Customer service

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC), a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories, reports that its Web site received more than 1 million visits in 2006, doubling the previous year's total. The domain, www.naic.org, logged a total of 1,150,632 visits from January through December 2006, marking a drastic increase from the 480,675 visits received in 2005. In addition to the rising number of Web visits, a 2006 analysis of the NAIC Web site showed the domain averaged 3,152 visits per day in 2006, up from 1,316 in 2005. The average visit to www.naic.org in 2006 lasted more than 18 minutes, a six-minute increase from 2005. A "visit" is tallied each time someone logs on to any page within the NAIC Web domain. NAIC Executive Vice President and CEO Catherine Weatherford attributed the increased Web activity to an "improved user experience" throughout the site, making it easier for visitors to navigate from page to page. "There have been a considerable amount of improvements made to the accessibility and organization of information within the NAIC site," Weatherford said. "The tools and options made available to our members, the insurance industry and consumers are second to none. The site is an all-encompassing, multi-media instrument that offers on-demand access to important NAIC data and information." Another reason for the spike in Web visits was the increased consumer awareness generated from Insure U, the NAIC's education-based consumer Web site. This effort included a series of public service announcements, which guided consumers to the NAIC Web site to learn more about their insurance needs. The NAIC site, which is updated daily, features an extensive amount of background on the association, including committee documents and updates, white papers, news releases, NAIC publications, consumer-oriented material, extensive databases, industry-based links, individual Web pages for the wide-range of systems available to NAIC members, links to the many divisions within the NAIC, and updated information on past and upcoming NAIC national meetings. "The NAIC is dedicated to offering a vast amount of regulatory information through its Web site," Weatherford said. "To have so many people interested in what our expansive site has to offer is a testament to the NAIC's mission of promoting the public interest and continuing to support and improve state-based insurance regulation." Source: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Philadelphia - CIGNA Corp. redesigned its flagship public Web site to be easier for users to navigate and offer users extensive health information and online resources in a newly added Health & Money section.

Buttressed by the efforts of annuities associations, technology firms and broker/dealers, Pacific Life Insurance Co. is among the insurance firms leading a long-term, yet determined drive to make the annuities business paperless. Though its work is in an early stage, Pacific Life likes the results it has seen.Since Pacific Life began using an automated system for annuities called Automated Customer Account Transfer Service/ Insurance Processing Service (ACATS/IPS), the carrier is boosting its speed in obtaining notification of customer requests to change broker/dealers, while significantly improving customer service. For instance, now Pacific Life gets almost immediate notification of customer requests to change broker/dealers, whereas before it took at least six weeks.

The road seems less bumpy these days for insurance carriers that use state-of-the-art automated compensation to calculate and track agents' commissions. A single streamlined third-party system can replace a hodgepodge of legacy software and manual processes, users say, helping to reduce clerical work, increase accuracy and improve reporting. Moreover, carriers report that the software opens up a whole new world of analysis that pinpoints the true sources of profit and helps identify and retain the best agents.The accuracy rate for commissions at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, for example, has improved from 80% before introducing up-to-date automated compensation to 95% after the implementation, says Linda Lamb, BCBSF vice president of sales business management. The remaining errors arise from data entry miscues or software problems outside the system, she says.

INSURER ENHANCES ONLINE DATAThe Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life) enhanced Trilogy, its universal life product that continues to evolve to meet the changing financial and wealth management needs of Canadians. The enhancements represent the largest number of revisions to the product since Trilogy Universal Life was introduced in September 2000. Better delivery of information is achieved through a completely revised client statement and with new online investment information.

RECORDING SOFTWAREWitness Systems Inc., a Roswell, Ga.-based global provider of workforce optimization software and services, enhanced its Impact 360 IP Recording solution, featuring tripled channel capacity, unified recording management and a centralized administration tool. Designed for interactions in enterprise and contact center environments, Impact 360 now features TDM and IP recording under a single management tool. The software operates across IP, TDM and mixed telephony networks, designed to help customers ensure all their calls are recorded, whether for compliance and liability, sales verification or quality assurance purposes. Impact 360 IP Recording allows the recording of SIP-based calls. Also new to Impact 360 IP Recording is tripled channel capacity, which results in fewer servers. The solution introduces centralized administration capabilities, which provide access to all the vital Impact 360 IP Recording configuration settings, enabling customers to centrally manage all of their Impact 360 recorders regardless of location.

It's the same old adage: a penny saved is a penny earned. For many insurers, that means a boost in 2007 outsourced services. But for an up-and-coming group of carriers, that penny translates to a one-pence, kroner, deutsche mark or Euro.Across the globe, interest in business process outsourcing (BPO) services continues to increase, chiefly because insurers must continue to seek ways to achieve operational efficiencies and take advantage of growth opportunities.

Does it pay to peek over the neighbor's fence? It does if you discover a better way to mow the lawn. In the spirit of sharing best practices for the benefit of everyone involved, Insurance Networking News announces the first annual INNovators of the Year award.The idea for the award emerged during informal talks at INN. After witnessing an almost daily flow of innovation in the insurance business, the editors began searching for a way to objectively uncover and recognize the top innovators and share a deeper understanding of their innovations.

