Core systems

Oak Park, Ill. - Home page usability of many insurance companies isn't up to snuff. That's according to a study by Vox Inc., a firm focused on increasing retention and referalls by improving the customer experience. The study analyzed the positioning of key customer and user elements, such as insurance quote and "find an agent" functions. Each company was given a rating based on a set of usability and benchmark criteria.One exception to the overall findings is 21st Century, which recently redesigned its home page to improve the positioning and clarity of the various user elements.

Jersey City, N.J. - Catastrophic wildfires cause extensive damage to property and significant disruption to the lives of property owners. In 2005, more than 8.5 million acres burned, nearly twice the 10-year average. This is according to ISO, a provider of products and services that help insurers measure, manage and reduce risk.With more people living closer to brushfire areas, which also happen to be preserves of privacy, the exposure has nearly doubled for insurers between 1970 and 2000.

Washington, D.C. - NASD has introduced a new series of free, on-demand video Webcasts for compliance professionals that's aimed at taking the mystery out of key regulatory processes and making firms' interactions with NASD more productive and efficient.The first installment of the new "What to Expect" series focuses on what firms can expect before, during and after an NASD examination and offers practical tips for making the process go smoothly. While all NASD-registered firms can benefit from viewing this Webcast, "What to Expect: Preparing for an NASD Routine Exam" will be of particular interest to firms on a four-year examination cycle whose examinations are coming up, given significant changes in the regulatory environment in recent years.

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.

Cary, N.C. - Reaping business benefits now matches regulatory compliance as the key driver of enterprise risk management (ERM) systems according to a global survey of 339 financial services executives. These benefits include improved performance management, better risk-based pricing, and reduced capital allocation and credit loss. These are the results of research conducted by SAS, a business intelligence provider.A full 83% of participating financial institutions view ERM as a strategic priority, per the survey. Many are setting up new ERM or "integrated compliance" programs. The survey also found that credit risk management is still the top risk management expenditure priority for most firms. In addition, 78% of respondents view credit risk management as critical and anticipate significant, quantifiable economic rewards over the next 24 months, including a 10% reduction in economic capital and a 14% reduction in cost-of-credit losses.

Beverlyy, Mass. - Electric Insurance Co. has named Marc A. Meiches, 53, president and chief executive officer. Meiches succeeds Larry Cohen who has been acting CEO since April 2005.Meiches comes to Electric Insurance from GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS) where he was the executive vice president and CFO. He joined GEIS in 2000 with more than 20 years of financial experience in creating and leading global organizations. GEIS, with more than $10 billion in premium and $50 billion in combined assets, employed 2,500 people in 50 states and 22 countries. The company was recently sold to Swiss Re.

Worcester, Mass. - The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., a regional property and casualty company has introduced a business owner's policy (BOP) class comparison look-up tool. The tool is designed to help The Hanover's agent partners quickly and efficiently categorize a small business owner's industry classification and obtain a quote for the company's Avenues BOP faster than ever."The new BOP class comparison look-up tool will simplify the quoting process for our agent partners, saving them precious time and helping them achieve even greater productivity," says Marita Zuraitis, president of The Hanover's property and casualty companies. "This tool is yet another example of our commitment to continuous improvement and to deliver on our promise to provide world class products and services, while doing whatever it takes to make it easy for agents to successfully conduct business with us."

AGENCY WEB PORTALNew York-based P&C Insurance Systems Inc. introduced a Web portal that allows direct Web-based upload of ACORD data from agency management software. The portal leverages the architecture of the PCIS management system to provide Web-based multi-line rating, real-time agency access to quote documents, and up-to-date agency production reports.

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Yonkers, N.Y. – The August issue of Consumer Reports warns consumers that even drivers who have spotless driving records and have never had an at-fault accident may be faced with higher premiums if their insurer uses credit-based insurance scores.The report describes credit-based insurance scores as numbers that are computed from bill-paying and loan data collected by the major credit bureaus. They have become as important in determining annual premiums as driving records and neighborhoods, the magazine states.

Washington, D.C. - Insurers should offer consumers better information about consumer-driven health plans and other benefit plans, according to a report issued by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a nonprofit organization that provides information on the quality of the nation's managed care plans. In a recently released white paper the Washington-based NCQA accredits health insurers for meeting certain standards of performance.

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.

Hartford, Conn. - With fewer large books of business changing hands recently, insurance agencies are relying on staff-driven, organic growth to expand their operations. Compensation packages and new recruitment and training strategies have shifted to reflect this trend, and also to address the shortage of trained sales professionals, according to the recently-published Business Management Group, Inc.'s "2006-2007 Owner, Executive and Producer Compensation Survey."Business Management Group (BMG), a subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., is an independent agency/broker consulting firm that has surveyed and published agency compensation studies since 1990. The surveys enable agencies to benchmark their compensation plans against industry norms by looking at various factors, including revenue size and region.

Alpharetta, Ga. - ChoicePoint (NYSE:CPS) is acquiring the assets of Memphis, Tenn.-based USCerts, which provides technology and data management services to facilitate the remote ordering of certified birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.USCerts combines technology with user-friendly interfaces to provide a secure, remote vital records ordering system. The company also provides a network for processing vital record requests by telephone, facsimile or the World Wide Web.

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.

Des Moines, Iowa - The Principal Financial Group is introducing an online tool--called the Treatment Cost Advisor--designed to help members evaluate the price of specific procedures as well as medications. The tool responds to a growing need from employers who are encouraging employees to make smarter health decisions."Understanding health care costs is complicated, so we wanted to offer a way for our members to identify and compare pricing for everything from minor procedures to surgeries and hospital stays," says Carey Jury, senior vice president of the health division for the Principal Financial Group. "As consumer driven health care continues to evolve and more responsibility shifts to employees, we must provide tools and resources to help our members make informed health decisions."

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)

Worcester, Mass. - The Hanover Insurance Group Inc. is trying to make it easier and faster for independent agents to do business with the company by revamping its point-of- ale (POS) system for Avenues Commercial Auto. Using the enhanced POS system, it takes agents just minutes to fill-out five pop-up, screens and obtain a commercial auto quote for a client."We are pleased to provide agents with the latest improvements to our Commercial Auto POS system because it makes placing business with The Hanover simpler and more efficient," says Marita Zuraitis, president of The Hanover's property and casualty companies.