Customer service

In sports, a coach frequently will encourage an athlete to dig down inside for the motivation to reach new heights. In business, however, improvement often can be the result of a company looking outside its own walls.Many companies across a broad range of industries have turned to outsourcing as a way of improving corporate performance, from call center operations to information technology management. The main benefits of outsourcing are the opportunity to cut costs, to take advantage of state-of-the-art processes and systems and to focus resources on an enterprise's core competencies.

Most laptop computer users remain bullish on this technology as a portable and user-friendly computing alternative, one that enhances productivity.No doubt, that notion-while true-is also relative. Material damage appraisers for Indianapolis-based Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Co. once regarded 4.5-lb. standard-sized laptops as the best available tool to support their workflow efforts in handling auto insurance claims.

Fiserv Inc. has acquired Results International Systems, Inc., a provider of outsourced solutions for the property-and-casualty insurance industry.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Humana Inc. today announced the filing of applications for five patents in pharmacy and health metrics by its Innovation Center. All five of the patent applications are for Humana's use of innovative information technology applications to engage consumers in health benefits.

With boating season in full swing, Safeco has announced the launch of a new specialized claims unit dedicated to handling boaters' insurance claims.

Esurance has the top auto insurance Web site based the site's ability to provide quick answers to consumers questions and its easy rate-quote questionnaire, according to a new report by Change Sciences Group Inc. The report, "Online Auto Insurance Customer Acquisition: Customer Experience Benchmarks and Best Practices," ranks Web sites according to their support for the goals of first-time buyers, married couples, and senior citizens. These goals include:

BOSTON-- John Hancock has launched a new long-term care insurance (LTCI) program called Corporate Solutions for the small business market to help provide individual LTCI at the worksite in the way that best suits employers' and employees' needs.

EL SEGUNDO--Computer Sciences Corporation today announced the availability of new releases of its life insurance, annuity, property and casualty (P&C) insurance, and reinsurance software components that implement the company's enterprise integration architecture, CSC e4. By using the CSC e4 framework, clients can exploit both the potential of new technologies and the embedded value in their legacy systems.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., one of the country's largest property and casualty insurance companies, has received more than 22,000 claims in the past week for damages from Hurricane Charley. Overall, Nationwide estimates it will receive more than 50,000 claims and losses approaching $400 million.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--A small but growing group of customers are turning to the Internet rather than phone calls or office visits to communicate with their auto insurance provider, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 National Auto Insurance Study released today.

ING has made enhancements to its online services for employer groups. The enhanced services include online reports, online documents, online evidence of insurability and online billing for self-accounting customers.

DAYTON, Ohio-- The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF), created by the Maryland State Legislature to provide insurance coverage for the state's most at-risk drivers, has chosen RiskWise solutions from LexisNexis, an information solution provider, to help screen information provided by applicants and claimants in an effort to proactively identify rate evasion and claims fraud.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. has introduced a new Portfolio Audit and Account Review program available to agents on the company's producer web site, FieldNet. PAAR is designed to help the company's more than 8,000 financial professionals and support staff improve their productivity and meet their clients' evolving needs.

To help doctors understand the role of return-to-work in recovery, CIGNA Group Insurance introduced a new Physicians' Disability Toolkit, an informational Web site for health care providers and their office staff is designed to aid patients' treatment and recovery plans.

GREENVILLE, S.C-- RBC Insurance is providing consumers the ability to acquire life insurance in as little as 15 minutes at its Web site located at www.rbcexpressterm.com.

INDIANAPOLIS--Consumers will be able to enjoy more options and flexibility to pay for health care expenses, gain more control over their health care dollars, reap tax benefits and plan for retirement as a result of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's (Anthem) introduction of its Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

A lot has been made about insurers' attempt to comply with federal regulations, such as The USA Patriot Act and Sarbanes-Oxley, but lost often in the shuffle are the ongoing state-level regulations with which insurers must contend.

Agents may not be fully aware of how customer service is related to customer satisfaction, according to the findings of two surveys conducted recently by The Progressive Corp. The carrier polled more than 1,100 independent agents and more than 1,800 auto policy holders who bought their policies through an independent insurance agency.

Financial services convergence, lower investment earnings, and market demand for more financial products all have combined to force insurers to develop new products more quickly. But how about getting those products to the market more quickly?That requires developing incentive plans and delivering commissions to producers to encourage them to sell your products.

In the legal profession, attorneys refer to it as the "discovery" process where a legal team embarks upon intensive fact-finding to construct its case.At Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., there's a variation of the concept that's beginning to take shape. It's all part of State Farm's attempt to optimize cross-selling opportunities within its multi-product line that spans homeowners, life, annuities and mutual funds, to name a few.