Digital distribution

Denver - Englewood, Colo.-based InsureMe online service earned four standard of excellence awards from the Web Marketing Association (WMA).The WMA was developed to help set high standards in Web marketing and development. The association's annual Web Marketing Award names the best sites in 96 industry categories in 33 countries around the world. Submitted sites are judged on seven criteria: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.

San Francisco - A majority of consumers who experience problems visiting or making transactions on insurance Web sites will abandon transactions entirely or even turn to competitors, according to results of a consumer survey. The survey, commissioned by San Francisco-based TeaLeaf Technology Inc. and conducted by Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive Inc., focused on U.S. consumer transaction experiences on shopping, banking, travel and insurance Web sites. About nine in 10 (88%) online consumers experienced problems when transacting online, potentially impacting an estimated 4.5% of all online consumer transactions, according to survey results.Hundreds of respondents submitted vignettes of bad online experiences, most concerning failed, inaccurate or incomplete transactions, endless "loops" in a business process or inability to simply checkout at retail sites. One respondent who used an insurance Web site said, "[I] paid an insurance payment online through their Web site and it didn't go through. I ended up paying a late fee because of it."

Hartford, Conn. - The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. enhanced The Hartford At Work Web site to enable employees covered by The Hartford's group benefits plans to more quickly and easily access their benefits information.A new, personalized log-in feature is one recent enhancement to the Web site (www.thehartfordatwork.com). The Web site has been updated with new tools for employees to set up direct deposit for payment of long-term disability claims, to use and print forms and to access personalized benefits account information.

Boston - Liberty Mutual Group enhanced its online workers compensation claims management to provide faster service and better outcomes. The Boston-based insurer provides those responsible for managing a claim instant online access to all of the related documents, while protecting the privacy of confidential medical information."We made a great claims management system even better by slashing the time required for documents from outside resources--such as medical reports, bills and even digital photos--to be available in the system," explains Kevin Carson, who manages the new process. "What took days can now happen in seconds. Outside partners can now send electronic versions of these reports, which instantly become part of our system. Other providers still send paper documents, which we now scan into the system within a day of arriving at Liberty Mutual."

New York and Walldorf, Germany - Health insurance companies may be able to collaborate next year with providers, public health authorities and pharmaceutical companies on a new health network being proposed by Germany-based business software provider SAP and Bermuda-based consulting firm Accenture.The Collaborative Health Network (CHN) network initiative will be based on SAP NetWeaver technology, which links a range of information and data. Designed to streamline the way health insurance companies and other stakeholders access, integrate and share information, the network will help organizations maintain reliable, accurate electronic health records that are accessible quickly by multiple parties, the companies said in a release. It will use an enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) to help reduce IT costs and enable automated collaborative processes among industry participants. The first release of the solution will be available mid-2007, predicts the companies.

Philadelphia - CIGNA Group Insurance (CGI) enhanced its disability claims reporting platform to provide customers more robust self-service capabilities via the Internet. Through one site designed to be secure and easy to navigate, employers now have access to a variety of critical operational claims information, such as advice-to-pay reports, individual claims status and new claim notifications, as well as analytical information, such as year-over-year trending data and health care reports (for customers who also have medical coverage with CIGNA HealthCare).The reporting capabilities are available to all new and existing self-insured and fully-insured disability customers who purchase any of Philadelphia-based CGI's short- or long-term disability products. The new platform, which includes a custom ad-hoc report builder is designed to help employers:

Northbrook, Ill.-based The Allstate Corp., sponsored a disaster preparedness resource called the Catastrophe Readiness Clearinghouse and its Web site, (www.catastrophereadinessclearinghouse.com).The Clearinghouse, which is housed and managed by Centereach, N.Y.-based Middle Country Public Library, is a collection of disaster preparedness data and support available to anyone who visits the library. It includes a complete disaster preparedness information-portal Web site that is available to people everywhere.

