Digital Platforms

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -Sun Microsystems, a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services, and Brixlogic, a provider of industry-standard Web Services solutions for the financial services industry, today announced that the two companies are partnering to deliver the first integrated solutions for the ACORD messaging standards.

SAN FRANCISCO--Quality Planning Corporation (QPC), the Rating Integrity Solutions Company, today released its annual Premium Rating Error report. The report concludes that premium rating errors lower the overall profits of auto insurance companies. QPC estimates that $15.2 billion of premium revenues were foregone in 2003 due to inaccuracies in rating information. The report can be found online at: http://www.qualityplanning.com/research.html.

BLOOMFIELD, Conn.-- CIGNA HealthCare and WebMD Health today announced a multi-year agreement that will offer help to millions of CIGNA HealthCare members in making vital health care decisions and in understanding and using their health care plan. Under the agreement, CIGNA will integrate WebMD Health's comprehensive suite of online health information and decision support tools into myCIGNA.com, the personal health benefits Web portal for CIGNA HealthCare members.

Uniondale, NY--OnlineBenefits Inc., provider of Internet-based HR solutions, announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Captiva Systems, a producer of agency management software for group insurance brokers.

Atlanta--Jacada Ltd., a provider of solutions that accelerate business improvement, today announced Jacada Fusion, a first-to-market solution that delivers The Perfect Interaction between people, process, and information.

NEWARK, Calif.-- Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the world's leading provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, today announced that it has released a new data formatting tool called the RMS Data Wizard. The tool is designed to help clean up and convert data about insured locations into a common format for use by insurance buyers, agents, brokers, insurers, and reinsurers.

NEW YORK--AIG Technologies, Inc. (AIGT), a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), today announced the launch of WINS Now, a Web-based insurance processing system designed to streamline policy administration and increase speed to market for Managing General Agents (MGA) and small property-casualty companies, including start-up and virtual insurers.

ProMutual Group, A Boston-based provider of medical malpractice insurance in the Northeast, has introduced a new Web site for policyholders. All policyholders will be receiving a letter within the next week announcing the site and providing each of them with their own individual username and password.This site is designed to be a source of medical malpractice and company information. A key feature of the site is the ability to link to online continuing medical education (CME) programs developed by ProMutual Group and offered in conjunction with the Massachusetts Medical Society. ProMutual Group-insured physicians can receive CME credit by taking an online test at the same discounted rate offered to Massachusetts Medical Society members.

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas--UICI today announced that, without acknowledging any fault, liability or wrongdoing of any kind and subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, it has agreed to settle a substantial number of its pending "association group" lawsuits.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-- MassMutual Retirement Services unveiled new aged-based asset allocation options that allow defined contribution (401k) plan participants to select an automatically-adjusting investment strategy based on their anticipated retirement date.

The Agents Council for Technology (ACT), which is affiliated with Alexandria, Va.-based Independent Agents & Brokers of America, has published Guidelines for Effective Agent-Carrier Technology Agreements, a report that can help independent agents and brokers as well as carriers identify issues to address in technology agreements.These agency-carrier technology agreements supplement agency agreements by detailing electronic interaction expectations between agents and their insurance company partners.

COLUMBIA, S.C.-- Following health insurance scams that have hit South Carolina recently, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has added new tools for consumers to use to report fraud.

Jeff Post (44) has resigned as CEO and president of the U.S. Allianz subsidiary Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. (FFIC) for personal reasons and will leave the company at his own request. He will be succeeded by Fireman's Fund board member Charles (Chuck) Kavitsky (52), who will step down from his current position as president of Allianz Life, effective immediately.Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund and Allianz Life are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Allianz Group. Jeff Post joined Fireman's Fund in May 1994 as chief actuary and was appointed chief financial officer in January 1996. In January 2001, he became CEO.

Standard Insurance Co., a subsidiary of StanCorp Financial Group Inc., Portland, Ore., has launched enhancements to its AdminEASE plan administration tools to enable its clients to manage more aspects of their insurance plans online.Employers can now initiate claims and analyze claims experience as well as check the status of insurance applications that require medical underwriting. The AdminEASE plan administration tools are available to The Standard's group disability, life and dental insurance customers at no additional charge.

Fiserv Inc. has created a new organizational structure--and a new name--as part of its strategy to provide a comprehensive information technology offering to the insurance industry.

IT spending continues to inch upward, according to Forrester Research Inc. A recent survey by the Cambridge, Mass.-based research and consulting firm found CIOs' rising optimism about their business climate will translate into a 2.4% spending increase in 2004, up from the 1.7% originally projected six months ago.The survey of more than 870 IT decision-makers at large North American companies also showed that business services, such as consulting, transportation, and construction, and finance and insurance firms lead other industries in year-over-year IT spending increases, with a rise in 2004 budgets of roughly four percentage points.

