Odessa, Del. - Information on search engine marketing, integrated marketing and competitive information on insurance company marketing trends is included in the "Insurance Direct Marketing: The Special Report on the Companies, the Practices, the Standards & the Benchmarks" report, released last week.

Washington, D.C. - The House is considering a bill calling for a bipartisan commission to help guide the federal government in its national disaster response management. If H.R. 5891, the Catastrophic Disaster Risk and Insurance Commission Act, is enacted, a 17-member panel (membership comprised of at least one independent agent) would be empowered to recommend to the lawmakers disaster management policies cost mitigation, and fraud reduction.

Detroit - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will extend an e-prescribing partnership with the nation's three largest U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler Corp., the companies announced today. The Southeast Michigan e-Prescribing Initiative (SEMI), which is designed to reduce medication errors and decrease prescription drug costs through the use of e-prescribing technology, will be in effect for an additional year.

Los Angeles - Mercury General Corp., a Los Angeles-based auto insurer, is using a new interactive destination Web site to highlight its recent advertising campaign—Mercury Theory.The campaign features a suite of 10 30-second TV commercials and the interactive Web site www.mercurytheory.com.

Newark, N.J. - Chronically ill Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey members and emergency room physicians can now access health histories and records, along with other important information, with a quick scan. The Newark, N.J.-based insurer announced a two-year collaboration with Hackensack, N.J.-based Hackensack University Medical Center, its physicians and the VeriChip Corp., Delray Beach, Fla., to implant FDA-approved microchips in chronically ill patients enabling emergency room physicians to access those patients' medical record electronically. The microchips provide immediate access to family contact information and information about the patients' medical histories.Horizon BCBSNJ will make the new technology, developed by VeriChip, available to select members with chronic conditions. Those members who participate in the program will agree to have an implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID), the size of a grain of rice, placed under their skin.

Hartford, Conn. - Though Citigroup's recent sale of Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife may appear to indicate that the "financial supermarket" idea of full-scale mergers is an untenable working model, banks and insurers continue to find ways to integrate their services, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc., Hartford, Conn.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual Financial Group today unveiled a new addition to its Web site designed to focus on the financial needs of women, enabling them to educate and empower themselves to help build a more secure financial future.

Minneapolis - Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America will integrate detailed insurance data with investment information for USAllianz Securities, a broker dealer subsidiary of Allianz Life. The agreement represents the first time any practice management system will integrate comprehensive financial and insurance information, according to Investigo Corp., the practice management provider that is providing the solution.Investigo CEO Tom Rozman cites results of an investment industry survey that his firm conducted last fall. "Broker dealers are starving for information and must have a way to track the sales of insurance products through their firm."

Mexico City - When ING Mexico, a provider of insurance, pension benefits and financial services in Mexico, needed a way to enhance customer service by connecting customers to the right agent and at the right time, the company selected an intelligent communications solution from Avaya, a provider of business communications applications, systems and services.With branches located throughout Mexico, ING needed to centralize its customer care operations in order to improve efficiency and customer service. The company established a contact center in Mexico City with 305 employees and 229 agent positions that attend to an average of 220,000 calls each month. Car accident reports, health and life insurance inquiries, pension information and tele-sales are some of the services provided via the contact center in addition to services for ING employees such as IT and HR support.

DESPITE DEADLINE, MANY FIRMS LACK AML PROGRAM

It's no secret that the onslaught of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has left many a carrier bruised and battered. Combining systems-IT and human-requires forethought, skill, dedication and focus.There may not be much consolation in the knowledge that insurance M&A activity increased in 2005 to the highest level since 2001 and may foreshadow an acceleration of activity this year and the next, according to Conning Research and Consulting Inc., Hartford, Conn.

