles-area Latino consumers in general under-utilize insurance, according to a study released today by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) at the University of Southern California.The study, made possible by a grant from Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill., used focus groups and a telephone survey to assess Los Angeles-area Latino resident's attitudes toward three types of insurance: auto, property (homeowners and renters) and life. The study also examined how these consumers make decisions about insurance purchases and gather information about insurance. Among the key findings:

Oak Ridge, Tenn. - Diversified Product Inspections Inc., a provider of independent product failure analysis, air contamination and fire investigations for the insurance industry will now send its clients product failure analysis reports electronically via a secure PDF file format.Warren Wankelman, vice president of marketing says, "Effective Monday, August 8, 2005, DPI started transmitting reports, pictures, and invoices electronically, which will replace the reports being sent via U.S. Mail. These reports will be in a secure encrypted Acrobat Reader format with access only with a password. Subrogation managers, claims managers and adjusters will access this new system via the DPI Web site by registering and setting up an account. While adjusters will only be able to access or view their own claims, managers will be able to view all their company's reports that have been completed."

Phoenix - AlohaCare, a non-profit Hawaii health plan serving state QUEST members, has selected an enterprise application and professional services application from Quality Care Solutions Inc. (QCSI) to administer claims and accommodate future growth. QUEST is a state program that provides health insurance for more than 150,000 Hawaii residents, provides comprehensive medical care for those who cannot afford their own commercial insurance coverage and do not qualify for other programs.AlohaCare has been successfully running its claims administration using QCSI's product suite since August 2000, and was previously under contract with a third-party vendor for support and hosting services. AlohaCare recently upgraded to a more current version of QCSI software, in order to achieve its desired business outcomes and maximize its information technology investment.

Denver--Qwest Communications International Inc. has won a new multimillion-dollar agreement from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Eagan, Minn., for high-end data networking services. The contract, worth approximately $3 million over three years, enables Blue Cross to set up a redundant network to support the company in the event of a disaster or an outage on its primary network.Qwest will provide metro optical Ethernet services of bandwidth up to 100 Mbps, and 20 private routed networks between Blue Cross's offices and a state-of-the-art Qwest CyberCenter. Also, Blue Cross will install dedicated iQ Networking ports at three sites using bandwidth up to OC-192.

Kennesaw, Ga.--MicroBilt Corp., a provider of decision critical data, and credit industry veteran and attorney Oscar Marquis have formed a joint venture. Called ComplyTraq LLC, the new company will provide Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance, credentialing, audit and training services to the credit and data industries.The joint venture is being formed to serve the growing need for compliance and auditing in an industry that is under increasing pressure from state and federal regulation related to the use of personal information. Through the combined experience of the principals and as regulation increases, the joint venture will assist organizations with compliance and auditing and will guarantee its services, backed by an insurance policy issued by Lloyd's of London.

San Jose, Calif.--one of Switzerland's largest health insurance organizations for private and corporate customers, Christian & Social Health and Accident Insurance (CSS), has deployed more than 1,900 Linux-based thin-client devices at its headquarters in Lucerne and regional branch offices. This deployment of devices from Wyse Technology, replaces a previous solution at CSS from a competing thin-client vendor.The Linux-based thin-client solutions provide CSS with an adaptable alternative to the standard PC that is inherently resistant from viruses, and helps CSS' distributed organization to save a significant amount of time, money and IT management resources, according to Wyse Technology.

Northbrook, Ill. - Allstate Insurance Company has engaged ProcessClaims, Manhattan Beach, Calif., to develop and test new claim-related quality assurance technology. The software is being designed to streamline quality assurance processes and ensure accuracy in vehicle estimate preparation. The companies are also exploring broader new technology approaches to drive e-business in the rapidly evolving collision repair inter-industry. ProcessClaims is a provider of software connectivity and business process automation for the property and casualty industry.

New York-As the next step in its efforts to automate the sales and processing of life insurance policies, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has launched its pilot program for InsurExpress, New York. Leveraging DTCC's infrastructure and established network of connectivity, InsurExpress integrates key insurance industry service providers to support communications between insurance companies and participating distributors of insurance products, providing necessary functionality for life insurance application processing.Firms participating in the initial pilot testing include Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va., and Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis. In the coming months, DTCC intends to expand the program to include multiple financial advisors in various geographical locations, together with an expanded product set and carrier list.

Washington, D.C. - There is a clear economic case for structural changes in insurance regulation, namely an optional federal charter (OFC), that could benefit both consumers and life insurers, according to a study conducted by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Washington, D.C., and Computer Sciences Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.

