Customer service

In 16 states and the District of Columbia , independent agents and brokers now can go online and quote complex package operations (commercial property and general liability insurance combined) with the same ease as writing a Safeco businessowners policy (BOP). That's because Seattle-based Safeco has fully automated the sale of commercial insurance packages to more than 800 classes of small- and mid-sized businesses.Accounts such as manufacturers, restaurant chains and auto mechanics can be quoted online in as few as 15 minutes, with the first price being the right price, the company claims.

Boston - As the congressional battle to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) gets into full swing before the law's December 31, 2005, expiration, a new Web site launched by Liberty Mutual is designed to helps commercial insurance policyholders take an active role in securing an extension for this critical federal insurance backstop.Risk managers can use the site to encourage their federal legislators to support TRIA's extension, they can distribute the site's link to help their company's senior management push for the extension, and they can use the site to involve employees at all levels.

With new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, Va., finding that drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to get in a crash serious enough to injure themselves, auto insurers are beginning to educate drivers about the risks of driving while talking on cell phones.Dan Cohen, a spokesperson for 21st Century Insurance Group, says the study underscores the need for insurance companies to encourage their clients not to drive and call at the same time.

Offloading non-core functions to an outsourcer, and thereby relieving your company of the responsibility of maintaining expensive equipment and escalating personnel costs, is increasingly seen as not only a viable option but in many cases the best or most logical way to go.The Robert Plan Corp. (RPC), an auto insurance carrier and underwriter specializing in urban automotive markets, was facing such a choice several years ago.

From pumping your own gas to checking your luggage and getting a boarding pass at the airport, self-service is becoming the name of the game in our economy.For the insurance industry, which has long had a reputation for providing personalized service-from the agent through the claims adjuster-transitioning to the self-service world can require an adjustment in thinking.

Okemos, Mich. - A new self-service tool that uses advanced technology to tap into and analyze extensive claims information has been launched to help Delta Dental customers administer their dental benefits."We developed the new tool to help benefit professionals save time by accessing their dental benefits information when they need it," says Thomas J. Fleszar, president and chief executive officer of the Delta Dental Plans of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

Seattle - PEMCO Insurance, provider of auto, home, boat, life, and umbrella insurance to Washington state residents, has launched a teen drivers Web site designed to educate parents, teachers, and teens about the dangers young drivers face. The Web site can be found at http://www.pemco.com/teen_driver/index.asp."Teens have the highest car-crash death rate of any age group," says PEMCO spokesperson Jon Osterberg. "The main reason is, they're inexperienced drivers, and only experience can sharpen their skills. PEMCO wants to help teens grow into experienced, safe drivers."

John Hancock Financial Network, a subsidiary of John Hancock Life Insurance Co., Boston, Mass., has signed a three-year renewal agreement with Financial Profiles, a Carlsbad, Calif., provider of financial advice software, consulting, training and support services, to use its industry standards planning software.

Hartford, Conn. - The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has unveiled a new home page to its agency portal. The new home page of The Hartford's Electronic Business Center (EBC) was designed based on agent feedback requesting a cleaner, user-friendly page that will quickly and efficiently support agency workflows.

Chapel Hill - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has made its eInfoNOW tool available to all local and national self-insured employer groups. eInfoNOW(SM) is an online reporting tool that enables employer groups to track claims utilization data and to perform data analysis.Having this capability enables BCBSNC and the employer to tailor insurance plans to meet the specific health needs of each employer group, according to John Friesen, BCBSNC's vice president and chief actuary of Actuarial and Underwriting.

Ipswich, Mass. - In a report that analyzed 47 health care, life and health, and property & casualty insurer Web sites, the insurance industry slipped slightly in its Customer Respect Index (CRI), according to The Customer Respect Group, Inc., an Ipswich, Mass., research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their online customers. The findings, from its Fourth Quarter 2005 Online Customer Respect Study of Insurance firms, represent the fifth such study conducted on insurers.

Palos Hills, Ill. - A special online database consisting of motor vehicles and boats affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is being made available to the public, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), Palos Hills, Ill., reported today.

Hartford, Conn. - On Oct. 22, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. will unveil Select Customized Pricing, a predictive underwriting model designed to bring agents a highly refined policy price at the beginning of the submission process for its Spectrum business owners' policy, commercial auto, and workers' compensation insurance."We've turned a multi-step process into a single step for agents by pulling in several unique business characteristics upfront and using the results to differentiate one business customer from another," says Jim Ruel, senior vice president of Small Commercial business at The Hartford.

San Francisco, Calif. - Esurance, a California-based direct-to-consumer auto insurance company and subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., says it's the first such company to enhance its Web site with the addition of PayPal as a payment option. The move is seen as a larger corporate objective to enhance the online policyholder's experience. The Esurance Web site provides customers with the ability to obtain instant quotes, view comparison quotes, buy an Esurance policy, and print their proof of insurance card. Esurance also offers policyholders the ability to make policy changes and file claims instantly online.

Omaha, Neb.- Insuractive, Inc., an Alexandria, Va., insurance e-commerce marketing company, and Omaha-based Senior Market Sales, Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create a high-technology insurance marketing company with products geared to the senior market.

Chicago - Although insured losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated at a record high $34.4 billion, the property/casualty insurance industry will weather the storm of more than 1.6 million claims spread out over six states without the market disruption that occurred following 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the previous record-setting storm, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), Chicago.

Boston and Plano, Texas - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) have amended their eight-year contract by $125 million in additional information technology (IT) services from EDS. The contract began in January 2004 and the relationship between the two companies originated in 1969."Over the course of our long relationship, EDS has developed a deep understanding of our business, and the EDS team has demonstrated their commitment to our constant goal to improve health care service," says Carl Ascenzo, BCBSMA's chief information officer. "The solutions provided by EDS will provide greater flexibility for our members, account and health care providers while controlling our overall IT costs."

Basking Ridge, N.J., - Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill., has deployed Internet protocol (IP) telephony solutions from Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV) in new locations in the United States and Canada.Allstate is using Avaya's IP-based contact center applications, powered by the Avaya Customer Interaction Suite, to manage customer calls and route them intelligently based on customer-entered criteria. Allstate links its contact centers and manages them as a single, virtual organization--routing customers to the employee best able to handle a claim or inquiry based on language or area of expertise, regardless of where the call originates. As part of the implementation, Allstate has deployed more than 10,000 IP endpoints across its organization.

Warren, N.J. - The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. has created an online system that is designed to make it easier for agents and brokers to quickly obtain a rate, quote or binder for contractors' equipment risks with schedules up to $5 million.Contractor's Equipment Express, or CEQ Express, is available to agents and brokers through @chubb, the secure Web site that provides agents and brokers access to Chubb products and services.

A fast-growing market of more than 40 million people, representing $600 billion per year of income, cannot be ignored for too long. The financial services insurance industry is finally learning how to embrace people of Spanish heritage within the United States, and use technology to better respond to this underserved segment.Reaching out to this market involves more than simple translation of documents and Web sites. The Hispanic or Latino market is a highly diverse one. While members of this market are not likely to respond to standard industry pitches, it is a receptive audience to insurance products.