Distribution

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--OneShield, Inc. and NetRate Systems are collaborating to address the rating system needs of small to mid-sized insurance carriers. The companies remain separate organizations but have agreed to combine efforts to address the needs of insurance carriers who want a tools-based configurable architecture provided by OneShield along with dedicated resources having over 25 years in the rating engine business offered by NetRate.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, the nation's largest agents and brokers group, is pleased with the much-improved producer compensation disclosure model approved Saturday by the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) at its spring meeting in Hilton Head, S.C. The NCOIL model is a disclosure-oriented proposal that relies on and does not conflict with the regulatory framework endorsed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), but significantly improves on the NAIC model by focusing the scope of the new disclosure and acknowledgement provisions on those producers and transactions where there is a potential conflict of interest.

CHICAGO, March 4-- Aon Corporation has reached a comprehensive agreement with five agencies in three states to settle investigations relating to contingent commissions and other business practices that may have created actual or potential conflicts of interest. Parties involved in the settlement, in which Aon admits no wrongdoing or liability, include the attorneys general of New York, Illinois and Connecticut as well as the insurance departments of New York and Illinois. The settlement involves no fines or penalties.

Farmers Mutual Protective Association of Texas (RVOS) has selected Duck Creek Technologies' Example Platform for the development of a Web-based quoting and submission system. Future plans include utilizing the Example Platform for the implementation of a complete policy administration system.

Three years ago, The Baltimore Life Insurance Co. implemented an automated sales and underwriting system in conjunction with striking a marketing deal with a large membership organization. The Owings Mills, Md.-based carrier believed the affinity deal could drive unprecedented new premium growth for its death benefit products through a concerted campaign of television ads and mailers."It was a significant opportunity," says Garry Voith, Baltimore Life's assistant vice president and director of distribution technology and marketing.

When Citicorp and Travelers Group merged in October 1998, banking and insurance experts universally hailed the deal as the beginning of a new era in financial services in the United States: the one-stop financial superstore.Indeed, given the emergence of technologies that enable companies to slice and dice customer data to pinpoint cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, the Citicorp/Travelers combo was viewed at the time as a powerhouse that would set the stage for similar deals.

It's no surprise that the workers' compensation market has been challenged by a host of issues that have driven costs skyward for carriers and agents. According to the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB), Washington, D.C., commercial property/casualty insurance premiums continued to decline significantly during third quarter 2004.

SIMSBURY, Conn.--Looking to meet a growing financial need, The Hartford Financial Services Group is introducing a new last survivor universal life insurance policy to help affluent couples transfer their wealth to children and other loved ones. Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL is a flexible premium universal life policy that is issued by Hartford Life Insurance Co. and Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Co., subsidiaries of The Hartford. Last survivor policies insure two people, typically couples, and pay a death benefit upon the second death. Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL provides affordable, permanent life insurance protection with an available secondary guarantee for the death benefit. The death benefit guarantee for Hartford Advanced Last Survivor UL is based on the claims-paying abilities of Hartford Life and Hartford Life and Annuity.

TAMPA, Fla.-- SCI, a national leading Professional Employer Organization (PEO), announced today that it has renewed its agreement with top-rated insurance carrier Zurich, North America to provide workers' compensation coverage for its client company employees effective March 1, 2005, through February 28, 2006. "Our renewal with Zurich, once again, reflects the continued strength of SCI as a leading provider of PEO outsourcing services in the marketplace," said J.C. Dominguez, president, SCI. "We continue to improve our performance and refine our processes to exceed customer expectations. Working with the best companies in the market will allow us to extend the best products and services to our clients; Zurich is just one example of that."

PEARL RIVER, NY--ACORD and XBRL examine the need for data standards and their own roles in the overall communications flow in their newly released white paper, "XML Standards and the Insurance Value Chain." The document focuses on the flow of data within the insurance value chain and the importance of data standards to transport the information along the path for financial reporting and regulatory compliance.