Northbrook, Ill.--Allstate Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The Allstate Corp., is participating in the PREPARE (PREVU* Predicts Atherosclerosis Risk and Events) clinical trial, a study with Toronto-based IMI International Medical Innovations Inc. and McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Guelph, Ont. The study evaluates a new medical technology for assessing the risk of coronary artery disease.Currently, Allstate Life customers who apply for a life insurance policy must undergo a blood test as one of a number of factors to assess their coronary artery disease risk. The new study incorporates a skin test that uses an adhesive collection strip that is applied to a study participant's hand. Upon removal of the strip, dead skin cells are collected and then sealed in a collection device and processed using IMI's patented PREVU* LT Skin Sterol Test system.

Green Bay, Wis. - Amex Assurance Company, a subsidiary of the American Express Property Casualty companies, is selling policies to New Jersey drivers directly over the Internet. The Green Bay, Wis., company has sold property/casualty insurance since 1986 and writes auto insurance in 38 states and Washington, D.C. It's the fourth new firm, following Mercury General, GEICO and Esurance, to enter the auto insurance market since legislative reform began two years ago in what is called one of the most heavily regulated states.

In a perfect world, maintaining IT assets would entail faultless consistency: reliable hardware, software and support services, a trusted team in place that would optimize integration and functionality through each asset's lifecycle, and the chairman of the board's slap on the back for bringing IT spending in-once again-under budget.Dennis Callahan, CIO of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, knows that there is no such thing as a "perfect world." He might even go so far as to say that the only consistent thing in life is change. Callahan just wants to make sure that Guardian Life's IT asset management initiative represents positive change for the 145 year-old New York-based mutual life insurance company.

The decision to send IT operations overseas is often viewed in the pejorative by IT line personnel, who feel they must continuously "skill up" or face the unemployment line. Though carriers are often reluctant to publicize their strategies, sources indicate it's definitely a topic of executives' conversation.IT offshore outsourcing, i.e., offshoring, has intensified, and from a business driver perspective, its discussion is becoming more commonplace in the boardroom, where it holds less controversy.

Do the numbers 705/4 mean anything to you? What about the name Ronald Katz? If not, you may want to pay more attention to what's happening in the patent world.The numbers 705/4 represent the U.S. Patent Office classification for insurance inventions. And, according to industry sources, carriers are woefully oblivious to the spike in patents filed under that classification over the past few years.

A survey conducted by AIIM, a Silver Spring, Md., enterprise content management (ECM) association, reveals that while cost reduction is still dominant in driving ECM decisions, compliance and payback are growing in popularity.AIIM surveyed more than 1,200 end users and potential end users of content and document management technologies in nine countries: the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Germany, Australia, and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg).

In one corner, a number of professional organizations support federal regulation of the insurance industry. And, on the opposite side of the ring, other groups support state oversight. The debate over state and federal regulatory control seems to have resurfaced, and a host of parties affected are gearing up for the battle.Some insurance carriers, however, are asking: Does it really matter who's standing when all is said and done? Many insurers simply recognize that there is a need for regulatory reform -and where that control lies is of secondary concern, according to Dick Luedke, spokesperson for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Bloomington, Ill.

Since the beginning of the decade, it's been pedal to the metal for AAA Life Insurance Co.. The organization, which offers term and universal life products, fixed annuities, and travel accident insurance to AAA members, has grown from 75 employees in 1999 to a staff of 400, supporting more than 800,000 customers and more than $1.1 billion in assets.As AAA Life's business began to accelerate at breathtaking speed, the organization's managers began to see some treacherous bumps and obstacles on the road ahead. The company lacked an enterprisewide system for watching and managing costs within the various business units. With relentless hiring and increasing costs of doing business, managers needed a clear, single view of where more gas needed to be applied to boost business, and where the brakes needed to be applied to curb spending.

New York - More than 90% of risk management executives are building or want to build enterprise risk management (ERM) processes into their organizations, but only 11% have completed such a task, according to a recent report issued by New York-based The Conference Board. The Board, in conjunction with Mercer Oliver Wyman, a New York financial consulting firm, surveyed 271 risk management executives from a variety of industries across North America and Europe.

Avon, Conn. - Worksite carriers recorded another year of reserved growth in 2004, according to the sixth annual U.S. Worksite Study, conducted by marketing advisory firm Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc., Avon, Conn. New worksite sales in the U.S. totaled an estimated $4.223 billion, a 3% increase over 2003 results. Growth improved from the 1.8% increase realized in 2003 (based on revisions several companies made to their reported 2003 sales). [Note: As a result of these revisions, total sales for 2003 were revised downward to $4.1 billion.]

