Customer service

To reach consumers, the confectioner, like many insurers lately, is eschewing traditional e-mail marketing in favor of social media.

A survey shows that 3% of firms were “customer-centric organizations,” while 33% of firms were “customer-oblivious organizations.”

The Department of Health and Human Services says it wants "well-intentioned providers to become meaningful users of electronic health records."

Allegient Systems’ Expense and Reporting Management Suite will provide Southern Pioneer with legal bill review and performance management services.

Agents responding to a survey say their customer service reps save several hours daily by using electronic, real-time carrier sites/portals, but there’s still room for improvement.

The platform should help Dearborn National eliminate the cost of keeping up with changes to desktop word processing tools.

FAB Billing is designed to enable better service for insureds and agents.

Personal lines property/casualty carriers received confirmation yesterday of a business strategy that works: Claimants of insurance companies that provide highly satisfying property claims experiences are considerably more likely to renew with their insurer and recommend their insurer to others, according to the J.D. Power and Associates’ (http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/) 2010 U.S. Home Claims Satisfaction Study released yesterday.

Experts contend there's a market for mobile transactions, which aren't limited to mobile-related purchases, but anything consumers might pay for over the Internet or in person, including insurance.

National Western Life Insurance, an Austin, Texas-based provider of individual universal life, whole life and term insurance plans, annuity products, and investment contracts, launched the iGO e-App for its life and annuity products on a global scale. The technology deal between National Western Life and iPipeline, an Exton, Pa.-based provider of on-demand software, makes it possible for iGo users to take advantage of intelligent fillable forms designed to simplify and accelerate the marketing, selling and processing of insurance applications.

Unusual circumstances, geographies and risk concentrations contributed to higher-than-normal natural catastrophe losses, notes German reinsurer Munich Re, which points to the first half of 2010 as being marked by an exceptionally large number of natural catastrophes and the scale of the losses they caused.

The insurer settled its suit with the Connecticut AG regarding a lost drive in 2009 that contained the health info of 1.5 million members.

Just ahead of midyear reinsurance treaty renewals, the June 2010 composite Property/Casualty rate index, released by Dallas-based MarketScout, an insurance exchange comprising primarily independent retail agents, measured down 3% as compared to the same time one year ago.

Insurer says old enrollment forms containing sensitive information were mistakenly left in discarded file cabinet.

Sword Group’s new company, Sword Insurance, will offer CRM, BI tools and policy admin software to the property/casualty industry.

Analyst firm hailed Guidewire as a leader in billing for the first time in its 2010 report.

However, we now have new means and methodologies to add to our toolboxes.

By sector, health insurers continue to out-pace the rest of the industry on job gains; reinsurers see largest ever jump in payroll.

Esurance, a San Francisco-based direct-to-consumer auto insurer, has unveiled an enhanced iPhone application for both its customers and car insurance shoppers.

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a website to enable consumers across the nation to compare and choose health insurance plans operating in their geographic region.