MIB Group Inc., a voluntary association of nearly 6,000 life insurance companies based in Westwood, Mass. has developed real-time access to its database of coded information for the life insurance industry using the newly approved MIB-specific ACORD XML for Life Insurance standards interface. eNable.com Corp., a majority owned subsidiary of MIB, is the exclusive seller of the real-time interface between MIB and its members. As part of a demonstration at the recent ACORD Technology Conference, eNable.com integrated and delivered various transactions including the TXLife MIB Inquiry and Response.Windsor, Conn.-based AMS Services Inc. has developed Sagitta Online, an Internet version of its Sagitta browser, which provides agents and brokers with a branded agency management solution. Sagitta Online offers brokers the use of software that resides on high-capacity IBM Corp. RS6000 servers managed by and located in an AMS data center. Brokers can implement the online system without having to invest in an IBM server or obtain associated licenses for IBM and AMS software. Rather, a broker can rent Sagitta Online for a monthly subscription fee based on the number of users. Custom programming is also available with the service.
Travelers Bond, a unit of Hartford, Conn.-based Travelers Property Casualty Corp., has rolled out Risk Management PLUS+ Online, a comprehensive and regularly updated Web-based program designed to manage employment-related risk. Developed exclusively for Travelers by The Agos Group LLC, the solution provides employers with a comprehensive set of tools to decrease exposure to employment suits. The program offers interactive sexual harassment training, which includes training tracking features to help employers avoid claims and establish affirmative defenses if a claim does arise. Other available online instruction includes training on the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, discrimination, hiring practices and workplace violence.
Quincy, Mass.-based Worldinsure Ltd. has launched an e-commerce-based platform in conjunction with Toronto-based Optus e-Business Solutions, one of its strategic partners. The two providers have developed a process that supports an interactive application, approval, underwriting and policy delivery system for life insurance agents, brokers and distributors. Worldinsure's architecture includes a Web-based application with reflexive questioning, data collection, automated rules-based risk assessment, workflow and tracking, reporting and real-time access for participants. The Worldinsure system can be customized for a single carrier, or unite multiple carriers with their agents, broker networks and distribution systems.
Hartford, Conn.-based The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has upgraded its agency locator technology for consumers seeking inquiries for a host of personal insurance coverages at www.thehartford.com. The new function is an outgrowth of an existing agency locator that features mapping tools to assist consumers in finding local agents. A consumer who wishes to be contacted by an agent simply completes a brief questionnaire online and selects a local agent. Driven by a closed-loop lead generation and management program, that lead is immediately furnished to the selected agent free of charge through The Hartford's Electronic Business Center-a secure Web site developed exclusively for Hartford agents. Agents have two business days to follow up with the prospect, or the lead is forwarded to the next closest agent.
Norwood, Mass.-based retirement plan provider and consultant New York Life Benefit Services LLC has introduced a new service that enables it to customize private-label retirement Web sites for clients. Framingham, Mass.-based office supply retailer Staples Inc. will be the first to use the new technology for both its 401(k) and defined benefit pension plans through NYLB. As part of this overall technology upgrade, NYLB has also redesigned Client Access, its Web site for plan sponsors, and Benefits Complete, a Web destination for plan participants. The redesign includes new navigation structures that better organize the functionality of the sites. For instance, individual pages have been redesigned for better clarity to make them easier to use. NYLB will include a client's logo, corporate colors and other style elements into the design.
Docucorp International, a Dallas-based provider of enterprise information solutions, is working with insurance industry clients to reduce fraud with an advanced software solution that meets the requirements of a mandatory insurance law recently enacted by the State of New York. The solution encodes proof of insurance on individual ID cards using bar codes that can be tracked and verified by New York's Insurance Information and Enforcement System. The software generates a two-dimensional stacked bar code and embeds it into an insurance client's ID card. The two-dimensional cryptographic ID is capable of encoding more than a kilobyte of data per label, making it well suited to applications where it is impractical to store detailed information in a database or where the database is not accessible for reading the bar code, such as by a police officer on a roadside.
Hartford, Conn. RC Knox & Co., the insurance agency subsidiary of People's Bank, has formed the eFraud Alliance and the eTailer Fraud Solution Insurance Policy (eFSIP) to protect online businesses from the risk of catastrophic credit card fraud losses. The eFraud Alliance is a collaboration between RC Knox, Retail Decisions Inc., a United Kingdom-based card-based transactions services business, and Creative Risk Management Solutions, a specialist in credit card fraud insurance-based in Oklahoma City. The eTailer Fraud Solution Policy integrates fraud detection technology with an insurance and risk management product. The eFSIP requires the use of Retail Decisions' fraud prevention and detection solutions to provide online merchants the ability to monitor online transactions, spot fraudulent transactions in real time, and take steps to minimize fraud losses. The eFSIP also includes catastrophic fraud insurance coverage with flexible deductibles and limits.
