Digital distribution

Washington - Former Sen. John Breaux hopes policy makers, health care experts and the American public will tune into and participate in a new blog on the Ceasefire on Health Care Web site, www.ceasefireonhealthcare.org.The Ceasefire on Health Care campaign's goal is finding bipartisan "common ground" agreements leading to market based, incremental change to the nation's health care system. The online forum is designed to supplement the Ceasefire podcast series and engage its participants in lively discussion about pressing health care reform trends and issues.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - The Progressive Direct Group of Insurance Cos. is providing a text messaging service to its customers. Progressive customers can sign up to receive up-to-date information about their auto insurance policies through text messages sent directly to their cell phones. Customers can opt-in to receive Progressive Direct Mobile Alerts including payment reminders, sent in advance of billing dates; payment confirmations, sent once payment has been received; and other payment information."A Mobile Alert sent directly to a cell phone makes it easy to know when a payment is due and when it has been made. The beauty of it is the customer gets the information instantly - without having to be connected to e-mail," says Toby Alfred, Progressive customer experience general manager.

New York - Nearly four in ten (37%) California employers see workforce diversity--and the wide range of benefits needs associated with it--as a top human resource priority, compared with 29% of employers nationwide. This is according to MetLife's 2005 Employee Benefits Trends Study. One way the state's employers are working to meet this challenge is by providing work/life benefits--an approach adopted by 58% of California employers, compared with 52% of their peers nationwide."More than employers in other states, California employers strive to truly understand their employees' diverse needs in order to create the most appropriate benefits packages," said Randy Stram, vice president, Institutional Business, MetLife. "While many companies nationwide still continue to offer a one-size-fits-all benefits package, California employers are taking extra steps to maximize benefits satisfaction and return-on-investment."

Lawrenceville, Ill. - UnitedHealthcare's Golden Rule Insurance Co. is offering its HSA customers a selection of mutual fund investment options as well as a debit card and online account management and bill paying services through Salt Lake City-based Exante Bank.Golden Rule helped pave the way for HSAs when it introduced a medical savings account more than a decade ago. More than 41% of the Lawrenceville, Ill.-based insurer's customers currently are covered by health insurance plans that include health savings accounts. As of June 30, 2006, these customers had accumulated more than $170 million in their health savings accounts; the average account balance exceeded $2,400.

Needham, Mass. - A new market emerging from virtual reality into the real-world global economy is growing by leaps and bounds, according to Needham, Mass.-based TowerGroup Inc., yet remains largely unknown to the financial services industry. This new market is driven by the popularity of "massively multiplayer online role playing games" (MMORPGs) and online "virtual social worlds" (VSWs) - such as the hugely popular Second Life - where the lines between online and offline commerce are rapidly blurring.New research from TowerGroup finds that in 2005, online (nontravel) sales exceeded $83 billion (USD), of which virtual social worlds contributed $1.5 billion. As MMORPGs quickly develop into complete online economic systems, TowerGroup forecasts that the "real world" revenue they generate will reach $2.5 billion in 2006, and that the market will grow to 40 million people spending $9 billion annually by 2010. These virtual games include complete social and economic systems for which players use specialized browsers to engage in a virtual life. Each game provides the potential of interacting with multiple players simultaneously, and on a global basis.

Mount Laurel, N.J. - In an effort to lower costs for its members, simplify employee benefit plan administration, streamline processes, and make it easier and faster for members and employers to manage health care benefits, Mount Laurel, N.J.-based AmeriHealth New Jersey will offer new online capabilities through its Web site, www.amerihealthexpress.com, to its group customers and members, starting in 2007.Through a contract with Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based Benefitfocus.com Inc., AmeriHealth New Jersey will improve its self-service Web site by providing new Web tools to create an online resource for health benefit management.

Boston - Cutting-edge concept illustration software is at the heart of a new program at the Advanced Markets unit of John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to enable producers to create a presentation of a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) specifically tailored to their client's situation.

Tampa, Fla. Arbitration Forums Inc. (AF) is introducing its E-Subro Hub System, a Web-based paperless network that acts as an electronic clearinghouse for subrogation workflow between insurance carriers and other parties involved in subrogation.The Web-based network, to be launched in September, was developed by AF, a provider of inter-insurance dispute resolution services, to streamline the subrogation process and reduce costs for thousands of insurers, self-insureds, third-party administrators (TPAs) and claims service organizations. The E-Subro Hub is expected to handle millions of transactions annually.

