Computer Sciences Corp., a consulting and IT services firm based in El Segundo, Calif., completed its merger with Mynd Corp., formerly know as Policy Management System Corp. As a result of the merger, Mynd-which provides systems, services and e-business solutions to the global insurance and related financial services industries-is a wholly owned subsidiary of CSC. Following the merger, CSC has in excess of 15,000 people serving 1,200 clients in the financial services industry in more than 60 countries. CSC expanded its presence in the financial services industry in 1996 with the acquisition of The Continuum Co.Seattle-based DocuTouch Corp.-which provides a secure, legally binding online application to manage, close and archive digitally signed transactions-and Hygrade Business Group Inc., a Clifton, N.J.-based provider of XML forms and printing management technology, are offering a broader array of online data management services to the insurance, banking and healthcare industries. The combined offering of services will enable a bank or mortgage lender, for example, to present electronic mortgage disclosure documents to customers to be reviewed and signed entirely online, saving all parties time and courier costs. Electronic and digital signatures will lead to 80% of all financial transactions being completely automated in the next five years, according to Bryan Keene, an analyst at Prudential Securities Inc., New York.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based EhealthInsurance Services Inc., an online provider for individual, family and small-business health insurance, and Columbus, Ohio-based Bank One Corp. have formed a strategic alliance that will provide an online health insurance marketplace to Bank One's 8 million retail and 425,000 small-business customers. eHealthInsurance will provide a range of health insurance choices to Bank One's customers who visit www.bankone.com. The insurance products are linked back to www.ehealthinsurance.com. Once on the Web, customers can use eHealthInsurance's free online services to research and compare a multitude of health insurance plans and ancillary products, including dental and vision coverage. They can choose from some of the nation's leading health insurance carriers. Bank One customers can also apply online.
F.N.B. Corp., a $3.9 billion diversified financial services company with offices in Naples, Fla., and Hermitage, Pa., has agreed to acquire OneSource Group Inc., an independent insurance agency with offices in Clearwater and Jacksonville, Fla. The transaction is slated to close in the first quarter of this year. Terms were not disclosed. Formed in 1998 as a result of four merged entities, OneSource offers commercial property and casualty insurance and employee benefits.
Concero Group, Lake Oswego, Ore., and Umpqua Bank, an Oregon state-chartered bank, have formed a strategic alliance that enables the bank to offer online quotes, and purchase and administration of employee benefits insurance to its retail business customers. Concero Group provides online access to employee-benefits insurance from carriers including MetLife, Standard Insurance Co. and The Hartford.
Fort Worth, Texas-based InsureZone Inc. has formed private-label partnerships with Insurance.com, a Newton, Mass.-based affiliate of Fidelity Investments, and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co., through its subsidiary Wells Fargo Insurance. InsureZone, which touts a "clicks and mortar" business model that enables banks and Web portals to sell insurance under their own brand, will serve Insurance.com's personal auto insurance customers as well as Wells Fargo's small-business customers at http://biz.wellsfargo.com.
Insurance Office Services Inc. (ISO), New York, has acquired the Marine Index Bureau Inc. (MIB), a Princeton Junction, N.J.-based claims-information company that operates a proprietary database of information about bodily injuries of maritime employees and others related to the U.S. marine industry. The new database will expand ISO's ability to identify potentially questionable injury claims. ISO also entered into an agreement with Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., to acquire Claims Outcome Advisor (COA)-a bodily injury claims-management system. COA provides information on 12,700 medical conditions and 14,000 occupations.