Springfield, Mass. - Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual), based in Springfield, garnered the top spot in DALBAR Inc.'s latest WebMonitor rankings of the best Web sites in the life insurance and annuity industry.FieldNet, the Web site for financial professionals produced by MassMutual, received an "Excellent" designation for the 9th straight quarter and earned 1st place for six of those quarters.

Hartford, Conn. - Using a simple online search by zip code, Aetna members can find healthcare services at a variety of in-store clinics, the Hartford, Conn., company reports. Last week Aetna, announced its relationship with InterFit Health's RediClinic, Houston, which offers treatment for more than 25 common medical conditions, such as strep throat and ear infections, at health clinics located inside retail locations such as H-E-B in Texas, Wal-Mart in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and Duane Reade in New York. RediClinic also provides health screenings, medical tests, vaccinations, immunizations and physicals. RediClinic also offers a range of preventive health services, including health screenings, medical tests, vaccinations, and basic physical exams. Earlier this year Aetna announced a similar relationship with Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic's walk-in healthcare centers in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, and the Washington, D.C./Maryland Capital area. Aetna, which serves just less than 30 million members, says those members who visit either clinic will pay the specialist office visit copay indicated by their plans. Aetna members can find the location of the nearest in-store clinic by visiting Aetna's "DocFind" directory and searching for a doctor in their zip code, selecting "specialist," identifying their plan, and then choosing "nurse practitioner" for specialty type. Members can also find locations by selecting "other facilities" as the type of provider, identifying their plan, and then choosing "view search results now." In announcing that InterFit Health's RediClinic has become a participating provider, William Hauser, M.D., Aetna's regional medical director for the Southeast and Southwest Regions, points out that as people's lives become busier, retail health clinics such as RediClinic can provide a convenient alternative for certain common health problems when a patient cannot see his or her primary care physician. "We urge members to continue to use their primary care physician as their first recourse for care of common health problems and to recognize that retail clinics are not meant to treat serious illness or emergency situations," he says. Source: Business Wire

Internet usage in China has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. In 1997, there were 300,000 computers and 620,000 users for services offered over the Internet.Statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center and forecasts from Celent LLC, a Boston-based research and advisory firm, show there are 49.5 million computers and 111 million people in mainland China who access the Internet. The online environment in China is also gradually improving. There are now 22.4 million computers in China that access the Internet via broadband access, representing 45% of computers that access the Internet, according to a recent Celent report, titled "Insurance E-Business Trends in China."

IT INFRASTRUCTURE OUTSOURCING CONTRACTThe Netherlands subsidiary of Blue Bell, Pa.-based Unisys Corp. has expanded its relationship with long-time client REAAL Insurance through a new five-year outsourcing contract with a value estimated at $11.6 million (U.S). By managing the company's IT infrastructure, Unisys will provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to REAAL and its agents. REAAL hopes to achieve significant cost reductions through consolidating infrastructure outsourcing services under one vendor. REAAL will consolidate its hundreds of existing support contracts and suppliers to one central contract with Unisys, and will reduce the number of services suppliers from 20 to one.

According to 2000 U.S. Census figures, 17.9% of the U.S. population (47 million people) speak a language other than English at home. In fact, from 1980 to 2000, the number of people in the United States who speak a language other than English at home doubled.U.S. Census projections issued in 2004 state these numbers will continue to trend upward. The current number of Asian people living in the United States is 3.6% of the population. In California, this jumps to 10.9%. And the 2004 U.S. Census projections predict the percentage of Asian people in the United States will grow over time.