During 2005's July 4th weekend-a time typically filled with barbeques, fireworks and celebrations, Employers Direct Insurance Co., celebrated, but not for the same reason most other Americans were celebrating. This particular weekend marked the moment Employers Direct began its quest for improved efficiency through automation by going live with Guidewire ClaimCenter from San Mateo, Calif.-based Guidewire Software Inc.Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Employers Direct was founded in January 2003 to meet the workers' compensation needs of California employers, including those of hotels, restaurants, country clubs, new car dealers, manufacturing companies, specialty supermarket chains and retailers. Employers Direct operates via a direct-to-consumer model.

The world of commerce and insurance more specifically is shifting relentlessly from a paradigm based on tangible assets to one based on intangible assets. Increasingly more insurance companies will succeed with fewer people with deeper industry or functional knowledge and with significantly less dependence on physical artifacts, such as paper.This is not an Internet-era crazed screed about insurance agents disappearing. Rather, my point is that insurance companies themselves must change the way they do business if they are to attract and retain the policyholders and producers necessary to profitably stay in business.

Consumer satisfaction with the P&C insurance industry increased by a mere 1% last year, according the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)--a survey to monitor customer satisfaction levels in various industries. Overall, satisfaction with the P&C industry has declined nearly 5% since 1994--the first year of the survey produced by the University of Michigan.Insurance carriers face a unique challenge with customer communications because they depend on so many different channels. Unlike other service providers, such as banks or telephone companies, carriers don't own every interaction with the customer. Independent agents and third-party administrators are often the main point of contact, slowing down the transfer of information.

Decatur Ga. - The Progressive Group of Insurance Cos., broke ground for its new Service Center in Decatur, Ga. Georgia Insurance Commissioner, John W. Oxendine, was on hand for the ceremony.Scheduled to open late this year, the site will feature a 19,000 square foot service center and marks Progressive's expansion in Atlanta of its "concierge" claims service that oversees all elements of the claims and repair process on behalf of drivers involved in accidents. Progressive claims its concierge service reduces the time drivers spend on repairs from four days to about 15 minutes.

New York and Atlanta - Assurant Inc., a provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, has received two patents for call processing systems developed within its Assurant Solutions business.These systems optimize sales and retention efforts in contact centers through a series of dynamic customer and agent analytics. Assurant Solutions is offering the systems to its clients and making them available to other entities.

New York - A core concept of asset allocation, use of proper tools and technology, is part and parcel of successful portfolio management, yet many mutual fund firms do not provide tools to help investors with this important undertaking, according to a new report issued by Corporate Insight. The New York research firm takes an in-depth look at asset allocation tools provided by eighteen mutual fund firms.

Houston - Scalable Software LLC, an IT compliance and asset management solutions has launched IT Compliance Magazine, a magazine dedicated to the topic of IT compliance across all vertical industries and the public sector. IT Compliance Magazine is designed to showcase best practices and insights on revised, new and emerging regulations and standards that impact IT compliance, including:* Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)

Jacksonville, Fla. - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is introducing what it claims is an industry first capability called CareCalc. a tool designed to help BCBSF providers and members understand the financial responsibility for a particular service prior to or at the time of an office visit."Providers of health care and their office staff want simple and effective processes so they can focus on their work instead of navigating the payment system. At the same time, our members want to be sure they are paying the right amount when they go to the doctor's office," says Elana Schrader, M.D., vice president, provider services, BCBSF. "CareCalc will not only help our members better understand their financial responsibilities, but it also will help streamline processes for those who serve them -- our physicians and providers."

Hartford, Conn. - In addition to traditional checks and electronic fund transfers, which deposit emergency funds directly into a customer's bank account, those who sustain losses from a natural or man-made disaster now have the option of receiving money for certain covered expenses with an emergency claim card from The Hartford. This can include coverage for the costs associated with smaller, but vital, day-to- day living essentials.The Hartford Emergency Claim Card is a debit card, issued by JPMorgan Chase, which can be used at ATM machines nationwide to withdraw cash or at stores that accept point-of-sale purchases. Point-of-sale purchases require a Personal Identification Number (PIN), unlike credit card purchases, which require only the card and a signature.