Claims

Novato, Calif. — Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. is making good on a long-standing promise to offer customer-focused claims service by creating a Claims Service Pledge, the company reports.

New York — AIG Executive Liability, a division of the property/casualty insurance subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. (AIG), announced AIG e-Discovery Solutions, a program of e-discovery-related products and services to help all of AIG Executive Liability’s clients, including the division’s directors and officers and errors and omissions insureds, more effectively manage the e-discovery process. AIG e-Discovery Solutions is a claims service offered by AIG Executive Liability to their clients.

Stamford, Conn. — IVANS Inc., a provider of Medicare connectivity solutions and services, introduced a new high-speed, multi-user Internet solution for healthcare providers processing Medicare transactions, called LIME.

Northbrook, Ill. — The Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) completed and published its eighth BMS Standards Release, 2007R2. Part of this new release is the subrogation assignment message.

New York - Global services provider Accenture has unveiled enhanced claims and underwriting solutions designed to help property/casualty insurers industrialize their operations by simplifying and modernizing their core systems and streamlining their customer service and underwriting capabilities.

El Segundo, Calif. - Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) announced that the 200th client has licensed its RISKMASTER Business Intelligence Solutions (BIS) component, which incorporates software from Business Objects Inc., San Jose, Calif. CSC and Business Objects met this milestone when Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services Inc., a Chesterfield, Mo.-based industrial services company, licensed RISKMASTER BIS to support its claims and risk management activities.

Thanks to new technologies, carriers are unearthing fraud such as "rent-a-patient" schemes and physician upcoding.

You can't hop into a cab, step into an elevator or walk down the street without passing someone using a Blackberry, iPhone or other type of mobile device. Business professionals, students, police and even your kids are connected every second of the day. As a result, more and more carriers are recognizing the inherent value of mobile technologies as a productivity tool, and have embraced this technology.

Viewed from afar, the claims process has not changed markedly in many decades. Despite new technologies being leveraged in many aspects of claims, for too many insurers, the claims process as a whole remains a manually intensive, inefficient business process-one in which even experienced adjusters find themselves mired in paperwork.

Los Angeles – Using the 2006 fatal crash data released by the U. S. Department of Transportation just weeks ago, Farmers Group Inc. has completed a study to determine the most influential factors in drivers’ mortality rate in multi-vehicle accidents.

Mayfield Village, Ohio - In early September, The Progressive Group of Insurance Cos., based in Mayfield Village, Ohio, announced a reorganization designed to increase the company's ability to execute on key strategies, lower its non-claims expense ratio and foster growth through more competitive pricing, improved customer retention and an increased focus on brand development. The reorganization included combining its agency and direct businesses into a single personal lines organization.