COLUMBIA, S.C.-- Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO) has launched the new Microsoft .Net-ready version of its ISO Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) personal injury claims management solution. COA Release 3.1 offers major new features, including the Treatment Protocols function and enhancements to the COA Medical Library and Settlement Analyzer tool. This will enable claims handlers, managers and third parties across the entire enterprise to manage information about personal injury claims via a secure Web browser, thereby speeding up claims resolution, improving accuracy and ensuring best practices.

FARMINGTON, Conn.--Insurix, Inc., a provider of Web-based insurance sales and administration platforms, announced today that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has successfully completed the launch of "Easy Online Renewal" for brokers. The Insurix-based system allows Harvard Pilgrim sales account executives, underwriters and third party brokers to instantly access and manage small-group renewals from inception through renewal presentation to case acceptance. With the Insurix platform, users can monitor and act upon all key events in the renewal process, resulting in improved retention rates and better customer service.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Ringing cell phones are a welcome sound to Nationwide, so long as the company's longtime jingle is playing. Nationwide is one of the first companies in the U.S. to offer an advertising jingle as a ring tone. Trendwatchers have dubbed the phenomena "jingle casting."

Rapidly submitting a timely First Notice of Loss (FNOL) report for a commercial auto or property insurance claim leads to faster settlements and satisfied claimants. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford, Conn., now enables its independent insurance agents to electronically initiate the claim process for their clients.The Hartford, which boasts a strong record of deploying advanced technology for improved agency interaction, is now enabling independent agents to electronically submit a commercial auto or property FNOL, with attachments, from their Applied agency management system. It does this using IVANS Transformation Station, a managed data exchange using Web services and ACORD XML for real-time transactions between agency and carrier systems.

Data standards are critical to streamlining the financial reporting process, according to industry sources. And a new add-in to Microsoft Office 2003--to be released this summer by the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant--may be the missing link in the concept of "straight-through reporting."The Microsoft add-in will provide XBRL support within Word and Excel, and it will enable companies to automate manual tasks associated with using Word and Excel for financial reporting, says Mike Willis, founding chairman of XBRL International and partner at New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Blue Cross of California, Thousand Oaks, Calif., has expanded its physicians technology initiative to include 1,040 safety net physicians in California. Traditionally, safety net physicians provide care to the uninsured, poor and low-income patients, including those enrolled in the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families insurance programs.With an additional $2 million in funding, this technology initiative will help these physicians improve patient care, achieve greater efficiency and improve administrative functions. These new technologies are intended to provide greater access to information and data exchange via the Internet or wireless handheld devices.

Rating agency demands (71%), financial reporting issues (55%), shifting product preferences (55%) and changes in regulatory requirements (48%) are driving the industry's need for improved risk and capital management practices, according to life insurance company CFOs surveyed by the Tillinghast business of New York-based Towers Perrin in its latest CFO survey.As a result of such pressures, 86% of the CFOs surveyed say they are paying more attention to risk and capital management practices. Four out of five (81%) of the executives polled are going one step further; they are proactively implementing them.

For years, life insurance providers and their agents have relied on obtuse, text-heavy sales presentations to their individual customers. Too often, though, poor sales presentation tools fail to enlighten individuals concerning the magnitude of a life purchase.

WASHINGTON-- Millions of Americans buying health insurance on their own have a wide variety of products from which to choose, and most select plans very similar to the coverage available to working people in employer-sponsored groups.

It's no secret that for insurers, aligning technology staffs and business units into a full partnership has been challenging. Frederick Matteson, the newly appointed chief information officer for Novato, Calif.-based Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., isn't able to fully grasp the automation-related woes that have bedeviled insurers. That's because Matteson has deftly been able to avoid them himself.Having spent a number of years as an executive in the brokerage industry, Matteson championed the concept of total alignment between IT and business long before it became commonplace. A proponent of disciplined strategic scenario planning, Matteson has a keen sense of determining early on whether to expand or reduce a corporatewide initiative, including those centered on information technology.

In a legal battle stemming from actions Allstate Insurance Co. took in 1999 to launch its groundbreaking multi-channel sales strategy, a federal judge has absolved the company of age discrimination. But Allstate is not off the hook yet.The judge's ruling also has cleared the way for terminated Allstate agents to sue the Northbrook, Ill.-based carrier under class-action status for other charges, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and violation of other federal laws, including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

When it comes to inefficiencies surrounding information technology security practices, global corporations are discovering that to err is human.A survey conducted by Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based global trade association Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) discovered that human error-defined mainly as a lack of adequate certification and training-is the root cause of lax IT security at most corporations.