GRAIN DEALERS UPGRADE POLICY ADMIN CAPABILITIESGrain Dealers Mutual Insurance Co. upgraded its policy administration capabilities with Policy Decisions from Insurity, a Hartford, Conn.-based ChoicePoint company. Policy Decisions is designed to incorporate complete policy-lifecycle administration services-from application intake to rating and underwriting, from policy issuance to renewal and reinsurance-on a single Web services platform. Grain Dealers looked at competing systems that promised improved access, says David Patterson, assistant vice president and director of Information Services for the Indianapolis-based property-casualty insurer, but Insurity had several advantages that clinched the deal. At first, agents will access it to do their own quoting for commercial policies. The longer-term plan is to provide self-service access to agents for policy maintenance.

Washington - Two conservative Fox News commentators, Bill O’Reilly and Morton Kondracke, are slated to speak at insurance industry conferences in the coming year.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The nation may remember 2006 as the year the Democrats won the mid-term elections, Gerald Ford and James Brown died, and data breaches made an indelible mark on American business in general and the insurance industry in particular.

Thousand Oaks, Calif. - To promote health in the Latino community, Blue Cross of California (BCC) has started a Web site called NuestroBien, which is Spanish for ”our well being." The site, located at www.nuestrobien.com, presents articles in English and Spanish on prevention, nutrition and early detection of health problems.

Harrisburg, Pa. - Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. enhanced its online quoting and application system for personal lines products, as part of its strategy to jump-start profitable personal lines growth.Some of the technology enhancements include quick-hit automation and workflow improvements, including automatically ordering Insurance Bureau Score reports, automatically assigning plan tiering and simplifying and streamlining the application process by eliminating duplication. In addition, product enhancements include streamlining auto and homeowner underwriting guidelines to make them easier to use and less cumbersome, and revising underwriting guidelines to broaden underwriting appetite for selected risks to be more competitive.

Chicago - Chicago-based insurance broker Aon yesterday became the latest in a series of companies to participate in technology mergers as it announced its intent to acquire Valley Oak Systems (VOS), a San Ramon, Calif., provider of claims management software, services and support for the insurance industry. The acquisition reflects Aon’s desire to supplement its risk management portfolio. Valley Oak, winner of the IASA 2006 Technology Achievement Award, is best known for its iVOS system, which includes medical bill review, policy underwriting, case management, billing and event management capabilities. "Aon's acquisition of Valley Oak Systems continues Celent's predicted roll-up of the insurance software industry,” says Donald Light, senior analyst with Boston-based Celent, LLC. “While most acquisitions of independent insurance software vendors have been by larger software vendors, such as Milwaukee-based Fiserv buying Insureworx, Oakland, Calif., this time it is a major broker doing the deal.” The purchase InsureWorx, a policy and claims administration technology provider, gives Fiserv an end-to-end policy and claims administration offering for workers compensation. Other recent mergers in the insurance technology space include the San Diego-based Websense Inc., acquisition of PortAuthority Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., and Ra'anana, Israel, for approximately $90 million in cash. PortAuthority will combine its information leak prevention technology with the "ThreatSeeker" malicious content identification and categorization technology from Websense. The deal will create a single source for companies looking to prevent the unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential data while simultaneously protecting users and data from external malicious threats. The Aon-VOS merger will benefit Aon’s unique position as a large brokerage firm. By integrating and sharing data with RiskConsole, Aon’s RMIX offering, the Aon-VOS deal enables the Chicago broker to create what the companies claim to be the only end-to-end browser-based offering in the marketplace. The acquisition of VOS follows a similar deal cut in 2004 by Aon’s with Risk Laboratories, LLC (RiskLabs), Marietta, Ga. Aon expects to consummate the VOS deal by January 31, 2007. Light believes that, from a marketing and sales perspective, the acquisition makes sense. “Valley Oak's customer base includes a great many risk management units in large employers who self-insure workers' compensation,” he says. “Aon's brokerage business targets that same group of risk managers. Aon's challenge will be to give Valley Oak the resources and freedom to keep its offering fresh and valuable to self-insured employers, as well as other customers such as insurers and third party administrators." Sources: Aon, Celent, INN archives

Dallas – Boston-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) has decided to use Premium Payor Services from Zix Corp. (ZixCorp). ZixCorp's Premium Payor Services provide access to future value-added services and deliver enhanced reporting for both payors and providers, aiding in analysis for incentive program initiatives.The Premium Payor Services funding model, which is in addition to the annual subscription fee per prescriber, is typically one dollar per qualified script processed or, as in this case, a flat fee license based on historical usage patterns calibrated to yield a similar amount.

Indianapolis - WellPoint Inc. received three eHealthcare Leadership Awards for two of its branded product Web sites.WellPoint, based in Indianapolis, received a Platinum award in the Best Overall Internet Site category for www.bluecrossca.com, a Silver award in the Best eBusiness Site category for www.anthem.com and a Distinction award in the Best Health/Healthcare Content category for www.anthem.com. The company's Web sites were selected from more than 1,100 award entries.

Washington - America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) are working together to grant consumers their wish for portable personal health records (PHRs).

New York - Ameriprise Financial Inc. has promised to hire a consultant to review company laptop policies as part of an agreement with Massachusetts securities regulators. A year ago, the theft of one of Ameriprise’s computers exposed the personal data of more than 150,000 clients.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is urging Congress to create a Natural Catastrophe Commission that could establish a disaster fund, strengthen and enforce building codes, and provide community support.

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the trade group for state insurance officials, has established a Web site to provide motorists with tips on purchasing auto insurance.