Distribution

Hartford, Conn. - In addition to traditional checks and electronic fund transfers, which deposit emergency funds directly into a customer's bank account, those who sustain losses from a natural or man-made disaster now have the option of receiving money for certain covered expenses with an emergency claim card from The Hartford. This can include coverage for the costs associated with smaller, but vital, day-to- day living essentials.The Hartford Emergency Claim Card is a debit card, issued by JPMorgan Chase, which can be used at ATM machines nationwide to withdraw cash or at stores that accept point-of-sale purchases. Point-of-sale purchases require a Personal Identification Number (PIN), unlike credit card purchases, which require only the card and a signature.

Hartford, Conn. - Travelers now offers new resources to assist businesses with disaster preparedness planning. Two new online tools and a new Safety Academy class, titled "Business Continuity Planning," have been added to help Travelers customers create customized disaster recovery plans that will ensure optimum business continuity in the event of exposures from natural or manmade disasters.Bob Brody, senior vice president, Travelers Risk Control, says, "Emergency planning should be at the top of every "To Do" list for today's businesses. With more than a century of experience in risk control, Travelers is uniquely positioned to help its customers anticipate and respond to a wide spectrum of exposures from catastrophic risks faced by businesses and homeowners."

Hartford, Conn. - Health insurance provider Aetna is enhancing its health transparency initiatives to help consumers make more informed health care decisions based on the actual costs of care and the clinical quality and efficiency of physicians. Effective August 18, Aetna will provide online access to physician-specific cost, clinical quality and efficiency information in select markets, including: Price, clinical quality and efficiency information for physicians in Connecticut; Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Maryland; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Springfield, Ohio; Northern Kentucky; Southeast Indiana; and South Florida, including physician-specific pricing for up to 30 of the most widely accessed services by specialty and indicators based on adverse events, 30 day hospital re-admit rates, overall efficiency in use of medical services, and volume of Aetna members treated; Price information only for physicians in Kansas City, Kan. and Mo.; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Pittsburgh, Pa. With these new enhancements, clinical quality and efficiency information will be available for more than 14,800 specialist physicians and specific pricing will be available for more than 70,000 physicians.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - The Progressive Corp. has appointed John P. Sauerland as the president of the Progressive Direct Group of Insurance Cos. Mr. Sauerland, 41, who currently serves as the claims general manager for the Midwest region, first joined Progressive full time in 1991 as an assistant product manager. He served at different times as the auto product manager for various states as well as the general manager for Mississippi, Minnesota and Wisconsin.CEO and President Glenn Renwick says: "I am very excited to announce John's new role. The depth of his experience in product, pricing and Claims as well as his leadership skills make him the ideal choice for leading our Direct organization in the next phase of our quest to become consumers' #1 choice for auto insurance."

Okemos, Mich. - Minnesota Department of Commerce has implemented Sircon for States, a Web-based solution from Sircon Corp., making Minnesota the 14th state to adopt the online compliance technology for producer licensing and appointment.The conversion from a legacy system to a hosted solution is aimed at increasing the online services Minnesota provides to insurance carriers, agencies and producers across the country, enabling customers to connect with the Minnesota Department of Commerce 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

San Diego - In response to agents' calls for quality educational opportunities on life settlements, Life Settlement Solutions, Inc. has launched a Web site to complement its hosting of Life Settlement Awareness Month.The new site, www.lifesettlementawarenessmonth.com, provides visitors up-to-date news regarding Life Settlement Awareness Month news and events, steps to a successful summer sales campaign and resources for agents looking to better serve their clients and increase profits.

Boston - If benefit managers are to truly control the significant cost from employees missing work, they need a single approach to managing disability and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) programs. That's because disability claims cause 55% of employee absences and FMLA drives another 25%, according to the JHA/EBN 2005 Absence Management Survey. The survey also uncovered the high cost of employees being away from work: an employer pays $260.00, on average, each day someone misses work.To give benefit managers the single solution needed to better control those costs, Liberty Mutual recently enhanced a key claims management system. Liberty SystemOne.nxt now offers benefit managers one source for managing both disability claims and FMLA time, simplifying the complex compliance maze and making it easier to strengthen these programs.

Chattanooga, Tenn. - UnumProvident's new Web-based enrollment platform, called plane.biz, is now fully functional for all worksite benefits to help employees navigate the complexity of today's benefits arena.Benefits professionals are facing significant issues: The population is aging; healthcare costs continue to increase; pension plans are strained; and employees are demanding more choice in their benefits options. The result is an unprecedented shift to supplemental benefit options and cost-sharing, heightening the need for effective benefit communications.

Newark, N.J.-Prudential Financial Inc. finalized its acquisition of Northbrook, Ill.-based Allstate Financial's variable annuity business through a reinsurance transaction.Prudential's initial investment in the business, reflecting total consideration to Allstate, related taxes and capital requirements, is approximately $591 million. This amount reflects a price adjustment paid to Allstate for market movements between signing and closing. Over the course of a transition period of up to 24 months from closing, Newark, N.J.-based Prudential will assume the administration of Allstate Financial's in-force variable annuities, with account values of approximately $17 billion (value as of March 31, 2006).

Remember the old days of paying an electric bill or making a car payment-writing out a check, putting the bill and check into the provided envelope, slapping a first-class stamp on it and tossing it in the mailbox? Thanks to technology, much has changed, and the insurance industry is changing right along with it.The process of paying bills online has been catching on for consumers over the past few years. And, according to a recent Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., survey conducted by Columbia, S.C.-based MarketSearch Corp., car and homeowner insurance customers would be willing to pay their insurance bills over the Internet.