Customer service

U.S. financial service providers (FSPs) are expected to spend $65.7 million on IT services in 2005. However less than 30% will outsource any strategic projects by the end of 2006, according to Gartner Inc., Stamford, Conn."Most FSPs currently use outsourcing tactically to augment staff for faster project turnaround or to reduce operational costs, rather than for strategic value," says Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, research vice president at Gartner. "FSPs should now begin outsourcing strategic projects in order to gain larger-scale, enterprisewide value."

Insurers sell promises, and after Hurricane Katrina, they certainly have a lot of promises to keep.At press time, the economic loss from what appears to be the worst hurricane in U.S. history-along with subsequent flooding of New Orleans-was expected to exceed $125 billion, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe management technology and services provider.

Verbalizing its intent to become the No. 1 customer relationship management (CRM) applications company, Oracle Corp. at press time had announced it had agreed to buy Siebel Systems Inc., San Mateo, Calif. The deal is valued at approximately $5.85 billion, or $3.61 billion net of Siebel's cash on hand of $2.24 billion."Siebel's 4,000 applications customers and 3,400,000 CRM users strengthen our No. 1 position in applications in North America and move us closer to the No. 1 position in applications globally," said CEO Larry Ellison from Oracle's Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters.

The technology may seem a panacea to some, but for the insurance industry, there are still some unanswered questions concerning Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and data convergence implementation.Donald Light, senior analyst at Boston-based Celent Communications Inc., a research and advisory firm, confirms the pensive posture of the insurance sector. "Insurance is being a cautious adopter. Visualizing the curve, the insurance industry is just now stepping up into growth," he says.

The evolution of real-time text communications technology, in which messages can be sent, received and viewed immediately-a.k.a. instant messaging (IM)-is a welcome one for most companies.As IM moves from being a novelty for teens and college students to a viable communications vehicle for business, many organizations realize its potential: to improve collaboration and productivity.

Boston - In 2003, Allianz Life transformed its Individual Insurance Group Call Center with key features including a single converged voice and data network, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phones, simple and understandable 800 number access for agents and policyholders, and intelligent call routing.Allianz's new call center has produced both financial and nonfinancial benefits, according to a report from Celent Communications Inc., titled "Upgrading Call Center Technology at Allianz Life." Productivity (measured by utilization of internal sales reps) has increased from 85% to 92%. Current year sales are up 78% year-over-year with essentially the same staff count. Management has a much better ability to track performance both real-time and retrospectively. Perhaps most importantly, the introduction of skill-based routing has facilitated the matching of calls to sales representatives.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - One million consumers have heeded the call of the Drive Insurance from Progressive marketing campaign and visited driveinsurance.com to find out more about the benefits of buying auto insurance through an independent agent or broker, including personal service and advice, competitive rates, and choice.The Web site was introduced in December 2004 as part of the launch of the Drive brand, which promotes the more than 30,000 independent agencies that sell Drive Insurance products across the country. The Drive Group of Progressive Insurance companies is the country's number one writer of private passenger auto insurance through independent agents and brokers.

Brea, Calif. - ChoicePoint and The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. have co-led a $20 million strategic investment that funds the expansion of XDimensional Technologies Inc. in the independent insurance agency market. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.XDimensional's flagship product, Nexsure, is an agency management Internet service for the insurance industry. Nexsure is designed to put information at the fingertips of agents and carriers, delivering a progression of the entire customer/policy life cycle for any and all lines of business, from first contact, to submission, to sale and to in-force policy service.

Hartford, Conn., - Two insurers are partnering to bring advanced workers' compensation services to businesses throughout the Connecticut. The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, Conn., has contracted with Aetna to offer its customers the Aetna Workers' Comp Access (AWCA) network of health care providers. This arrangement, which became effective Sept. 1, follows a June 1 initiative when

New York, N.Y. - The insurance commissioners of several large states will convene a summit November 15 and November 16 to develop a National Catastrophe Insurance Program, which would more effectively spread insurance risk and help survivors cope with the tremendous financial damage caused by natural catastrophes and acts of terrorism.

Jersey City, N.J. - ISO's guide on state insurance laws and regulations, the State Filing Handbook, is now available in a new Web-based format designed to make it easy for insurers to access the information they need when they need it. The State Filing Handbook is available through ISOnet, ISO's secure Internet platform for delivering information to property/casualty insurers.The online State Filing Handbook features multi-state reports on a broad range of filing topics. Insurers can select a single topic, a type of filing and a number of states -- or choose all states -- and the handbook will generate a table summarizing the requirements for those states. A keyword search feature includes regulations, bulletins and forms to make it easier to locate the exact topic or section.

Los Angeles - In response to unprecedented demands on independent adjusters due to Hurricane Katrina, Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MS/B), a supplier of local building cost information, residential and commercial property valuation technology and services for the property and casualty insurance sector, has extended its help desk hours. Its fully staffed technical support is now available weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST and on weekends from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The help desk can be reached toll free at 888-337-9665.

Boston - New York-based MetLife and Babson Executive Education held their second annual Thought Leadership Conference this week in Wellesley, Mass. The meeting brought together key players in the Internet and multi-channel marketing arena to discuss innovative practices for understanding the multi-channel marketing mindset.

San Diego, Calif. - Mitchell International Inc., a provider of information and workflow solutions to the automotive insurance and collision repair industries, has acquired ClaimIQ, a leading San Francisco-based provider of claims decision optimization applications for insurance carriers.ClaimIQ will join the Mitchell organization as a business unit of Mitchell's medical division. All products of both Mitchell and ClaimIQ will continue to be supported and expanded, and a new set of integrated products that combine the strengths of decision support, bill review, and collision estimating will be introduced.

Redwood Shores, Calif. - Verbalizing its intent to become the number-one CRM applications company, Oracle, announced that it agreed to buy Siebel Systems Inc., San Mateo, Calif., for $10.66 per share. The offer is valued at approximately $5.85 billion, or $3.61 billion net of Siebel's cash on hand of $2.24 billion.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual piloted its e4 Wireless Enrollment System with several plan sponsors and participant focus groups early this year, and so far, the results have been significant.In an effort to make retirement planning less overwhelming for participants and more action-oriented, MassMutual engaged Ameranth Wireless Inc., San Diego, to develop e4, MassMutual's custom Electronic Enhanced Enrollment Experience.

Newark, Calif. - Risk Management Solutions reports that insured losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated to be $40-$60 billion, of which $15-$25 billion are related to the Great New Orleans Flood. This estimate does not include NFIP coverage.

Acton, Mass. - CCH Insurance Services, a part of Wolters Kluwer Corporate & Financial Services division, has launched a new micro site summarizing regulatory compliance information for insurers responding to catastrophe in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The web site, located at www.insurance.cch.com/katrina is free of charge as a public service to insurers."Affected states are now issuing requirements and other directives specifically related to this catastrophe," says Joe Bieniek, compliance manager for CCH Insurance Services. "We want to provide insurers with a resource that will help them easily determine what is required in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi so they can respond to claims quickly, avoid confusion, and maintain compliance."

The terrorist attacks that ripped through the heart of London last month provided a jarring wake-up call to American insurers.Even though the attacks, which killed 55 people and injured hundreds more, are expected to result in relatively modest liability exposure according to early estimates, insurers are taking notice.

The London bombings may have provided a wake-up call, but insurers could also be experiencing restless nights fretting over the fate of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 1992.The future of TRIA, a safety net that has provided some protection against the financial fallout from a terrorist event, is uncertain. The law, which was enacted in November of 2002 and is in effect until December 31, 2005, provides a federal financial backstop for the insurance industry for claims from certain terrorist attacks.