Customer service

Patrick Snowball, executive director of Aviva UK, flew down to Mumbai, India in February to accept an award from the Indian software industry. But India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) wasn't lauding the insurance giant for the jobs it was moving to outsourcing firms on the subcontinent. Instead, Aviva was recognized for taking jobs back.The previous month, Aviva transferred 1,600 employees in Bangalore from an outsourcing vendor, 24/7 Customer, to Aviva Global Services. It was the first move of its kind and size in the Indian business processing outsourcing industry, NASSCOM said.

For many insurance companies, large and small, moving to a paperless environment is desirable, but no easy task. Many employees still derive comfort and a sense of control from tangible paper files, and moving to electronic functioning carries with it a certain sense of anxiety.The employees of Eustis Insurance & Benefits, a 60-year-old New Orleans provider of personal, commercial, and benefits lines insurance, have proven themselves the exception.

Which financial institutions create the most positive relationships with consumers, and how do insurers compare? Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc. asked consumers about their relationships with financial institutions, including insurers.In Forrester's research of eight types of financial institutions-banks, home and auto insurance providers, credit card providers, life insurance providers, mortgage providers, investment firms, financial advisors and estate tax advisors-consumers said banks are the most prevalent provider. Across all other institutions, GenYers are the least likely to have a relationship.

Hartford, Conn. and Indianapolis - Two insurers—Travelers and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield—announced online tools for their customers. Hartford, Conn.-based Travelers announced new technology launches: Umbrella Wired and OSHA Recordkeeping, as a new component of e-CARMA.Umbrella Wired online software program is designed to simplify the rate, quote and bind process for agents who offer small commercial umbrella liability policies.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Zurich announced the debut of eZ Transition, an online tool that bolsters the effectiveness of Zurich's return to work (RTW) program and supports a wide range of employers' RTW practices. According to a company statement, employers can use eZ Transition to generate customized RTW policies and procedures, create job description profiles with physical job demands, develop temporary transitional work assignments, develop RTW implementation and training materials, and access Americans With Disabilities Act information and state-specific Family and Medical Leave Act data. "Effective RTW programs like Zurich's can save 10-40% of workers' compensation medical costs and 14-25% of wage replacement costs," said John Kelm, President, Zurich Corporate Customer, North America. "With disability costs projected to increase 37% this decade due to the growing number of workers aged 45 to 64, an effective RTW program and tools like eZ Transition are now more important than ever to a company's bottom line. " The tool's design reflects the input from Zurich specialists in many facets of its operations, including claims, managed care, risk engineering and underwriting. It enables the creation of a customer-specific RTW profile and the implementation of preventative loss controls that will help reduce lost workday cases. The eZ Transition tool is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to Zurich's workers' compensation customers through www.zurichna.com. Armand Fernandez, Risk Engineering Field Operations executive for Zurich, added that eZ Transition is flexible enough to adapt to employers of all sizes and program complexity, and complements Zurich's Absence Management consulting services. "Smaller employers are often unprepared for workers' compensation claims and even larger employers, with established RTW programs, frequently need assistance with physical job demands and transitional work assignments," Fernandez said. "Zurich's overall RTW program adapts to employers of all sizes, and provides the tools and directions they need to develop a comprehensive RTW solution for their specific needs, helping return their operations to normal as soon as possible." Source: Zurich, Schaumburg, Ill.

Indianapolis and Washington - During the past few months, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress to repeal or alter the existing limited antitrust exemptions afforded under the McCarran-Ferguson Act.Many associations and organizations have publicly opposed the repeal. Among those are the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA).

Stamford, Conn. - Public and private companies—more than 66% of respondents—have received a record number of inquiries from potential board members who are concerned about their current directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance, an increase of 16% from 2005, according to the D&O Liability 2006 Survey on Insurance Purchasing and Claims Trends conducted by Towers Perrin. Nonprofit respondents received similar D&O inquiries from approximately 32% of their boards, up slightly (3%) from 2005.At the same time, the survey, which included 2,875 participants, shows that companies are responding to these inquiries by providing broader personal liability protection for directors and officers. In fact, 14% of those surveyed purchased Side A-only coverage in the past year. Side-A coverage provides D&O coverage for personal liability when they are not indemnified by the organization.

Hartford, Conn. - With the recent sale of a small business policy to Creative Music Adventures of Seattle, Wash., The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. now maintains one million small-business policies in force across the country."This is an outstanding achievement for The Hartford," says Jim Ruel, senior vice president of small business insurance at The Hartford. "For years, we've been listening to what small business owners want, and then developing the right products and services to help our agents meet their clients' needs. Reaching this milestone in such a competitive market is a testament to our company's leadership and expertise in this field. As the number of small businesses in this country continues to increase, The Hartford will continue to find new ways to serve them."

Reston, Va. - The year 2006 represented the tipping point for using the Internet to buy auto insurance, says comScore, Inc., a Reston, Va., company that measures commerce in the digital world.

Stamford, Conn. – Insurance carriers in North America and Western Europe need to become more customer-oriented to remain competitive, according to a study by Gartner Inc., the research company based here.

Atlanta - A disk containing the personal information of 2.9 million Georgia residents has gone missing, state health officials say.

Bethesda, Md. – A self-described socially responsible mutual fund has withdrawn formal objections to the way two major insurance companies have handled climate change.

New York - New York City-based New York Life Insurance Co.’s consumer Web site was best in the nation among insurance and annuity companies in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Dalbar Inc., a Boston-based company that tracks Internet innovation.

