CIGNA LAUNCHES PRESCRIPTION PRICE QUOTE TOOLWith a new Web-based price quote tool, CIGNA Healthcare members who have prescription drug benefits through CIGNA Pharmacy Management (CPM) can get a "real-time" price quote from any pharmacy in CIGNA's network of 52,000 retail pharmacies nationwide-as well as from the CIGNA Tel-Drug home delivery pharmacy. The quote is based on the member's specific benefit plan and reflects the actual cost the member can expect to pay out-of-pocket for a given prescription drug at a specific pharmacy. CIGNA Pharmacy Management (CPM) refers to various operating subsidiaries of CIGNA Corp. Bloomfield, Conn.
GARTNER FINDS INSURERS SLOW TO ADOPT SEMCI
Survey results by Gartner Inc., Stamford, Conn., show that many insurers have been slow in offering the technologies necessary to implement real-time. A Gartner survey of 72 members of the Council of Independent Agents and Brokers (CIAB) conducted between January and April of 2005 showed that agents and brokers prefer to do business with insurers that provide real-time transaction capabilities to better service policyholders. However, adoption of single-entry multiple-carrier interfaces (SEMCIs) continues to lag. According to the survey, only 32% of respondents use SEMCI to enter data and communicate with multiple insurers for quoting, issuing policies and handling policyholder inquiries. This can be attributed to the fact that only 24% of insurers currently support SEMCI.
INSURERS EXTEND REAL-TIME SERVICES FOR NEXSURE AGENTS
The Ohio Casualty Insurance Co., Fairfield, Ohio, has released an extended panel of inquiry services for Nexsure, an Internet insurance agency management solution provided by XDimensional Technologies Inc., Brea, Calif. Agents using Nexsure from XDimensional Technologies and leveraging extended services are now able to access selections of loss run and document retrieval information from Ohio Casualty. Similarly, The Hartford, Hartford, Conn., is enabling insurance agents who use Nexsure agency management system to now link directly to The Hartford ExpressWay, The company's personal lines quoting tool.
MASSMUTUAL LAUNCHES ONLINE FINANCIAL SEMINAR FOR WOMEN
MassMutual Financial Group, Springfield, Mass., is offering an online financial seminar designed to help women assess their personal finances and develop a long-term strategy to financial security. The new feature, which is located on the "Learn" section of MassMutual's Web site, is built around an online seminar titled, "10 Financial Questions and Answers for Women," which touches on life insurance protection, planning for retirement, and establishing a will. The seminar is narrated by Susan Sweetser, MassMutual second vice president, women's markets.
PRUDENTIAL CREATES WOMEN & FINANCE SECTION ON WEB SITE
Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Financial Inc. has launched a Women & Finance section on its corporate Web site at www.prudential.com. The new section includes detailed information designed to help women financially prepare for and live in various life stages, an overview of the products the company offers, interactive guides and worksheets that provide both a snapshot of existing financial health and an outline of what needs to be considered to reach future financial goals. Launch of the new section follows a one-page women's landing page the company released in 2002.
THE HARTFORD LAUNCHES PREMIUM AUDIT INTERNET REPORTING TOOL
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, Conn., has introduced an online premium audit reporting tool that simplifies the process for small businesses submitting information to reconcile their insurance premiums. The Hartford's new secure Web-based tool is designed to enable many of its commercial policyholders to quickly and easily complete voluntary audits and submit them online for The Hartford's small business and workers' compensation policies. The policyholder simply logs on to the site and watches as basic policy data, including information from the previous year, quickly populates the screen. The policyholder then updates the existing information and submits it. The audit also can be saved and completed at another time.
