Claims

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.

San Diego, Calif. - Mitchell International Inc., a provider of information and workflow solutions to the automotive insurance and collision repair industries, has acquired ClaimIQ, a leading San Francisco-based provider of claims decision optimization applications for insurance carriers.ClaimIQ will join the Mitchell organization as a business unit of Mitchell's medical division. All products of both Mitchell and ClaimIQ will continue to be supported and expanded, and a new set of integrated products that combine the strengths of decision support, bill review, and collision estimating will be introduced.

Newark, Calif. - Risk Management Solutions reports that insured losses from Hurricane Katrina are estimated to be $40-$60 billion, of which $15-$25 billion are related to the Great New Orleans Flood. This estimate does not include NFIP coverage.

Acton, Mass. - CCH Insurance Services, a part of Wolters Kluwer Corporate & Financial Services division, has launched a new micro site summarizing regulatory compliance information for insurers responding to catastrophe in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The web site, located at www.insurance.cch.com/katrina is free of charge as a public service to insurers."Affected states are now issuing requirements and other directives specifically related to this catastrophe," says Joe Bieniek, compliance manager for CCH Insurance Services. "We want to provide insurers with a resource that will help them easily determine what is required in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi so they can respond to claims quickly, avoid confusion, and maintain compliance."

Kansas City, Mo. - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says that while the damages from Hurricane Katrina may set record losses, the property and casualty industry maintains the adequate capital and liquidity required to withstand claims arising from one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history.

The terrorist attacks that ripped through the heart of London last month provided a jarring wake-up call to American insurers.Even though the attacks, which killed 55 people and injured hundreds more, are expected to result in relatively modest liability exposure according to early estimates, insurers are taking notice.

The London bombings may have provided a wake-up call, but insurers could also be experiencing restless nights fretting over the fate of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 1992.The future of TRIA, a safety net that has provided some protection against the financial fallout from a terrorist event, is uncertain. The law, which was enacted in November of 2002 and is in effect until December 31, 2005, provides a federal financial backstop for the insurance industry for claims from certain terrorist attacks.

Insurers are better prepared to face the hurricane season this year, after the harsh 2004 season forced them to learn how to more effectively interpret the information they get from catastrophe (CAT) modeling systems, according to Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a Newark, Calif., provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk. At press time, RMS estimated that losses from Hurricane Dennis were likely to be between $1 and $3 billion.The two million claims produced from the 2004 season were a catalyst that encouraged companies to improve their understanding of the models, much like Hurricane Andrew in 1992 pushed catastrophe modeling into the mainstream, says Kyle Beatty, meteorologist with RMS.

Imagine leaving your sales and marketing efforts to guesswork. Not understanding your customer's age, lifestyle, income or other factors would spell certain disaster for any insurance carrier trying to market or cross-sell specific products.Amica Life Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amica Mutual Insurance Company, is one company that decided to attack its marketing efforts with statistical intelligence.

Insurance firms must perform more due diligence if they want their Web sites to net them greater revenues. That is one of the crucial messages of a recent study from Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based technology and market research firm, as a litany of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a blur of technology offerings in the Web analytics field make insurers' search for the ideal vendor a murky proposition.The Forrester report, titled "How Web Analytics Buyers Structure Contracts," indicates that too many companies are rashly choosing vendors to tackle a very important element of their success strategies: maximizing their business on the Internet.

Dublin, Ireland - The U.S. insurance industry has fully emerged from a rough patch at the early part of the decade, according to Research and Markets, a Dublin research firm. Both life and non-life carriers are currently experiencing a period of relative stability, and have reassessed their technology opportunities. In its report, which examines how U.S. insurance technology strategies have evolved over the past 18-24 months, Research and Markets asserts that claims processing will continue to be the focal point of IT spending for non-life insurers through 2008. Overall spending growth will moderate around 2007 as the bulk of costly system rationalization and standardization efforts will be either underway by then, says the firm.