Digital distribution

Harford, Conn. - The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has won the 2006 Annual CIO magazine Enterprise Value Award in the insurance category. The honor is presented to companies in a range of major industries that demonstrate their innovative use of information technology (IT) to further business goals. The Hartford received this ward for implementing its industry-leading automation tool known as ICON 2.0. This electronic quoting and submission system helps agencies and their front line representatives streamline the process of placing small business insurance with The Hartford. ICON 2.0 is accessed through the company's Electronic Business Center (EBC), an intranet site dedicated exclusively to agents that represent The Hartford, and is a user-friendly tool that requires little training.

Yonkers N.Y., - An investigation in the March 2006 issue of Consumer Reports magazine contends that a national system of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) being developed by the federal government, states, HMOs, and PPOs to link the medical records of every American has potential for abuse. Consumer Reports claims that while such electronic medical records systems could save lives and billions of dollars in health-care spending, it may also jeopardize the security of personal health care information.The advantages of EHRs are many, according to Consumer Reports, include: more precise patient care from doctors, greater participation by patients, and an early-warning system for medical disasters such as the appearance of avian flu are among the hoped-for achievements for an electronic medical records network.

Needham, Mass. - In the next five years, analysts predict more than 77 million individuals in the U.S. will be of traditional retirement age, and this segment of the population is predicted to be the dominant demographic for a period of 20 years or more. TowerGroup, a Needham, Mass., research firm, expects that this explosion in the retired market will ultimately redefine the U.S. financial services industry, accelerating industry consolidation across banking, securities and investments, and insurance.

Atlanta - Consumers can now apply online for health insurance through Kaiser Permanente of Georgia's Personal Advantage online consumer portal, which is powered by the Southborough, Mass. -based ikaSystems' enterprise-wide technology platform. Kaiser Permanente's Personal Advantage product has several plan offerings targeting the individual market."Since implementing the portal just over a month ago, we've received 1,116 Personal Advantage applications," says Nancy Melton, Kaiser Permanente's Personal Advantage product manager. "This represents a significant increase over any previous month in the past year."

Just as the Internet reached its one-billionth user last year, recent consumer research indicates that online transaction failures can have a huge detrimental effect on businesses.The vast majority of consumers (89%) say they experience problems when conducting online transactions, and 41% of all online shoppers say they'll turn to a competitor, either online (27%) or offline (14%), when that happens.

E-mail, the one-time productivity marvel, has turned into an unwieldy menace to many insurance companies. Once heralded as the ultimate purveyor of near real-time collaboration, e-mail's utility and business value is now in question.Despite the best filtering technology, more than 60% of what seeps into corporate in-boxes is spam, Business Week reports. And ePolicy Institute, Columbus, Ohio, reports that 50% of workplace instant messaging (IM) users send and receive risky content including attachments, jokes, gossip, confidential information and pornography.

One of the most frustrating aspects of life for American consumers in the 21st Century is trying to complete a transaction or obtain information from a company over the telephone.Whether it's ordering a new pair of shoes, checking the status of a utility bill, or seeking help with a computer problem, the experience can be both exasperating and mind numbing.

TRANSAMERICA RECEIVES SIX 'BEST IN CLASS' RANKINGSAs a testament to its relationship with its clients, Los Angeles-based Transamerica Retirement Services received six "Best in Class" ratings from the Chatham Partners' 2005 Client Satisfaction Analysis. Transamerica received "Best in Class" ratings: timeliness of contributions, distributions and loans, accuracy of contributions, overall satisfaction with processing of employee transactions, accuracy of participant statements, clarity of participant statements, and courtesy and professionalism of personnel.

Several years ago, a rising deluge of spam, much of it offensive to the firm's largely female workforce, prompted Tollman & Wiker InWest (TWIW) Insurance Services, LLC, to seek better ways of protecting its incoming e-mail."We felt as employers we should protect our staff from this stuff," recalls Kevin Dickmann, who, as technology manager, ran IT single-handedly for the 85-person insurance agency based in Ventura, Calif. "Every morning, our employees were finding 30 to 40 messages they had to review and delete." What's more, e-mail's importance to daily operations was growing by leaps and bounds, so keeping it safe and sound was critical.

WEALTH RISK MANAGEMENTThe Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., Warren, N.J., has selected New York-based Risk Control Strategies to support its new Signature Suite offering of luxury personal risk management services. Signature Suite is designed to help identify potential threats and help affluent individuals protect their families and wealth. Risk Control Strategies will provide Chubb's high-net-worth and family office customers with a complimentary personal risk assessment. Risk Control Strategies will also offer Chubb's clients an array of services including cyber crime investigations, identity theft prevention and response, and premise security strategy and implementation.

