Customer service

Today, various high-tech systems, such as GPS and online map services, help people navigate the physical world, taking the guesswork out of the task of getting from point A to point B.People can now go online, type in some address criteria and a map is generated instantly, detailing critical intersections, which way to go and when to turn. What the claims world needs is an analogous system-one that helps the claims adjuster navigate the complex terrain of business and regulatory requirements.

Everyone loves a story about the "little guy" who succeeds. From the children's classic The Little Engine that Could to numerous business books that describe how a couple of college buddies put a couple of bolts together in their garage and invented something that turned them into millionaires, tales of human perseverance and redemption touch a deep chord in the soul.This is one of those stories. It's about a group of four IT people at CUNA Mutual Group who faced what seemed an almost impossible feat. They were charged with custom-building a customer relationship management system in six months with a budget of $1 million.

The customer comes first. We've all heard that phrase, but many insurers would be hard-pressed to prove it's a strategic and tactical reality.Why? A number of carriers implementing customer relationship management (CRM) systems are hopeful that CRM's ability to provide profiling, micro-segmentation, and predictive analysis to reveal the preferences and proclivity of customers will help maintain their existing customer base and drive new business.

The insurance industry, long saddled with paperwork-intensive processes, has become prime turf for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. ECM is the catchall phrase for what was originally a plethora of solutions, ranging from imaging systems to records management.To carriers seeking to expand their business lines and speed up processing at as little additional cost as possible, content management may be more than some glitzy new technology; it may fundamentally change the nature of the insurance business.

Ten years have passed since the Web made its debut, threatening to eliminate intermediaries in the insurance sales process. But, after all these years, only a small percentage of insurance consumers actually purchase their policies online.The Internet has evolved, however, and it serves an important role in insurance.

Segundo, Calif. - Two U.S. surveys of property/casualty insurance customers show a large, untapped opportunity for cost control through electronic billing.Conducted for Computer Sciences Corp. by MarketSearch Corp., a survey of car and homeowner insurance billing methods found 88% of auto insurance customers and 93% of homeowner insurance customers still receive bills by mail. Yet 73% of respondents surveyed indicated they would be willing to pay their insurance bills over the Internet. A second survey that asked approximately 350 P&C professionals at CSC's Connect 2005 conference about their own personal insurance experience confirmed these findings.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Expanding on its seminal 2002 study report, "A Comparative Analysis of Claims-based Methods of Health Risk Assessment for Commercial Populations," the Society of Actuaries (SOA) has appointed Milliman USA to produce an updated version of the study.The 2002 report, which evaluated the state of the art in predictive modeling software for health care claims at that time, provided an unbiased forum for comparing the technology and methodologies then available in the market. With the passage of three years and the continuous refinement of these methodologies and software, the SOA strongly felt a fresh look at the tools would provide immediate practical benefits to the health care community.

Dallas - Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a provider of business process outsourcing and information technology solutions, has been awarded an information technology outsourcing (ITO) contract with UnumProvident, a disability income insurer. The five-year agreement is valued at $84 million.Under the terms of the contract, ACS will provide a full range of operational support services for UnumProvident's mainframe and help desk operations, and will assist in the management of the mid-range and end-user environments.

Cleveland - Axentis, a provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management solutions that is included in a Gartner research report titled, "Adoption of Software-as-a-Service Is Happening Outside of CRM," has made the report available on its Web site at www.axentis.com.The resport analyzes the emergence of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and its widespread adoption in new industries including compliance management, which Gartner states is currently the second largest market for SaaS solutions.

Los Angeles - Farmers Insurance Exchange has begun serving civil summons and complaints upon Redding, Calif. auto glass company Onsight Auto Glass and its owner, accusing them of taking part in a scheme designed to defraud Farmers and its policyholders. The civil complaint, which is similar to prior successful lawsuits against auto glass businesses and body shops who submitted false insurance claims, seeks not only damages for the fraud allegedly committed, but seeks injunctive relief, where the courts are asked to order a halt to these deceptive practices.Outlining a highly unusual and aggressive billing scam, the lawsuit details how the alleged perpetrator deliberately over-billed Farmers for services on 455 occasions. As alleged in the civil complaint, the defendant created a sham office in a remote area, so it could manipulate its billing. In fact, the only things located where the shop is claimed to exist were abandoned mines and a shack. There was no electricity, no running water and certainly no auto glass business. Under national guidelines, automobile glass claims are paid at a premium if the shop is located in less densely populated areas. As explained in the complaint, defendant created documentation that the shop was located in a remote area, so it could charge Farmers significantly more.

Chicago - Danish insurance company ALKA is fighting customer fraud and enhancing customer services with PredictiveClaims, an application developed by SPSS Inc. ALKA recently purchased and implemented the software in an effort to improve claims handling efficiency while reducing the cost of fraudulent claims.ALKA is one of the five leading insurance companies in Denmark. To differentiate itself in a highly competitive market, the company aimed to optimize its expensive claims handling processes and offer better service to customers. ALKA sought to enable "fast-track claim handling" while still sifting out the fraudulent cases from its high claim volumes. Industry experts estimate that on average 10% of all claims are fraudulent, whereas usually only 0.5% to 1% of fraud is actually being detected.