The number of career agents-the largest distribution channel for life insurance-dropped significantly in a decade, down from 238,000 in 1990 to 178,000 in 2000. In addition, by 2010, 13.2% of the U.S. population will be 65 or older.These demographics present life insurers with product, distribution and operational challenges as fewer agents are available to sell new-sometimes complex-products to consumers who are planning for their retirement years.

Many corporations are catching flak these days for various operational inconsistencies.For instance, a recent survey indicates that companies, including insurers, have implemented seemingly effective, written IT security policies, but have not optimized these efforts by providing proper training and certification to its people.

Compromise legislation establishing a federal role in insurance regulation is likely to emerge from the House Financial Services Committee early in May. A hearing in late March yielded strong support for the measure from an industry divided on the issue.At the same time, the principles involved constitute the strongest support yet for greater uniformity in insurance regulation.

The Contracts Update section includes announcements of contracts insurance information technology companies have signed with customers in recent weeks. Contract news can be faxed to Insurance Networking magazine at (312) 913-1366 or by electronic mail to Stephen.Dwyer thomsonmedia.com Computer Sciences Corp.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Through aggressive health care fraud investigations and coordination among other states' Blue Cross plans, the Blue Cross Special Investigations Unit (SIU) stopped payment on $8.7 million of suspect claims last year, reducing the impact of fraud on premiums in Minnesota.

MADISON, Wis. -- BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, a leading health insurance provider that also administers federal health insurance programs, has addressed its evolving document communication needs by designating two Esker Software solutions as enterprise standards. Esker DeliveryWare Platform and Esker Fax respectively provide BlueCross BlueShield with intelligent multi-channel e-document delivery and automated fax.

Nationwide Financial, Columbus, Ohio, is offering an online marketing tool to help investment professionals grow their businesses and support the long-term investment needs of their clients. Investment Selector is an online quarterly report that recommends investment options and percentage allocations for The BEST of AMERICA variable products. Investment Selector uses research and evaluation methods developed by Morningstar Associates LLC, a registered investment advisor and a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar Inc. Investment Selector targets the investments that fulfill five allocation models developed through a collaboration with Ibbotson Associates.

The majority of insurance companies already maintain a rigorous corporate governance model to protect the financial interests of their policyholders and shareholders. So why does the Sarbanes-Oxley act have the industry aflutter? New research from TowerGroup, a Needham, Mass.-based research and consulting firm, finds insurers are realizing that the law can serve as a catalyst for long- term financial systems architecture strategy and process improvements."The globalization of insurance and the current complex regulatory environment necessitate a systematic, integrated approach to risk management," says Cindy Saccocia, senior analyst in the Insurance practice at TowerGroup and author of the report, titled "Sarbanes-Oxley and Insurance: Requirements, Hype, and Opportunity."

Atlanta-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia has launched the Clear Claim Connection, an online product and service for its network providers. This product, created by McKesson Corp., enables BCBSGa to share with network providers the auditing rules and clinical rationale which exist in the claims billing and auditing code system used by BCBSGa.John Watts, president and chief executive officer of BCBSGa, says, "This important service will enable network physicians and their office staffs to review our payment methodology online. By providing this service, we hope to make our reimbursement policies more readily accessible and reduce misunderstandings among providers, members and BCBSGa."

Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J., has introduced an automatic, online licensing application for brokers seeking appointment to sell the company’s insurance and annuity products. The electronic data collection tool, called Online Confidential Data Sheet (CDS), was developed by BISYS Education and Licensing Services for Prudential.The Online CDS streamlines the traditional, paper-based appointment process and greatly improves brokers’ speed to market.

Risk Management Solutions Inc. (RMS), a Newark, Calif.-based provider of products and services for catastrophe risk management, has released the findings of an in-depth study that provides workers compensation, life, and health insurers with key benchmarks for the potential risk of human casualties from catastrophic events.Among other findings, the study demonstrates that while many in the insurance industry view the World Trade Center attack as a worst-case event, there are numerous natural and man-made events that could cause significantly higher casualties and associated insured losses.

NEW YORK--The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America is making an effort to demystify the financial planning process and educate visitors on the role that Guardian's products and financial representatives play in an overall financial planning strategy. The company is doing it with a new Web site, located at www.GuardianLife.com. The new site replaces Guardian's existing Web address at www.glic.com.

In recognition of the HIPAA security rule pre-anniversary deadline that passed this month, Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit URAC released a report examining the state of preparedness in the health care industry in complying with the security rule.

Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Financial is using Web technology to make it easier for investment professionals to manage the client review process with a new tool called the Interactive Client Review (ICR).Nationwide's ICR tool simplifies the client review process by providing one-stop, real-time access to client portfolios online. Detailed information is presented in a concise and secure format for investment professionals to access from any remote location. The ICR tool can also provide investment professionals with a quick, easy view of their clients' quarterly statements online. Through its instantly accessible electronic format, ICR aims to help investment professionals manage their clients' accounts in half the time.

HARTFORD, Conn.-- Do automatic teller machines need specialized insurance? They sure do. Recognizing that midsize banks, credit unions, investment firms and insurance companies have a range of specialized insurance needs -- from property coverage for ATMs, foreclosed buildings and repossessed automobiles, to professional liability coverage for banks, investment advisors and insurance carriers--The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. now offers a tailored package of coverages to address the specific exposures they are most likely to face.

New York-based MetLife has introduced a new online Individual Disability Income (IDI) Broker Portal designed to simplify the policy application and case management process for brokers by providing access to real-time information.Through the IDI Broker Portal, MetAccessIDI.com, brokers can immediately obtain underwriting case status, underwriting requirements and client policy information, including policy status and payment history. In addition, required applications and forms can be downloaded through a link from the site. The portal also features a private message board providing brokers with a convenient channel for communicating with MetLife IDI Underwriters regarding their cases.

Toronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. and John Hancock Financial Services Inc., Boston, including its Canadian subsidiary, The Maritime Life Assurance Co., completed their merger after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. John Hancock is now a subsidiary of Manulife Financial.John Hancock stock will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange at the close of markets today, April 28, 2004. The approximately 675,000 John Hancock common shareholders are entitled to receive 1.1853 Manulife common shares for each John Hancock common share. John Hancock shareholders overwhelmingly approved the combination on February 24, 2004, with more than 95 per cent of the votes cast favouring the adoption of the merger agreement.

Homeowners rates that include a severe thunderstorm component based on sophisticated catastrophe modeling have been included as part of a rating plan subject to approval by state regulators in Florida.Florida Farm Bureau's 2003 Homeowners rate filing included a ground-breaking actuarial approach, which develops a distinct base rate for both hurricane and severe thunderstorm perils using hurricane and severe thunderstorm models from AIR Worldwide Corp. (AIR), a subsidiary of Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO. The models were also used extensively in the redefinition of territory lines and development of territory rating factors separately for each catastrophic peril.

AccessAllstate.com, the financial services Web site deployed by Allstate Financial, a business unit of The Allstate Corp., Nortbrook, Ill., is now available to Allstate Financial Institution Divisions' partners. The Web site had previously only been available to financial advisors or Allstate agents who were registered to sell Allstate or Lincoln Benefit Life Company products."AccessAllstate.com is a fantastic tool that helps Allstate effectively streamline how producers do business with us," says Joe Tomalavage, director, Allstate Financial Technology, Allstate Financial. "Now our financial institution partners are able to quickly access client information, obtain real-time policy values, download forms, order marketing materials online, review product and fund information, access sales and marketing ideas 24-hours a day from one central location."

Each year, more insurers appear to be increasing their budgets in implementing sophisticated fraud detection systems; however, the majority of these investments are centered around post-payment fraud detection rather than detecting fraud prior to claims being paid.

Employees of Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. who are members of the Alliance@IBM, CWA Local 1701, have a sharp message for management to deliver at IBM's annual meeting today. Alliance members are passing out leaflets to shareholders as they arrive and address the meeting on key shareholder proposals. Following the meeting, they are joining members of the Programmers Guild, Jobs with Justice and other union supporters in a rally opposing the offshoring of American jobs by U.S. high tech companies

Los Angeles-based Marshall & Swift / Boeckh (MS/B) will be acquired by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., Richmond, B.C., Canada.MDA is a global information company providing property-specific information to businesses and governments. Operating through two groups Information Products and Information Systems, MDA is active in data collection, information extraction, and information distribution.

Tufts Health Plan has selected and deployed a software platform for e-billing, e-payment, and online customer care from edocs, Natick, Mass. By enhancing its existing site with the edocs applications, Tufts HP is offering comprehensive functionality for enrollment, billing, reconciliation and payment.

Denver, CO--Valen Technologies, a provider of intelligent predictive analysis and decision enabling software, announced the availability of a premium modification module for its predictive underwriting software, Risk Manager. The new module develops a sophisticated, multivariate pure premium model that underwriters use on a daily basis to surcharge and discount policies more effectively.