STUDY SHOWS POOR USABILITY OF WEB HOME PAGESAccording to a recent study by Oak Park, Ill.-based Vox Inc., home page usability of many insurance companies isn't up to snuff. The study analyzed the positioning of key customer and user elements, such as insurance quote and "find an agent" functions. Each company was given a rating based on a set of usability and benchmark criteria. One exception to the overall findings is 21st Century Insurance Co., Woodland Hills, Calif., which recently redesigned its home page. The study, conducted in the first quarter, reviewed content and where it was positioned on the page, comparing 12 insurance providers: State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, Geico, American Family, Liberty, 21st Century, Country Financial, AIG, Nationwide, AAA Chicago and USAA.

WEB-BASED POLICY PROCESSINGAgent X Press, a suite of processing capabilities, is designed to enable small insurers to support their agents and MGAs with Web-based policy processing. The suite from Wyncote, Pa.-based IDP Inc. is available to new and existing clients of IDP's VISION 21 policy management system. Agent X Press' functionality includes online policy inquiry for billing and claims information; and quoting, application submission and issuance. Agents enter a customer's name or unique identification data, such as policy number. They can then obtain the status of a bill or a claim, or obtain an accurate quote, within seconds, according to IDP. Subsequent to providing a quote, Agent X Press will permit the agent to electronically submit the application to further speed the process.

Build it and they will come. Such was the faith in location intelligence technology from Church Mutual Insurance Co.'s leaders back in 1999 when the Merrill, Wis.-based provider of insurance for religious institutions began looking for a way to improve its claims operations.Seven years later, the insurance company is using mapping technology from Troy, N.Y.-based MapInfo Corp., in some surprising ways.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - Young independent insurance agents identify technology to help them more easily write business and service customers as the second most important thing – after competitive rates – carriers can offer an independent insurance agency. Drive Insurance Group of Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. discovered this while conducting a survey of more than 750 young (40 years of age or younger or those who have been in the industry less than 10 years) independent agents to find out what they think about everything from business growth opportunities and technology to the skills necessary to succeed and the challenges faced by the industry.Drive insurance conducted the survey to coincide with the National Young Agents Leadership Institute, put on by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, which gets underway in New Orleans next week.

Charlotte, N.C. - Montgomery Mutual Insurance Co., a Charlotte, N.C.-based member of Liberty Mutual Group, Boston, implemented the Commercial IQ SmartRisk underwriting and pricing system for business owners' policies developed by Liberty Mutual Agency Markets' strategic business unit.After a pilot launch in Maryland yielded a 100% increase in policy issuance, Liberty Mutual made Commercial IQ SmartRisk available to appointed agents for BOP coverage in Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and will be available to Virginia appointed agents this fall.

Seattle - Safeco has launched online technology that enables independent agents to make instant changes to clients' commercial auto policies. The real-time capability cuts a one-week process into a two-minute drill--saving agencies time and enhancing their customer-service experience.Safeco agencies in 10 states have received access to Safeco's enhanced policy change tool. The rest of the company's more than 9,000 independent agent partners will receive access during rolling state launches that run through November 9. All agencies can use Safeco's single intake system for commercial endorsements, a simple policy change Web form introduced this spring that eliminates agents' need to call, mail or fax.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - Drive Insurance from Progressive, the carrier's program for distributing auto insurance through independent agents and brokers in the United States, has signed a joint marketing agreement with Homesite Insurance Group, a national provider of home insurance products.The agreement paves the way for a test that will allow selected Drive agents in three states--Ohio, Pennsylvania and Oregon--to provide their Drive auto insurance customers quotes for homeowners, renters and condo insurance policies underwritten and serviced by Homesite.

Chicago -- Fort Dearborn Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Health Care Service Corp. (HCSC), a Mutual Legal Reserve Co., has launched a redesigned Web portal designed to make managing group life, disability and dental programs easier for employee benefits administrators.The Benefits Manager Web portal at http://www.fdl-life.com provides solutions for all employee benefits customers regardless of which billing method they choose. Features include online policy contracts, benefit claim reports, employee coverage verification, and group payment history. For customers that want to manage all aspects of administration online, Web billing is offered as a unique administration tool to manage employee benefits and eligibility.