Core systems

Hartland, Wis. - AQS Inc., a Hartland, Wis., policy administration software provider, announced an agreement with the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) to provide its forms, rules and rating information in AQS' commercial policy administration systems for farm and inland marine to AQS clients that are AAIS members. Wheaton, Ill.-based AAIS, which acts as a product development resource for insurance providers, offers expertise in product development, actuarial analysis, and regulatory filings. The relationship between AAIS and AQS' Bureau Unit expands bureau-related information available to AQS clients and fosters straight-through processing by providing clients access to the information electronically.

Mississauga and Toronto, Ont. - Chubb Insurance of Canada, a subsidiary of the Warren, N.J.-based property and casualty company Chubb, has implemented MS/B's IntegriClaim property claim estimating technology as a desktop application into Chubb's property claims management process. Chubb Insurance of Canada, located in Toronto, will use the Los Angeles-based company's technology to help facilitate its continued development in the Canadian market.IntegriClaim is a suite of property claims solutions for the P&C industry. It is designed to deliver more consistent and accurate estimates reflective of localized costs by using total component data researched from nearly 100 unique cost locations in Canada.

Greensboro, N.C. - DataDelta Inc. has launched its first "Single Customer View Accuracy Survey" in partnership with market research firm The CDI Institute. Burlingame, Calif. The purpose of the survey is to measure single customer view accuracy that results from customer data integration (CDI) projects.The initial survey results will be presented at the 17th Information Quality Conference hosted by Larry English and The International Association for Information and Data Quality (IAIDQ) September 19-23 in Houston, Texas.

Los Angeles - While most believe insurance is important to protect assets and, in the case of life insurance, their families, Los Angeles-area Latino consumers in general under-utilize insurance, according to a study released today by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) at the University of Southern California.The study, made possible by a grant from Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill., used focus groups and a telephone survey to assess Los Angeles-area Latino resident's attitudes toward three types of insurance: auto, property (homeowners and renters) and life. The study also examined how these consumers make decisions about insurance purchases and gather information about insurance. Among the key findings:

Oak Ridge, Tenn. - Diversified Product Inspections Inc., a provider of independent product failure analysis, air contamination and fire investigations for the insurance industry will now send its clients product failure analysis reports electronically via a secure PDF file format.Warren Wankelman, vice president of marketing says, "Effective Monday, August 8, 2005, DPI started transmitting reports, pictures, and invoices electronically, which will replace the reports being sent via U.S. Mail. These reports will be in a secure encrypted Acrobat Reader format with access only with a password. Subrogation managers, claims managers and adjusters will access this new system via the DPI Web site by registering and setting up an account. While adjusters will only be able to access or view their own claims, managers will be able to view all their company's reports that have been completed."

Phoenix - AlohaCare, a non-profit Hawaii health plan serving state QUEST members, has selected an enterprise application and professional services application from Quality Care Solutions Inc. (QCSI) to administer claims and accommodate future growth. QUEST is a state program that provides health insurance for more than 150,000 Hawaii residents, provides comprehensive medical care for those who cannot afford their own commercial insurance coverage and do not qualify for other programs.AlohaCare has been successfully running its claims administration using QCSI's product suite since August 2000, and was previously under contract with a third-party vendor for support and hosting services. AlohaCare recently upgraded to a more current version of QCSI software, in order to achieve its desired business outcomes and maximize its information technology investment.

Denver--Qwest Communications International Inc. has won a new multimillion-dollar agreement from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Eagan, Minn., for high-end data networking services. The contract, worth approximately $3 million over three years, enables Blue Cross to set up a redundant network to support the company in the event of a disaster or an outage on its primary network.Qwest will provide metro optical Ethernet services of bandwidth up to 100 Mbps, and 20 private routed networks between Blue Cross's offices and a state-of-the-art Qwest CyberCenter. Also, Blue Cross will install dedicated iQ Networking ports at three sites using bandwidth up to OC-192.

Kennesaw, Ga.--MicroBilt Corp., a provider of decision critical data, and credit industry veteran and attorney Oscar Marquis have formed a joint venture. Called ComplyTraq LLC, the new company will provide Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance, credentialing, audit and training services to the credit and data industries.The joint venture is being formed to serve the growing need for compliance and auditing in an industry that is under increasing pressure from state and federal regulation related to the use of personal information. Through the combined experience of the principals and as regulation increases, the joint venture will assist organizations with compliance and auditing and will guarantee its services, backed by an insurance policy issued by Lloyd's of London.

San Jose, Calif.--one of Switzerland's largest health insurance organizations for private and corporate customers, Christian & Social Health and Accident Insurance (CSS), has deployed more than 1,900 Linux-based thin-client devices at its headquarters in Lucerne and regional branch offices. This deployment of devices from Wyse Technology, replaces a previous solution at CSS from a competing thin-client vendor.The Linux-based thin-client solutions provide CSS with an adaptable alternative to the standard PC that is inherently resistant from viruses, and helps CSS' distributed organization to save a significant amount of time, money and IT management resources, according to Wyse Technology.