Needham, Mass. - U.S. insurers may face a tough road to better aligning business processes, data, and content to help to drive more profitable, competitive, and differentiated services for growth, but as insurers advance their capabilities, the demands for straight-through processing will drive them toward more open business architectures that will help produce reusable assets, services, and business modules.

Chicago - Agents are being introduced to an e-mail autoresponder that automatically includes complete health insurance quotes to prospective customers and allows continuous flow of e-mails to prospects over a specified timeframe. Norvax, a Chicago developer of Web-based sales and customer communications tools, has released its LeadMiner tool in three versions - Basic, Pro and Marketer. Each version enables agents to automatically e-mail messages customized with their own information on a regular basis at intervals specified by the agent, automatically send HTML and text e-mails with instant, integrated health insurance quotes, and automatically add updated health insurance quotes to scheduled e-mails sent after the initial contact.

Alexandria, Va.--Five top insurance industry leaders will participate in a CEO panel discussion during the opening session of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (Big "I") Convention in New York.CEOs participating as panelists for the discussion are: Frederick H. Eppinger, CEO, Allmerica Financial Corp.; Robert J. Joyce, chairman and CEO, Westfield Group; Charles M. Kavitzky, president and CEO, Fireman's Fund; Axel P. Lehmann, CEO, Zurich North America Commercial; and William J. Mullaney, president, MetLife Auto & Home.

Princeton, N.J. -- American Re-Insurance Co. was named "Best Overall Reinsurer in the U.S." in the 2005 survey of cedant perceptions about reinsurance and reinsurers conducted by Flaspohler Research Group, a Kansas City, Mo.-based business-to-business research. American Re received the same recognition in 2003, the last time this survey was conducted."We are enormously proud of the results of the Flaspohler Survey. Retaining our No. 1 ranking in the "best overall reinsurer" category clearly demonstrates that we continue to be judged as the best reinsurer in this market by our clients - by far the most important arbiters of our performance," said John Phelan, Chairman and CEO of American Re-Insurance Co.

Boston - Although its financial services sector is still small compared to the United States, Europe, or Japan, China's rapid growth rates and huge potential make it a critical arena for expansion for both insurers and solution providers, according to Celent Communications. In its latest report, Insurance in China: Market and IT Overview, Celent predicts IT spending by insurers in China will jump from $2 billion in 2005 to more than $5 billion in 2009.

Washingon, D. C. - Members of the PIA Insurance Technology Coalition met with Congressional staffers on Capitol this week to discuss data security/identity theft and its potential effect on the insurance industry.

Chapel Hill, N.C. - Yankelovich Inc., has unveiled a tool that links the attitudes of individual consumers to insurance industry-specific product behaviors. The tool, Attitudes in Action, enables marketers to tailor their messages to a specific individual's wants and needs and tailor their offers to attitudes linked to individual names and addresses. These insurance-specific attitudes can be used for selecting target lists and performing database enhancements, thereby improving marketing productivity through higher response rates and reduced costs.

Frisco, Texas -Skywire Software, an insurance and financial services software company based in Frisco, Texas, announced it has completed its acquisition of InsBridge, Richardson, Texas, a rating and underwriting applications software provider.

Brookfield, Wis., - Fiserv, Inc., a financial management and compliance software provider, released a software system designed to be compliant with the Sarbanes Oxley Act. The Nautilus SOX solution is a tool that uses document management technology for enterprise-wide compliance with the 2002 federal legislation, and similar provisions that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners is expected to embrace for non-public insurers. The software provides an automated, searchable system for documenting internal controls and business processes to help ensure SOX compliance. With Nautilus SOX, users can create, collaborate, log, execute and conclude business transactions in a structured, efficient environment. It also provides users immediate access information regarding a process or project, including all outstanding issues, approvals, statuses, discussions and communications. The system's framework of pre-defined indexes and templates enables users to monitor and record all external and internal events affecting SOX compliance--from risk assessment to controls testing and remediation. Notifications and scheduled reviews can be set up to ensure that important deadlines are met, and the system can automatically route content between collaborating participants.

Orem, Utah - Xactware Inc. has introduced a collaboration tool that allows homeowners to review and approve their insurance to value calculations. This new tool, XactInfo, is a first-of-its-kind offering for the property insurance market, according to Xactware Inc., Orem Utah. Existing XactValue customers can automatically link into XactInfo for homeowner review and approval. XactInfo automatically sets up a personalized Web site for each homeowner and displays a copy of the information recorded about the home during the initial valuation such as total square footage, features and finishes. Homeowners can use the site to directly communicate with insurance agents and other interested parties regarding approval of existing information, and to provide updates as needed.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual Financial Group, Springfield, Mass., announced the acquisition of New York-based Golden Retirement Resources Inc., (GRR) a privately held firm that develops and distributes products and services for the retirement-income market. Comprising member companies with more than $350 billion in assets, MassMutual Financial Group is a global, diversified financial services organization providing life insurance, annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement planning products, structured settlement annuities, trust services, money management, and other financial products and services. Under the transaction, MassMutual Holding, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) purchased a majority interest in GRR (including all intellectual property), and intends to own the entire company by year-end. No financial terms were disclosed.