New York and Chicago - October 10, 2007-- Insurance Networking News (INN) and Celent LLC, announce a partnership to deliver INN's second annual ranking of technology solution providers to the insurance industry, including several enhancements to last year's program. This second annual ranking, called the Insurance Networking News VIP Awards, will be based on a survey of executives and staff from North American insurance companies, including property/casualty, life/health--and new this year--reinsurance. These insurers will identify their preferred technology providers in several categories, such as enterprise platforms, point solutions, platform technologies and services. Also new to the second annual program will be additional rankings by respondent type. The 2008 INN VIP Award winners will be determined solely by insurance carriers, brokers, managing general agents and agents. In partnership with Insurance Networking News, Celent, the most respected source of independent insurance technology and business research and advisory services, will conduct and manage the program's survey distribution, data collection and analysis. In Part II of the INN VIP Awards program, the top-ranked solution providers will be offered an opportunity to nominate an insurance carrier customer as a "visionary" for its use of a specific technology, and is encouraged to illustrate the role, if feasible, that ACORD data standards plays as part of their business and technology success story. INN's readers, its Editorial Advisory Board, and Celent's top insurance research analyst will determine this top-ranked technology best practice in action. "The INN VIP Awards program will provide an important perspective that will contribute to insurance company technology decisions," says Matthew Josefowicz, managing director of Celent's insurance practice. "We hope that the structure of this year's survey, with categories based on respondent type as well as technology categories, will make the results even more useful for INN's readers." For readers of Insurance Networking News who depend on the publication as the independent authority on information on how technology supports insurers' business strategies, the 2008 INN VIP Awards ranking and its accompanying analysis will provide insights into the leading technology solution providers across multiple categories. "This year's enhanced program reflects an honest and factual assessment of the technology solution provider landscape," says Pat Speer, editor-in-chief, Insurance Industry News. "Equally important, the enhanced INN VIP Awards program evokes the necessary discussion of the "why" behind the ranking. By including a critical educational component, such as how ACORD standards have helped facilitate the leading technology's application success, insurers can map to their own success." Winners of this second annual ranking will be recognized at an exclusive black-tie event held in conjunction with the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas in May 2008, and will be featured in a Special Report by Insurance Networking News in the June 2008 issue. The special report will also be distributed at the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas and at the IASA annual conference in Seattle. The INN VIP Awards ceremony will also be included as part of the INN NewsCast video broadcast. "We are delighted to work with Celent," says Speer. "Celent's research and advisory professionals represent exceptional industry acumen, which means our readers and the industry at large will have direct access to the knowledge and expertise generated as part of our collective research efforts." With six senior-level analysts in the United States, and three covering Europe and Asia, Celent's breadth and depth of insurance technology experience dates back to 2001. Celent is the only analyst firm to publish comprehensive reports on insurance software sales volumes and in-depth rankings of vendor software. Celent also publishes the widely read annual CIO survey and popular Model Carrier report, making the firm uniquely position to understand the buyer's side of the industry's highly competitive landscape. Contact Josefowicz directly via e-mail at mjosefowicz@celent.com if you have questions about the INN VIP Awards ranking, or wish to participate in the survey. To participate, please go to: www.insurancenetworking.com. Technology solution providers seeking more information about the Insurance Networking News' VIP Awards, or information about how to post the survey link on their Web sites, can contact Holli Gronset at holli.gronset@sourcemedia.com or 312-983-6178. About Insurance Industry News and SourceMedia, Inc.Insurance Networking News is a trusted source for information on how technology is being implemented to support insurers' strategic business objectives, providing insightful analysis of - and case studies on - how technology is being innovatively utilized to automate critical processes. Every issue of Insurance Networking News is written to help senior insurance executives bypass the hype and get to the heart of resolving industry challenges. Readers rely on carefully researched content that is both engaging and analytical.SourceMedia, an Investcorp company, is the pre-eminent provider of timely and essential market information - including industry news, analysis, research and insights - for members of the financial services community, as well as related fields such as accounting and technology. Through its comprehensive library of professional publications, suite of industry-standard data applications, and in-depth seminars and conferences, SourceMedia (www.sourcemedia.com) offers its clients and subscribers a valuable and sophisticated range of products and services. About Celent LLCCelent, LLC is a research and advisory firm dedicated to helping financial institutions formulate comprehensive business and technology strategies. Celent publishes reports identifying trends and best practices in financial services technology and conducts consulting engagements for financial institutions looking to use technology to enhance existing business processes or launch new business strategies. With a team of internationally experienced analysts, Celent is uniquely positioned to offer strategic advice and market insights on a global basis. More information about Celent's insurance practice is available online at www.celent.com/insurance.asp Source: Insurance Networking News and Celent LLC

Mayfield, Ohio - With an overarching goal to create a safer driving experience for its customers, The Progressive Group of Insurance Cos. is offering a virtual driving experience to existing and potential customers across America. The carrier is teaming with Metro City Group, a Laguna Niguel, Calif., owner of a 68-foot multimedia-equipped tractor-trailer, to provide drivers with the chance to test their skills in practical behind-the-wheel driving situations in a safe, virtual environment. With their eyes on the road and their hands securely placed at the “nine” and “three” positions on the steering wheel, people who experience the Progressive Driving Skills Simulator will increase their knowledge of the rules of the road and be better equipped to handle any driving situation. The driving course curriculum includes real-life situations--such as driving in high traffic, congested areas, through foggy or rainy weather or simply passing and yielding to other drivers--and the virtual technology system measures drivers' responses, reaction times, crash reduction techniques and general driving knowledge. "The interactive experience of the Progressive Driving Skills Simulator gives people the chance to 'test drive' their skills in all types of driving situations, which we hope will prepare them for driving on the real--not virtual--road," said Progressive product manager Mike Storbeck from the company's headquarters in Mayfield, Ohio. "Our objective has always been to redefine drivers education and provide a practical training program that gives people a chance to test, and practice, their skills in a safe, simulated environment," said Tim Albright, president of Metro City Group, owner of The Simulator. "We are looking forward to working with Progressive, and are sure that, together, we can make our roads safer and more enjoyable for everyone." Over the next several months, the Progressive Driving Skills Simulator will travel to many local events in the Western United States, including Motor Trend Auto Shows, state fairs and other automotive industry-related events. More information is available at www.progressive.com or www.streetsimulator.com. Source: Progressive Group of Insurance Cos.