Northbrook, Ill. - Allstate Insurance Company has engaged ProcessClaims, Manhattan Beach, Calif., to develop and test new claim-related quality assurance technology. The software is being designed to streamline quality assurance processes and ensure accuracy in vehicle estimate preparation. The companies are also exploring broader new technology approaches to drive e-business in the rapidly evolving collision repair inter-industry. ProcessClaims is a provider of software connectivity and business process automation for the property and casualty industry.

New York-As the next step in its efforts to automate the sales and processing of life insurance policies, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has launched its pilot program for InsurExpress, New York. Leveraging DTCC's infrastructure and established network of connectivity, InsurExpress integrates key insurance industry service providers to support communications between insurance companies and participating distributors of insurance products, providing necessary functionality for life insurance application processing.Firms participating in the initial pilot testing include Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va., and Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis. In the coming months, DTCC intends to expand the program to include multiple financial advisors in various geographical locations, together with an expanded product set and carrier list.

Washington, D.C. - There is a clear economic case for structural changes in insurance regulation, namely an optional federal charter (OFC), that could benefit both consumers and life insurers, according to a study conducted by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Washington, D.C., and Computer Sciences Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.

Northbrook, Ill.--Allstate Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The Allstate Corp., is participating in the PREPARE (PREVU* Predicts Atherosclerosis Risk and Events) clinical trial, a study with Toronto-based IMI International Medical Innovations Inc. and McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Guelph, Ont. The study evaluates a new medical technology for assessing the risk of coronary artery disease.Currently, Allstate Life customers who apply for a life insurance policy must undergo a blood test as one of a number of factors to assess their coronary artery disease risk. The new study incorporates a skin test that uses an adhesive collection strip that is applied to a study participant's hand. Upon removal of the strip, dead skin cells are collected and then sealed in a collection device and processed using IMI's patented PREVU* LT Skin Sterol Test system.

Green Bay, Wis. - Amex Assurance Company, a subsidiary of the American Express Property Casualty companies, is selling policies to New Jersey drivers directly over the Internet. The Green Bay, Wis., company has sold property/casualty insurance since 1986 and writes auto insurance in 38 states and Washington, D.C. It's the fourth new firm, following Mercury General, GEICO and Esurance, to enter the auto insurance market since legislative reform began two years ago in what is called one of the most heavily regulated states.

The decision to send IT operations overseas is often viewed in the pejorative by IT line personnel, who feel they must continuously "skill up" or face the unemployment line. Though carriers are often reluctant to publicize their strategies, sources indicate it's definitely a topic of executives' conversation.IT offshore outsourcing, i.e., offshoring, has intensified, and from a business driver perspective, its discussion is becoming more commonplace in the boardroom, where it holds less controversy.

Do the numbers 705/4 mean anything to you? What about the name Ronald Katz? If not, you may want to pay more attention to what's happening in the patent world.The numbers 705/4 represent the U.S. Patent Office classification for insurance inventions. And, according to industry sources, carriers are woefully oblivious to the spike in patents filed under that classification over the past few years.

A survey conducted by AIIM, a Silver Spring, Md., enterprise content management (ECM) association, reveals that while cost reduction is still dominant in driving ECM decisions, compliance and payback are growing in popularity.AIIM surveyed more than 1,200 end users and potential end users of content and document management technologies in nine countries: the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Germany, Australia, and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg).

In one corner, a number of professional organizations support federal regulation of the insurance industry. And, on the opposite side of the ring, other groups support state oversight. The debate over state and federal regulatory control seems to have resurfaced, and a host of parties affected are gearing up for the battle.Some insurance carriers, however, are asking: Does it really matter who's standing when all is said and done? Many insurers simply recognize that there is a need for regulatory reform -and where that control lies is of secondary concern, according to Dick Luedke, spokesperson for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., Bloomington, Ill.

New York - More than 90% of risk management executives are building or want to build enterprise risk management (ERM) processes into their organizations, but only 11% have completed such a task, according to a recent report issued by New York-based The Conference Board. The Board, in conjunction with Mercer Oliver Wyman, a New York financial consulting firm, surveyed 271 risk management executives from a variety of industries across North America and Europe.

Avon, Conn. - Worksite carriers recorded another year of reserved growth in 2004, according to the sixth annual U.S. Worksite Study, conducted by marketing advisory firm Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc., Avon, Conn. New worksite sales in the U.S. totaled an estimated $4.223 billion, a 3% increase over 2003 results. Growth improved from the 1.8% increase realized in 2003 (based on revisions several companies made to their reported 2003 sales). [Note: As a result of these revisions, total sales for 2003 were revised downward to $4.1 billion.]