New York - Lexington Insurance Co., a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), has expanded it online training on its Web site at www.lexeplhelp.com for customers carrying employment practices liability (EPL) insurance.Launched in 1999 and formerly called www.eplselect.com, the Web site was developed to provide EPL insureds with free risk management resources and training tools.

Westborough, Mass. - According to a recent national survey, 54% of organizations have experienced cyber attacks, with 21% of the cyber attacks causing more than $100,000 in measurable damages, and 11% causing more than $500,000 in measurable damages.The 1st Annual Enterprise Security Survey, generated through an online survey of security decision makers spanning a wide range of industries, indicates that a vast majority of businesses are reliant on the Internet to conduct business and have experienced some form of cyber attack in the past year. Additionally, the survey demonstrates a trend in the change in security spending habits due to government regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Milwaukee - CIGNA HealthCare will begin offering a debit card to holders of its flexible spending accounts (FSA). The card will be provided by MBI Benefits Inc., an affiliate of Metavante Corp."As a leading provider of FSAs, we chose MBI based on its ability to tailor a debit card product with proven technology that best provides our customers with electronic access to FSA funds," says Jake Biscoglio, head of product development, consumer products, CIGNA HealthCare. "This relationship with Metavante Healthcare Payments opens the door to exploring more healthcare payment services options for our consumers."

Simsbury, Conn. - While a last will and testament is one of the most vital legal documents that can help protect a family's assets, almost 58% of adults do not have a will, according to recent research by legal publisher Martindale- Hubbell.To address this need, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is offering EstateGuidance, a new online will preparation service that makes it easy and affordable for Americans to prepare a will. EstateGuidance can be purchased by new customers of The Hartford's group basic and supplemental life policies covering more than 1,000 employees or members.

New York - National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. (National Union), a member company of American International Group Inc. (AIG), has released a Web-based system allowing brokers to quote and bind PrivateRisk Protector coverages in just minutes. PrivateRisk Protector is a portfolio of management and professional liability coverages designed for private companies.The system, called AIG ePro, was engineered for brokers to simplify the selection of coverages, generate quotations and electronically issue policies for private companies with up to $100 million in revenue or up to 1,000 employees.

Englewood, Colo. - InsureMe, a consumer-agent link for buying insurance online, announced the creation of a blog to help online marketers succeed in the affiliate marketing industry by sharing tips, tools and news.

Santa Monica, Calif. – National Planning Holdings Inc. has added a library of direct sponsor forms and applications to its Web-based representative workstation system, Electronic Order Entry (EOE). NPH is a broker-dealer holding company and an affiliate of Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson National Life Insurance Co.With thousands of providers and products represented on EOE, the new direct sponsor functionality is the latest step in NPH's effort to provide technology solutions that help representatives improve the efficiency of their practices.

Warren, N.J.- Applications for professional and management liability insurance products from the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. can now be submitted entirely online with an electronic signature. Previously, Chubb's eApplications required a "wet" signature before a policy could be bound."The launch of our new electronic signature capability is another step in making it even easier to do business with Chubb. We've now eliminated the need to send a signed hard copy of the application through the mail," says Judy Cook, vice president, Chubb & Son, and e-business manager, Chubb Specialty Insurance. "Our policy application process for these products is now completely electronic--an integral component of our expanding e-commerce capabilities. This important advancement will help speed up the application process for our customers, agents and brokers."

Wausau, Wis. - The people and technology that are making Wausau Insurance easier to do business with are main attractions on the newly designed Wausau.com, according to Wausau Insurance."At Wausau, we're proud to be both a high-tech and high-touch company that is improving our 'ease of doing business' with our agents, brokers and customers," says Wausau President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Fiebrink. "Our new look on Wausau.com conveys the essence of our Wausau TotalValue brand promise--that is, our people and technology translate into superior commercial insurance products and service."

Kansas City, Mo. - The top three reasons consumers filed formal complaints against their insurance companies in 2005 were delays, denials and unsatisfactory settlement offers, according to data collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).Following these claims handling issues, consumers complained most about policy cancellations and premiums/insurance rating issues. That complaint pattern has remained relatively consistent during the past four years. A total of 199,639 complaints were filed by consumers in 2005, a 22.5% decrease from 2004.