Manulife Signs 10-Year Deal With IBMToronto-based Manulife Financial Corp. signed a 10-year, $563 million technology agreement with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM). Under the agreement, Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM will manage Manulife's North American technology infrastructure, including data centers, help desks, PC support and voice and data networks. Approximately 400 Manulife employees will join IBM Global Services and remain in their current work locations in Canada and the Northeastern United States. Through the agreement, Bell Nexxia will provide the support and delivery of local area network, metropolitan area network and wide area network infrastructure, as well as telephony services.
NAMIC Publishes Credit Scoring Report
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has published a State Laws and Legislative Trends report on the use of credit scoring by insurance companies. NAMIC analysis shows that prior to 2002, no states had strictly prohibited insurance companies from using credit information as a tool in the underwriting or rating process. According to Indianapolis-based NAMIC, 20 states have no statutory or regulatory provision to address this practice, while 30 states have adopted rules that simply regulate or restrict the use of credit history. However, more than 60 related bills have been introduced in 26 states so far this year. The full report is available for free at www.namic.org/default.asp?
ArticleID=3664. A chronology of legislative actions related to these bills can be monitored through NAMIC's Legislative Scorecard at www.namic.org.
OneBeacon, St. Paul Go Live With FNOL
Boston-based OneBeacon Insurance Group and The St. Paul Cos., St. Paul, Minn., became the first carriers to use IVANS Transformation Station-a data exchange for real-time transactions-with their agents for First Notice of Loss Reporting. The First Notice of Loss transaction in Transformation Station enables agents to send a First Notice of Loss to a carrier in real-time while remaining in their agency management system, according to Greenwich, Conn.-based IVANS Inc. The loss information is entered in the management system and sent to Transformation Station where it is converted to ACORD XML and sent to the carrier. The carrier responds in real-time, acknowledging the receipt of the notice.
Chubb Launches Personal Insurance Site
The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has launched www.chubb.com/personal, a new interactive online resource for personal insurance customers and agents. Two key features of the site are its co-branding opportunities for agents and Masterpiece Manager, an online collection management system that helps customers keep detailed records of their valuable possessions. The site enables customers to register and log on to pay bills, view billing information, check the status of a claim, access policy information and view recent home appraisal reports. Agents can register and log on to access client policy, claim, billing and appraisal information and download current Masterpiece coveragy summary and rate and rule manuals and contract guides through Chubb's secure extranet site.
ING Launches Money Planet
Dutch financial services group ING Group NV expanded its flexible distribution strategy by launching financial Internet shops called Money Planet. The new Internet venture is in partnership with Planet Internet, a unit of Dutch telecommunication group KPN, which will retain ownership of the brand. Consumers can shop in the Money Planet Internet site for insurance, investments, loans and mortgages, according to ING. The Dutch financial services firm has a "click-call-face" distribution philosophy, which includes the Internet, call centers, intermediaries and branches.
Few Firms Offer Live Web Service
Few financial services firms enable consumers to interact with agents directly over the Web, according to a report from Meridien Research, Newton, Mass. Even the most Web-savvy consumers may need assistance to complete an interaction they start on a financial firm's Web site, according to Meridien. When this help is not available, the consumer may abandon the Web interaction and the company may lose the sale or the consumer may turn to more expensive service channels. In either case, the firm loses, and the value of the firm's Web initiative is reduced. "For now most institutions will only experiment with live Web service or adopt a wait-and-see approach," says Richard Bell, a Meridien senior analyst. Broader deployment within financial services firms will begin some time in 2005 or 2006, Meridien predicts.
