Claims

Palos Hills, Ill. - A special online database consisting of motor vehicles and boats affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is being made available to the public, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), Palos Hills, Ill., reported today.

New York, N.Y. - Commercial insurance premiums took a sharp downward turn in the third quarter, according to the Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) Benchmark Survey, which targets current policy renewal prices as reported by corporate risk managers.

Greenwood Village, Colo. - Great-West Healthcare, a division of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co., is launching a pilot program with E-Duction Inc., a Philadelphia-based provider of payroll deduction solutions, to issue the CLEAR Card, a payroll deduction credit card for employers with consumer-driven or other high-deductible health care plans.The CLEAR Card, which is processed like any other credit, debit or check card, is a tool designed to help members pay out-of-pocket health care expenses. The pilot program will be rolled out this month to various clients nationwide.

San Francisco, Calif. - Esurance, a California-based direct-to-consumer auto insurance company and subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., says it's the first such company to enhance its Web site with the addition of PayPal as a payment option. The move is seen as a larger corporate objective to enhance the online policyholder's experience. The Esurance Web site provides customers with the ability to obtain instant quotes, view comparison quotes, buy an Esurance policy, and print their proof of insurance card. Esurance also offers policyholders the ability to make policy changes and file claims instantly online.

Omaha, Neb.- Insuractive, Inc., an Alexandria, Va., insurance e-commerce marketing company, and Omaha-based Senior Market Sales, Inc. have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create a high-technology insurance marketing company with products geared to the senior market.

Chicago - Although insured losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated at a record high $34.4 billion, the property/casualty insurance industry will weather the storm of more than 1.6 million claims spread out over six states without the market disruption that occurred following 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the previous record-setting storm, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), Chicago.

Boston and Plano, Texas - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) have amended their eight-year contract by $125 million in additional information technology (IT) services from EDS. The contract began in January 2004 and the relationship between the two companies originated in 1969."Over the course of our long relationship, EDS has developed a deep understanding of our business, and the EDS team has demonstrated their commitment to our constant goal to improve health care service," says Carl Ascenzo, BCBSMA's chief information officer. "The solutions provided by EDS will provide greater flexibility for our members, account and health care providers while controlling our overall IT costs."

Basking Ridge, N.J., - Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill., has deployed Internet protocol (IP) telephony solutions from Avaya Inc. (NYSE:AV) in new locations in the United States and Canada.Allstate is using Avaya's IP-based contact center applications, powered by the Avaya Customer Interaction Suite, to manage customer calls and route them intelligently based on customer-entered criteria. Allstate links its contact centers and manages them as a single, virtual organization--routing customers to the employee best able to handle a claim or inquiry based on language or area of expertise, regardless of where the call originates. As part of the implementation, Allstate has deployed more than 10,000 IP endpoints across its organization.

A fast-growing market of more than 40 million people, representing $600 billion per year of income, cannot be ignored for too long. The financial services insurance industry is finally learning how to embrace people of Spanish heritage within the United States, and use technology to better respond to this underserved segment.Reaching out to this market involves more than simple translation of documents and Web sites. The Hispanic or Latino market is a highly diverse one. While members of this market are not likely to respond to standard industry pitches, it is a receptive audience to insurance products.

Insurers sell promises, and after Hurricane Katrina, they certainly have a lot of promises to keep.At press time, the economic loss from what appears to be the worst hurricane in U.S. history-along with subsequent flooding of New Orleans-was expected to exceed $125 billion, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe management technology and services provider.

The technology may seem a panacea to some, but for the insurance industry, there are still some unanswered questions concerning Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and data convergence implementation.Donald Light, senior analyst at Boston-based Celent Communications Inc., a research and advisory firm, confirms the pensive posture of the insurance sector. "Insurance is being a cautious adopter. Visualizing the curve, the insurance industry is just now stepping up into growth," he says.

Before Keith Hawkyard's employer implemented a Web-based enterprise incentive management (EIM) system, he spent several hours every month leafing thro-ugh paper reports looking for his cancelled accounts.Now, with a new EIM system in place, Hawkyard, who sells automobile and homeowners insurance for San Francisco-based California State Automobile Association (CSAA), spends minutes rather than hours locating those accounts-with more time for follow-up calls to turn those cancellations back into policies.

In spite of centuries of sales experience, most insurers rely heavily on price for acquiring and retaining customers. The reality is that customers base insurance purchasing decisions on many factors. While this does not mean that we can ignore pricing, it does mean that alternatives exist for insurers to remain competitive.For some companies, the frustrating cycle of hard and soft markets will not exist. By relying on the power of data mining, they can maintain the consistency and accuracy of their underwriting decisions; they can significantly reduce the impact of fraudulent claims; and they can have a better understanding of their customers' wants and needs.

Boston - In 2003, Allianz Life transformed its Individual Insurance Group Call Center with key features including a single converged voice and data network, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phones, simple and understandable 800 number access for agents and policyholders, and intelligent call routing.Allianz's new call center has produced both financial and nonfinancial benefits, according to a report from Celent Communications Inc., titled "Upgrading Call Center Technology at Allianz Life." Productivity (measured by utilization of internal sales reps) has increased from 85% to 92%. Current year sales are up 78% year-over-year with essentially the same staff count. Management has a much better ability to track performance both real-time and retrospectively. Perhaps most importantly, the introduction of skill-based routing has facilitated the matching of calls to sales representatives.

Hartford, Conn., - Two insurers are partnering to bring advanced workers' compensation services to businesses throughout the Connecticut. The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, Conn., has contracted with Aetna to offer its customers the Aetna Workers' Comp Access (AWCA) network of health care providers. This arrangement, which became effective Sept. 1, follows a June 1 initiative when

New York, N.Y. - The insurance commissioners of several large states will convene a summit November 15 and November 16 to develop a National Catastrophe Insurance Program, which would more effectively spread insurance risk and help survivors cope with the tremendous financial damage caused by natural catastrophes and acts of terrorism.

Boston - Will Katrina change the insurance industry in fundamental ways? Have loss patterns changed from "small and frequent" and "large and infrequent" to "very large and not infrequent?"In a new report, "After Katrina: What Now for the Insurance Industry?" Celent Communications Inc. examines the immediate and long-term implications of Katrina and describes best-case and worse-case scenarios of its impact on the insurance industry and select insurance providers.

Los Angeles - In response to unprecedented demands on independent adjusters due to Hurricane Katrina, Marshall & Swift/Boeckh (MS/B), a supplier of local building cost information, residential and commercial property valuation technology and services for the property and casualty insurance sector, has extended its help desk hours. Its fully staffed technical support is now available weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST and on weekends from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The help desk can be reached toll free at 888-337-9665.

Philadelphia - Mutual of Omaha has implemented COMPASS, an enterprise group benefit administration system from Philadelphia-based SunGard. In 2004 the Omaha, Neb., carrier created a sales force dedicated solely to group life, disability and dental products. It purchased COMPASS in July 2004 to support product development, billing, collections and administration and to help it manage its group life, disability, dental and voluntary insurance offering. COMPASS, a participant recordkeeping and plan administration system, supports a range of plan types, including group pension, group and life disability, individual pension and annuity, and corporate profit sharing.

Boston - New York-based MetLife and Babson Executive Education held their second annual Thought Leadership Conference this week in Wellesley, Mass. The meeting brought together key players in the Internet and multi-channel marketing arena to discuss innovative practices for understanding the multi-channel marketing mindset.