When politicians earlier this year were taking pot shots at offshore outsourcing, some insurance industry experts suggested that the backlash could have a "chilling" effect on potential deals, at least in the near term.However, that notion was laid to rest with the announcement in July that Zurich Financial Services had agreed to a seven-year applications sourcing contract with Computer Sciences Corp.

Most laptop computer users remain bullish on this technology as a portable and user-friendly computing alternative, one that enhances productivity.No doubt, that notion-while true-is also relative. Material damage appraisers for Indianapolis-based Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Co. once regarded 4.5-lb. standard-sized laptops as the best available tool to support their workflow efforts in handling auto insurance claims.

Fiserv Inc. has acquired Results International Systems, Inc., a provider of outsourced solutions for the property-and-casualty insurance industry.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Humana Inc. today announced the filing of applications for five patents in pharmacy and health metrics by its Innovation Center. All five of the patent applications are for Humana's use of innovative information technology applications to engage consumers in health benefits.

With boating season in full swing, Safeco has announced the launch of a new specialized claims unit dedicated to handling boaters' insurance claims.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., one of the country's largest property and casualty insurance companies, has received more than 22,000 claims in the past week for damages from Hurricane Charley. Overall, Nationwide estimates it will receive more than 50,000 claims and losses approaching $400 million.

ING has made enhancements to its online services for employer groups. The enhanced services include online reports, online documents, online evidence of insurability and online billing for self-accounting customers.

DAYTON, Ohio-- The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), created by the Maryland State Legislature to provide insurance coverage for the state's most at-risk drivers, has chosen RiskWise solutions from LexisNexis, an information solution provider, to help screen information provided by applicants and claimants in an effort to proactively identify rate evasion and claims fraud.

To help doctors understand the role of return-to-work in recovery, CIGNA Group Insurance introduced a new Physicians' Disability Toolkit, an informational Web site for health care providers and their office staff is designed to aid patients' treatment and recovery plans.

GREENVILLE, S.C-- RBC Insurance is providing consumers the ability to acquire life insurance in as little as 15 minutes at its Web site located at www.rbcexpressterm.com.

A lot has been made about insurers' attempt to comply with federal regulations, such as The USA Patriot Act and Sarbanes-Oxley, but lost often in the shuffle are the ongoing state-level regulations with which insurers must contend.

To provide customers with an "ideal buying experience" can sometimes mean practicing what you preach.That axiom is being practiced by business and information technology executives at Amica Life Insurance Co., a Lincoln, R.I.-based provider of term and universal life, annuities and structured settlement insurance products. The "Ideal Buying Experience" is Amica Life's recently launched new business selling program which focused on automating the front-end capability of the carrier's business-from electronic applications and new business submission, to paperless underwriting and automatic issue within its core administration system.

In recent years, insurance companies have spent more money on legacy system maintenance than on packaged software applications, according to industry experts.There are several factors influencing this trend, but one undoubtedly stands out: Many insurers concur that there's a lack of robust software application options to fulfill their needs.

Many insurers have indicated that reining in claims handling costs is a priority this year and beyond. After examining the root cause of inefficient claims management, insurers have concurred that the onus is on the absence of historical databases.In a customer poll conducted by Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO), 46% of U.S. insurance organizations identified the lack of historical databases as a major cause of poor claims management.

Conventional management thinking says: Labor is expensive, and automation reduces that expense. Although in many cases this statement is true, competitive advantage in the area of customer service isn't a simple matter of replacing people with technology.

With apologies to Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman, there is a free lunch after all. Blue Cross of California has expanded a unique technology initiative to give 1,200 physicians either a complete desktop computer system or a personal digital assistant (PDAs)-free of charge.This is the second wave of the 21st century technology give-away program in the state, and targets physicians taking part in two safety-net health care plans-called the Medi-Cal and Healthy Family Insurance programs-for poor, uninsured or low-income patients.

The days of endless rows of file cabinets chock-full with customer files are numbered as more companies provide their customers with online access to policies, billing statements and claims reporting.As insurers grapple with regulatory changes, mergers and acquisitions and fast-changing technologies, enhancing operational efficiency and providing top-notch customer service has never been more important.

PEARL RIVER, NY--41 states are now accepting the ACORD Life Form Life Application Part 1, ACORD announced. This is a major step in a multi-year initiative and is supported by numerous life insurance companies and associations, including NAILBA and NAVA.

Grange Insurance, Columbus, Ohio, has licensed EDR InSight, a set of solutions designed for claims professionals to facilitate the use of automotive Event Data Recorder (EDR) or "black box" data in the claims evaluation process.Grange will use EDR InSight, provided by Injury Sciences LLC, San Antonio, to identify vehicles with harvestable black box data. Grange claim representatives will use EDR InSight to schedule harvesting services from a network of mobile service providers and for analysis and interpretation of the EDR data.

BOSTON--John Hancock Life Insurance Company has quadrupled the long-term care insurance (LTCI) operations professionals who support the sale of its LTCI products from 6 staff members to 24. The expanded support enhances service for its existing LTCI channels including career agents, its national account team, managing general agents (MGAs) and banks, and allows the company to serve two new channels, brokerage general agents (BGAs) and broker-dealers.