New York - Empire BlueCross BlueShield launched its Empire Prism suite of health plans, the New York company reports.

Los Angeles - The Automobile Club of Southern California (Auto Club), the largest AAA affiliate in the nation, has selected the ClaimCenter product from Guidewire, San Mateo, Calif. ClaimCenter will consolidate and ultimately replace the company’s existing legacy claims systems, performing end-to-end claims handling functionality for all Auto Club lines of business.

Miami - To deliver on the commitment to promote ecosystem-based innovation and collaboration, Walldorf, Germany-based SAP AG announced that the industry value network (IVN) for insurance will join 13 existing industry-focused IVNs hosted by SAP. The IVN for insurance will bring together independent software vendors, system integrators and SAP to co-innovate with insurers to help them improve profits, customer relationships and their competitive position through effective applications and a flexible IT environment. Members of the IVN for insurance will initially focus on issues facing property/casualty insurers in the North American market in the areas of claims, customer service, sales and distribution, and underwriting and policy processing.Plans for the IVN for insurance currently include key innovative partners in the insurance industry: Adobe, CGI, IBM, MSG, Opentext, Planetsoft and Skywire. The partners and SAP will initially collaborate to bring together industry expertise, knowledge and capabilities in a multi-vendor ecosystem to address the high-value business needs of customers. Customers will be invited to participate in the second phase of the IVN.

Denver - Colorado Casualty's appointed agents in Arizona and New Mexico are the first in the Liberty Mutual Group member's six-state territory to be equipped with Commercial IQ, the company's, Web-based technology for commercial lines quoting, binding and policy issuance.Commercial IQ is designed to deliver an automated underwriting process with expanded, yet simplified, eligibility criteria, and a sophisticated pricing system with multiple price points, which results in fewer referrals, less intervention, the best price up front and quicker policy issuance. Commercial IQ's "Quick Quote" feature enables agents instant access to a faster online quote with minimal entry of information, according to Liberty Mutual Group. Agents also can select the most appropriate product for a commercial risk using Commercial IQ's SmartNav, the pre-qualification tool that requires only a business class code and responses to a few basic eligibility questions to best meet customers' needs.

Dublin, Ireland - FINEOS Corp., a global provider of enterprise software solutions for insurance, bancassurance and social insurance, has extended its relationship with IBM to enable the FINEOS Claims solution to now run on IBM System z. The IBM System z enablement will allow insurers that rely on mainframes at the heart of their enterprise infrastructure to run FINEOS solutions on their preferred platform, says FINEOS.

Armonk, N.Y. and Ottawa - IBM and Cognos have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Cognos, a publicly held company based in Ottawa, in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $5 billion or $58 per share, with a net transaction value of $4.9 billion. The acquisition is subject to Cognos shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.The acquisition of Cognos supports IBM's Information on Demand strategy, a cross-company initiative announced on Feb. 16, 2006 that combines IBM's strength in information integration, content and data management and business consulting services to unlock the business value of information, according to IBM. Integrating Cognos, the 23rd IBM acquisition in support of its Information on Demand strategy, will enable new business insights to be delivered to a broader set of people across an organization, beyond the traditional users of business intelligence.

Des Plaines, Ill. — The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through information analysis, investigations, training and public awareness, is launching a free service to help protect the nation's consumers.