Distribution

A recent poll of more than 3,000 independent agents reveals that the overall ease of doing business is a critically important factor in choosing a carrier with which to place business. The survey, conducted by Deep Customer Connections, Inc. also revealed a widening gap between agents' expectations and carriers' performance. "The gap between expectations and performance tripled on five of the 10 factors of ease of doing business," noted Paul Croke, a founding partner for the Scituate, Mass.-based consulting firm. That occurred despite the fact that the insurance industry as a whole improved fractionally on all 10 ease of doing business factors. The Web survey was sent to over 40,000 independent insurance agencies and brokerages nationwide. There were nearly 3,200 responses with more than 100 different carriers being rated. The 10 ease of doing business factors identified by Deep Customer Connections are:

WebMD Corp., Elmwood Park, N.J., has released a white paper on the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that concludes the law's administrative simplification provisions are increasing in complexity and costs for healthcare providers and payers across the country.The White Paper, which is the result of WebMD's analysis of HIPAA implementation nationwide, identifies concrete steps that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services can take to steer the implementation back on course, through what the company calls a "rational roll- out plan."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Accenture are testing digital pen technology designed to help healthcare professionals capture and send medical claim information digitally. The solution, which is designed to complement physicians' hand-written claims process, was introduced in a two-phase pilot with Anthem plans in Indiana and Kentucky.In the first phase, health care professionals are using the pen to file claims electronically in conjunction with a desktop computer. Claims are written on specially designed digital paper forms that enable electronic data capture. The data is then uploaded electronically via a desktop computer to Anthem.

JUPITER, Fla.-- Property and casualty insurers more than doubled their profits during 2003, earning $32.3 billion compared to the $13.5 billion reported in 2002, according to Weiss Ratings, Inc., the nation's leading independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services companies, mutual funds, and stocks.

As carriers "turn off" paper documentation and replace it with electronic information, agents and brokers are confronted with a new set of workflow challenges that can set back agency efficiency significantly unless carriers take specific steps with regard to the electronic information they provide to their sales forces.This is a conclusion of phase two of a report published by the Agents Council for Technology, a partnership of independent agents, companies and technology vendors, user groups and associations dedicated to enhancing the use of technology.

HARTFORD, Conn.-- The Hartford Financial Services Group along with Ibbotson Associates, recently surveyed investors and found that eight out of 10 investors indicated that they are practicing asset allocation. However, when asked to describe what they believe asset allocation is, the majority describe simple "diversification" of assets rather than true asset allocation.

UnumProvident is now providing toll-free access for brokers to connect directly with individual disability income protection underwriters."We’re encouraging this dialogue so brokers can better understand the ‘whys’ of underwriting, and so we can better understand the individual customer," says Steve Joseph, vice president of individual disability underwriting at the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurance company.

NEEDHAM, MA--Until recently, regulatory compliance has been a relatively straightforward issue for U.S. insurance companies. Long deemed a service for the "public good," the insurance industry has been regulated by various entities for over 100 years - making compliance as commonplace as breathing for most insurers.

OMAHA, Neb., and HARRISBURG, Pa.-- Two leaders in the employee benefits arena -- Mutual of Omaha and United Concordia Companies, Inc. -- today announced a new line of dental insurance plans for employers of all sizes.

SAN FRANCISCO--Esurance, a direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, has selected ProcessClaims to provide a customized software management platform to support Esurance's expanding claims organization. Esurance believes that ProcessClaims' ClaimsPort material damage management system will increase claims handling efficiency, decrease cycle time costs, and scale with Esurance's rapid growth.