AlliancesQuickquote.com, a life insurance Web site, has partnered with five other Web sites to provide Internet shoppers with access to term life, individual health, fixed annuities, travel health insurance, international health insurance, auto insurance and mortgage rates. The Web sites include: www.ihousehunting.com, a real estate and financial site; www.insurancecompanies.com, a subsidiary of Eminent Domains Inc., which specializes in easy to remember and use Web sites; www.netgolden.com, an investment products site; www.realestate-rover.com, a Web site that assists consumers in real estate transactions; and www.respond.com, a free online "shop-by-request" service. QuickQuote Financial Inc., and its parent company, QuickQuote Systems Inc., are affiliated with the ING Group, a Dutch financial services institution.
Internet superstore buy.com recently launched an online automotive center featuring links to several insurance industry Web sites, including San Francisco-based eCoverage Inc., an Internet marketplace offering personal insurance. Other Web sites in the buy.com mix include Carclub.com, a J.D. Power club providing information for auto buying and owning; CarsDirect.com, an online provider of new cars and related products and services; CarParts.com, an online store of 1.5 million automotive products; iMotors.com, an Internet-based certified used car dealer; and Honda.com.
Account aggregation enables Internet users to view all their online accounts-such as banking, bills, credit cards, e-mail, investments, even frequent flyer miles-with a single user ID and password. Two companies have aligned themselves to deliver account aggregation to business professionals. Pro2Net Corp., a Seattle-based online resource for business professionals, is working with Vertical One Corp., a subsidiary of S1 Corp., Atlanta, to provide "AccountMinder" online account aggregation to Pro2Net members, which include professionals in accounting, finance, human resources, insurance and law.
Agents of Utica Mutual Insurance Co., New Hartford, N.Y., will have access to rates and underwriting tools in the multicarrier environment provided by TowerStreet, an AMS company delivering point-of-sale products and insurance information via the Internet. As an exchange partner of TowerStreet, Utica Mutual will offer its personal lines products through TowerStreet. Agents will order all the underwriting reports they need, and use this information in the tier selection process according to Utica Mutual's rules. All this activity will take place on TowerStreet at the point of sale. Initially, TowerStreet will provide rates for Utica Mutual's personal auto and home products in New York, with plans to include all Utica Mutual personal lines in eight states.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford, Conn., and Superior Access Internet Software Co., Irvine, Calif., have created a real-time commercial lines transactional rating interface using an Internet front end from SuperiorAccess.com, a Web-based insurance agency. The partnership produced technologies involving The Hartford's real-time SEMCI infrastructure and Superior Access' Web-based front end to enable interactive rating to The Hartford's mainframe systems. Superior Access developed a presentation of The Hartford's Spectrum business owners policy on its secure Internet site, which will be accessed by Superior's sub-producers. A completed application is rated instantly using a Web connection to the Hartford's commercial lines rating system. If the policy is sold, the sub-producer can request policy issuance through the site as well.
GeoTrust Inc., Portland, Ore., and HNC Software Inc., San Diego, Calif., have formed an alliance that will provide companies instant access to insurance and credit to complete Internet-based business deals. The strategic partnership helps solve the problem of identity, authenticity, authorization and risk assessment in online business-to-business trading. HNC's intelligent decision-making technology is used by more than 30 of the 50 largest financial institutions, including banks, lenders and insurance companies, to manage fraud and credit risk, new account acquisition and marketing optimization.
Products
Contractors in all states except Alaska and Hawaii can now purchase builders' risk insurance on the Internet from Carollton, Ga.-based Vadum, an online source of commercial property and casualty insurance for small and medium-sized businesses. Builders' risk insurance covers direct physical damage to materials and structures during construction for residential and commercial risks, including both new construction and renovations. The coverage is available for dwellings, apartments, condominiums, warehouses, retail, office and municipal buildings. North American Specialty Insurance Co., an A-rated property/casualty insurer licensed in 50 states, will provide the coverage for Vadum, which offers a host of commercial lines coverage and enables an inquiring party to quote, underwrite and bind instantly online. All payments, endorsements and claims can also be handled online and maintained in real time.
Toronto-based Castek Software Factory Inc. launched Release 2.1.0-the next generation of its Insure3 policy administration software for property/casualty insurers. Insure3 Release 2.1.0 adds key functionality such as support for personal lines of business, improved implementation and configuration timelines, enhanced scalability and easier integration with customer interaction and distribution channels. Built on component architecture, Insure3 is built to work with existing systems, and can also replace legacy business handling systems to form the foundation for e-business capabilities, as well as meeting traditional requirements.
Interactive Web-based training for advanced small-business markets in the life insurance industry is available from Argosy Interactive in conjunction with COSS Development Corp., an insurance software development company. Both companies are based in Mequon, Wis. The suite of training modules includes split dollar, reverse split dollar, executive bonus, nonqualified deferred compensation and dynamic duo (a combination of split dollar and deferred compensation). The training also includes an interactive tool called "Advanced Market Pointer," which helps agents understand which client requirements and situations lead to the different advanced market approaches. The training provides approximately 10 hours of instruction, and is licensed to insurance home offices throughout the United States.
Life insurance companies conducting e-business activity with medical and nonmedical information providers have access to Datalliance standardized formats for electronic data interchange on the Internet at www.LincolnRe.com/datalliance. Datalliance is an external data model guide to the life insurance industry from Lincoln Re, Fort Wayne, Ind. and its technology affiliate, Lincoln National Risk Management. More than 15 information providers and 55 life insurers have licensed the Datalliance data format since 1993. By putting the data exchange formats in the public domain, Lincoln Re has eliminated the need to obtain license agreements for what has already become an industry standard. Datalliance record formats provide data exchange definitions for the life underwriting process, including life applications, information provider orders and results, client data, client demographic information, agent information, beneficiary data, control data, employment information, message data, policy data and provider information.
AQS, a Hartland, Wisc. provider of commercial property and casualty insurance software, recently released its Web browser-based commercial lines policy administration system-called V3 Galileo. Built on Microsoft's Windows DNA platform, the system features an intuitive user interface to extend its reach to agents, customer service representatives and claims adjusters. Users can conduct online communication, eliminate duplicate entry and reduce policy processing cycle time. The first release of V3 Galileo will include quoting, new business, online worksheets, history, inquiry, security, policy issuance, amendments, cancellation and renewal processing for business owners. Additional lines of business will follow.
People
Internet specialty insurance marketplace iwix.net, Chicago, has appointed Timothy C. Woodhull as senior vice president of sales and business development. Woodhull's most recent position was as national accounts regional manager at AIG, the New York-based financial services provider.