Okemos, Mich. - The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) and Sircon Corp. have been working to establish a relationship that would provide additional benefits to PIA members. The result is a partnership that provides online services delivered by Sircon's Compliance Express platform at a special rate for PIA members.With PIA joining the Sircon Partner Referral Program, PIA members can now go to a special co-branded Web site designed specifically for PIA, and take advantage a PIA member discount for online services such as:

Seattle - Many companies advertise great service, but how many have been recognized for this by a non-partial third party such as J.D. Power and Associates? To receive recognition, companies must score higher than 730 out of a possible 1000 points. PEMCO received 911 points, a score that was noted as unusually high by J.D. Power and Associates."We come to work every day committed to giving our customers the absolute highest level of service and value," says Jon Osterberg, spokesperson for PEMCO, a provider of auto, home, boat, life, and umbrella insurance to Washington state residents. "This certification demonstrates that. Service is the bedrock of PEMCO's culture, and it's extremely gratifying to see our customers recognize that."

Oconomowoc, Wis. - Trends indicate that the role of the IT manager requires more focus on business strategy and less time spent on end-user service in today's age of widespread technology, according to Paragon Development Systems (PDS), a provider of IT services and products."Companies are beginning to realize that their IT professionals can be indispensable in identifying and pursuing competitive advantages if given the freedom and time to do so," said Austin Park, vice president of infrastructure services for PDS. "More and more, successes or failures in business hinge on technology, so why shouldn't IT managers spend their time focusing on business rather than putting out fires."

Cleveland - Insurance.com, an online auto insurance agency, claims that consumer car insurance quote requests on its Web site increased by more than 20% in 2005, the fourth straight year of growth."During the past five years we have seen a tremendous growth on our site as a result of customers' increased confidence level with the Internet," says Insurance.com President Lou Geremia. "We've embraced this new growth by adding over 100 licensed insurance agents to our sales center and have extended our sales center hours to 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Standard."

New York - In an effort to enable Korean-speaking policyholders and agents to access and learn more about its products and services, New York Life has launched a Korean-language Web site at www.newyorklifekorean.com. "The Korean-language Web site is part of New York Life's continued effort to serve the Korean community in the United States," says Janet Choi, assistant vice president of the Korean market at New York Life.The Web site contains information on insurance and financial products. An education center provides helpful tips for first-time life insurance buyers dealing with life-changing events including the birth of a child, purchasing a home, getting married and entering retirement. Customers can use the interactive forms and e-mail addresses to submit questions and requests. The site also provides access to information on career opportunities at New York Life.

San Diego - CareGroup Healthcare System has gone live at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) with an application that delivers automatic healthcare information updates every 15 minutes to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. The bio-surveillance system, which feeds the CDC with information key to early identification of disease trends, is built on the CACHE post-relational database. InterSystems Corp., a health care database provider, spotlighted the bio-surveillance implementation at the HIMSS 2006 conference in San Diego, Calif.BIDMC is one of 10 U.S. hospitals that were approached by the CDC to provide medical data on an ongoing, around-the-clock basis. The initiative is part of a mandate by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt, who chairs the American Health Information Community (AHIC), a group charged with advising the federal government on standards for electronic health records (EHRs). Bio-surveillance and public health monitoring are among the first focus areas for AHIC and Leavitt has stated that he wants a system for streaming emergency department (ED) data to public health authorities in place by the end of 2006.

Washington, D.C. - Health insurance plans' cutting-edge information technology (IT) strategies are adding value to health care for employers, health care practitioners and most importantly, consumers, industry leaders said today on Capitol Hill.Participants in the briefing stressed that health insurance plans are using IT not only to process claims more efficiently, but also to promote evidence-based care, add value to health care services and empower consumers through access to better information and decision tools.

Chicago - The company stockholoders of CCC Information Services Group Inc., a supplier of software, communications systems, Internet and wireless-enabled technology solutions to the automotive claims and collision repair industries, voted to adopt a merger agreement with entities affiliated with Investcorp, a global investment group.

Harford, Conn. - The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has won the 2006 Annual CIO magazine Enterprise Value Award in the insurance category. The honor is presented to companies in a range of major industries that demonstrate their innovative use of information technology (IT) to further business goals. The Hartford received this ward for implementing its industry-leading automation tool known as ICON 2.0. This electronic quoting and submission system helps agencies and their front line representatives streamline the process of placing small business insurance with The Hartford. ICON 2.0 is accessed through the company's Electronic Business Center (EBC), an intranet site dedicated exclusively to agents that represent The Hartford, and is a user-friendly tool that requires little training.