Boston - Liberty Mutual has launched a new Website designed to put benefit tools and information at the fingertips of benefit managers, employees, brokers and consultants. The site - MyLiberty Connection - is a gateway to the Boston-based carrier's on-line tools, secure services, and product information. From the site, users access resources built just for them; so each audience gets specific product and service information answering their common questions, and on-line tools to manage their exact benefit needs.

Jersey City, N.J. - Despite slowing premium growth and a deluge of catastrophic losses, property and casualty insurers ended a 26-year drought by posting $5 billion net underwriting profit in 2004, according to Insurance Services Office (ISO), Jersey, City, N.J. Powered by the best underwriting results in almost three decades, insurers' net income after taxes and overall profitability rose for the third consecutive year, and insurers' surplus climbed to a record high, according to ISO's newly-published insurance issues series study "Insurer Financial Results: 2004."

Hartford, Conn. - The U.S. life insurance industry is projected to post operating gains in 2005 and 2006 that build on positive 2003 and 2004 results, according to Conning Research and Consulting Inc. Hartford, Conn.

Dublin, Ireland - In response to the increasing in outsourcing of insurance company assets to third-party investment firms, Ireland-based Research and Markets released a Resource Guide that profiles the industry's most prominent global asset management firms, insurance companies, and key industry service providers. Included in the guide are industry rankings and comparisons, asset management firms, industry service suppliers, and corporate indexes. The names of major property and casualty, life and health, mutual property and casualty, mutual life and health, and reinsurance companies are also included, along with executive-level contact information. The Resource Guide also includes a full directory listing for industry consultants, technology and information providers, custodian banks, industry-related law firms, and industry associations.

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) warns that significant market disruptions could develop with the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act's (TRIA) expiration on December 31, 2005, the law's current sunset date. The economy's current strength reflects the ability of businesses to cover affordably catastrophic terrorism risks.

El Segundo, Calif. - Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, a Bucyrus, Ohio, insurance company, has experienced a 13 percent increase in staff productivity over the previous year, thanks in part to software from Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), El Segundo, Calif. Previously known as the Ohio Mutual Tornado, Cyclone and Windstorm Insurance Assoc., Ohio Mutual today provides auto, home, farm and business insurance. The implementation of CSC's property and casualty insurance software follows its move last year to replace its legacy system with CSC's POINT IN policy administration and claims components. The POINT IN policy administration component provides Ohio Mutual with an integrated, paperless system for rating, underwriting, reinsurance, and billing and collection. The advanced claims component automates claims assignment and tracking. The company, which writes more than $120 million in premiums each year, reports a surplus of more than $67 million. CSC reports that the carrier also achieved the largest annual net operating profit in the company's 104-year history.

San Diego, Calif. - Abovehealth, a healthcare information technology company, has founded The Dolphin Group, a "think tank" comprised of industry peers who wish to discourse on the unique problems facing IT executives in the healthcare information industry. The group held its inaugural event in Las Vegas in conjunction with last month's America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute 2005.

Minneapolis - UnitedHealth Group will acquire Cypress, California-based Pacificare Health Systems, Inc., the company announced today. The acquisition, expected to be financed 27% in cash and 73% in shares of UnitedHealth common stock, is valued at $8.1 billion in stock and cash plus $1.1 billion in PacifiCare debt to be retired at closing. The deal would close in late 2005 or early 2006, pending approvals from federal regulators and shareholders of PacifiCare. Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth, one of the nation's largest managed-care companies, plans to expand its West Coast presence and its involvement in the Medicare market. According to Chicago-based Fitch Ratings, approximately 1.8 million, or 57% of Pacificare's 3.2 million members are located in California, which is a state where UnitedHealth has historically lacked a competitive market share. In addition, UnitedHealth will be acquiring the largest player in the Medicare Advantage program, reports Fitch. Pacificare will add approximately 720,000 Medicare Advantage members to UnitedHealth's existing Medicare Advantage membership of approximately 345,000 and will give an additional boost to UnitedHealth's plans to participate in the Medicare drug benefit beginning in 2006, says the ratings firm.