New York - Parents can track the whereabouts of teenage drivers with the help of a global positioning system about to undergo testing by New York-based AIG Auto Insurance.

New York - Senior insurance executives are concerned about governing and managing the crushing volume of data their companies maintain these days, especially in light of stricter reporting requirements.

Edwardsville, Ill - Florists' Mutual Insurance Company (Hortica) has announced the loss of a locked shipping case containing backup computer tapes with personal information.

Denver - Despite some challenges, the health insurance industry continues to focus forward on initiatives that will enable patient-related data sharing in order to help eliminate errors and reduce overall costs. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado announced its participation in a voluntary data-sharing program developed by the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH), the company reports. The program, based on rules drafted by CAQH's Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CORE), is designed to link the data collected by health plans, providers, and vendors so that doctors can electronically verify their patients' insurance information in twenty seconds or less, significantly improving communications between providers and insurers. A report issued in February 2006 by Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets notes that insurers will benefit from a trend in widespread adoption of electronic capture of patient data. With solid benefits predicted, there still remain challenges, however. Alluding to the routine capture of documents and data for both regulatory and business intelligence purposes, the Research and Markets holds that "health care in the clinical setting has resisted this industry-transforming technology for nearly 20 years. The reasons: the lack of user-friendly interfaces for busy health care providers, lack of workflow understanding on the part of vendors, the expense and complexity of implementation and maintenance solutions, and the lack of transparent ROI for providers." Empirical data on long-term benefits for a program such as this may not be available yet, but carriers such as anthem BCBS nevertheless have high hopes for initiatives designed to create incentives for providers that will help improve communications between parties and create a "healthier" patient base in the process. The fact that the CORE program is a voluntary, industry-wide collaboration facilitated by Washington-based CAQH, may help the cause. Anthem has been certified as a CAQH CORE health plan and has already completed the Phase I implementation of the CORE rules, which allows for standardized data transfer and quicker response times. Physicians who link to the health plan through electronic data interchange (EDI) will be able to use EDI for this quick verification. EDI is a method for two organizations to confidentially exchange data from one computer to another using standard formats that are HIPAA compliant. Currently, Anthem's EDI is used for claims filing, claims status checks, eligibility verification, electronic remittance advices, and electronic fund transfers back to health care providers. "Anthem is committed to employing the most advanced information technology solutions available to improve both our members' experience and their interactions with physicians," said John Martie, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado, a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. "CAQH has developed an excellent framework for simplifying the administrative side of the health care system, and Anthem has worked diligently to ensure that we are capable of bringing the benefits of CAQH's efforts to our members." "These programs have the potential to transform the way that health care providers and health plans communicate," continued Martie. "But most importantly, they will take much of the confusion out of the health care system for our members." Sources: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, INN Archives

Kansas City, Mo. - Security, developing Web portals, and going paperless are among the top focus areas for IT staff at surplus lines insurance companies, according to a survey of NAPSLO members conducted in February by the association's communications & technology committee.

Needham, Mass. - The time is right for U.S. property and casualty claims insurers to aggressively exploit the business benefits of an enterprise mobility strategy, according to new research from research and advisory services firm TowerGroup. TowerGroup's report, "Mobile Solutions for US Property & Casualty Claims: Life in the Fast Lane," maintains that while using mobile solutions for settling claims is not new to the U.S. insurance industry, adoption for claims processing has been haphazard at best. Insurance carriers have been slowly bringing on mobile technology solutions to assist field workers with claims operations, yet the process has lacked focus and forward momentum. Given the strides made by mobile technology vendors in functionality, bandwidth and devices, mobility solutions for the insurance industry are increasingly reliable - and can yield significant value if developed within a coordinated strategic initiative, says the report. "Customers are increasingly expecting real-time, any-time service from their insurance carriers," said Karen Pauli, senior analyst in the TowerGroup insurance research practice in Needham, Mass., and author of the research. "While many insurers have various mobility irons in the fire, catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina quickly exposed the limits of the haphazard solutions that are in place. It's time for carriers to step back and create an enterprise strategy for mobility that encompasses all aspects of the claims process." Highlights of the research include: * Mobile initiatives will yield significant value for carriers when the implementation directly impacts the most critical business issues facing carriers today, including: disaster response; business continuity; and meeting regulatory and compliance mandates. The report also highlights the key actions carriers must take in order to create an effective mobile strategy. * Carriers can improve day-to-day claims operations, gaining competitive advantage and saving costs, by using predictive analytics to direct activities in a mobile environment. * Before carriers jump into an enterprise mobility plan, they must carefully review the needs and workflow of their claims personnel. "Today, few carriers leverage the breadth of available mobile technologies that could contribute to claims process efficiency," continued Pauli. "Instead, it's more common to see stand-alone applications that have little to no integration with other claims applications or services. Stand-alones don't scale well, usually lack extensibility and cost too much. Carriers must develop a more holistic approach to claims mobility, one that arms the adjuster with the key devices and applications necessary to get the job done in the most efficient and effective way possible." Source: TowerGroup

The insurance industry can't agree on a definition of the phrase "enterprise content management." Whatever it means, though, there's a consensus that it's improving.Many think of it as combining absolutely every kind of documented information the company owns and putting it into a paperless electronic central repository that imposes business rules, manages distribution and affords virtually unlimited access. That master file would house everything from this morning's jpegs to digitized versions of yellowing old paper-and-ink policies.