Chicago - Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans has created a database of claims information (with no personal identifiers) from 79 million lives. Called Blue Health Intelligence (BHI), this resource is designed to help to improve health care quality through sharing critical health information initially with employers, and in the future, with consumers and providers.The secure, HIPAA-compliant database is significantly larger than existing healthcare databases, which may strengthen the movement to greater health care transparency by ultimately providing unmatched detail about health care trends and best practices.

Brookfield, Wis. - A wave of insurers will update their core processing systems in 2006 and early 2007, according to the results of an online survey on property and casualty insurance technology. The survey, conducted by Fiserv Insurance Solutions, a unit of Fiserv Inc., a Brookfield, Wis. software and services provider, revealed that interest in improving processing capabilities and offering better customer service underlies the emphasis on overall business process management and data accessibility.

Newark, N.J. - An arrangement between The Prudential Insurance Co. of America and the National Eldercare Referral Systems, Inc., will make the process of finding a long-term care provider easier by offering an array of valuable local and national long-term care information, quality ratings, and discounts, the companies report.

Boosting productivity and cutting costs in insurance contact centers is a bit like walking and chewing gum at the same time. It's not so difficult. But boosting productivity, cutting costs and improving customer service is much more challenging.Companies that are achieving the hat trick are moving their contact center operations to the next level and standing out from the more pedestrian crowd.

WHITEHILL ACQUIRES INSYSTEMSMoncton, New Brunswick-based Whitehill Technologies Inc. purchased InSystems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Register, Dayton, Ohio, Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined company's critical mass will be nearly 1,000 customers strong, including several hundred insurance companies and more than half of the world's largest law firms, according to Paul McSpurren, president and CEO of Whitehill Technologies. Current InSystems customers should expect business to continue without interruption, according to the companies.

August - the heart of hurricane season.The hurricanes during August 2005 changed the insurance industry. In fact, with experts predicting a number of storms in 2006, carriers are taking action-developing tools and programs-to help their customers through natural disasters, especially hurricanes.

Today's consumer is king. With the ability to find an alternative solution for virtually any purchase in a few clicks on the Internet, consumers clearly have the upper hand. They are demanding more personalized products and services that meet their specific needs, and the ability to conduct business through any channel they choose-in person, online or by phone-without sacrificing service.As a consumer, these requirements are perfectly logical. As a business, they aren't that easy to fulfill in an environment where sales processes differ from channel to channel, and where customer data is historical, generally fragmented, and not always relevant.

24-HOUR ACCESS TO FINANCIAL FITNESSNew York-based Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America launched a proprietary Web-based system designed to help financial representatives enable their clients to instantly gauge their financial health and simplify their personal and business finances. The system enables financial reps and their clients to coordinate accounts from a menu of more than 3,000 financial institutions, access copies of important legal and financial documents from anywhere in the world, and get a comprehensive, up-to-date snapshot of their financial well-being.

Odessa, Del. - Information on search engine marketing, integrated marketing and competitive information on insurance company marketing trends is included in the "Insurance Direct Marketing: The Special Report on the Companies, the Practices, the Standards & the Benchmarks" report, released last week.

Waterloo, Ont. - California State Automobile Association (CSAA) plans to launch a pilot program this summer using telematics technology to improve driving safety. Using the DriveSync GPS vehicle tracking system from Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS), CSSA intends to increase the value of AAA membership for itself and other AAA partners, including AAA Arizona, AAA Oklahoma and AAA MountainWest. Rapid vehicle location for roadside assistance and driver safety improvement are some of the areas that will be researched.DriveSync is a GPS vehicle tracking system that tracks vehicle location including the route, mileage and speeds of each trip. As a turnkey solution, IMS manages all aspects of driving data collection, storage, consolidation and reporting using fraud-prevention technology and military grade data encryption to ensure customer confidentiality. The system produces turn-by-turn trip logs, color-coded route maps and driving statistic reports, which can enable drivers to see a clear picture of their driving behavior and habits.

Worcestor, Mass. - The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., a regional property/casualty company, is enhancing its billing capabilities, in an effort to deliver on its promise to make doing business with the company easy. Now, The Hanover is enabling agents to accept payments for new home and auto policies via electronic check, credit card and debit card at point of sale.Through the new enhancements, The Hanover's independent agent partners can accept electronic down payments for personal lines home and auto insurance or a full payment on a new policy during new business transactions. No transaction fees will be charged for this service. In fact, policyholders who pay for The Hanover's popular, multi-variate product, Connections Auto, in full via electronic payment will be eligible for a discount.

Detroit - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will extend an e-prescribing partnership with the nation's three largest U.S. automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler Corp., the companies announced today. The Southeast Michigan e-Prescribing Initiative (SEMI), which is designed to reduce medication errors and decrease prescription drug costs through the use of e-prescribing technology, will be in effect for an additional year.