Claims

Oak Ridge, Tenn. - Diversified Product Inspections Inc., a provider of independent product failure analysis, air contamination and fire investigations for the insurance industry will now send its clients product failure analysis reports electronically via a secure PDF file format.Warren Wankelman, vice president of marketing says, "Effective Monday, August 8, 2005, DPI started transmitting reports, pictures, and invoices electronically, which will replace the reports being sent via U.S. Mail. These reports will be in a secure encrypted Acrobat Reader format with access only with a password. Subrogation managers, claims managers and adjusters will access this new system via the DPI Web site by registering and setting up an account. While adjusters will only be able to access or view their own claims, managers will be able to view all their company's reports that have been completed."

Phoenix - AlohaCare, a non-profit Hawaii health plan serving state QUEST members, has selected an enterprise application and professional services application from Quality Care Solutions Inc. (QCSI) to administer claims and accommodate future growth. QUEST is a state program that provides health insurance for more than 150,000 Hawaii residents, provides comprehensive medical care for those who cannot afford their own commercial insurance coverage and do not qualify for other programs.AlohaCare has been successfully running its claims administration using QCSI's product suite since August 2000, and was previously under contract with a third-party vendor for support and hosting services. AlohaCare recently upgraded to a more current version of QCSI software, in order to achieve its desired business outcomes and maximize its information technology investment.

Northbrook, Ill. - Allstate Insurance Company has engaged ProcessClaims, Manhattan Beach, Calif., to develop and test new claim-related quality assurance technology. The software is being designed to streamline quality assurance processes and ensure accuracy in vehicle estimate preparation. The companies are also exploring broader new technology approaches to drive e-business in the rapidly evolving collision repair inter-industry. ProcessClaims is a provider of software connectivity and business process automation for the property and casualty industry.

New York-As the next step in its efforts to automate the sales and processing of life insurance policies, The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has launched its pilot program for InsurExpress, New York. Leveraging DTCC's infrastructure and established network of connectivity, InsurExpress integrates key insurance industry service providers to support communications between insurance companies and participating distributors of insurance products, providing necessary functionality for life insurance application processing.Firms participating in the initial pilot testing include Genworth Financial, Richmond, Va., and Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis. In the coming months, DTCC intends to expand the program to include multiple financial advisors in various geographical locations, together with an expanded product set and carrier list.

Washington, D.C. - There is a clear economic case for structural changes in insurance regulation, namely an optional federal charter (OFC), that could benefit both consumers and life insurers, according to a study conducted by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Washington, D.C., and Computer Sciences Corporation, El Segundo, Calif.

Northbrook, Ill.--Allstate Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The Allstate Corp., is participating in the PREPARE (PREVU* Predicts Atherosclerosis Risk and Events) clinical trial, a study with Toronto-based IMI International Medical Innovations Inc. and McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Guelph, Ont. The study evaluates a new medical technology for assessing the risk of coronary artery disease.Currently, Allstate Life customers who apply for a life insurance policy must undergo a blood test as one of a number of factors to assess their coronary artery disease risk. The new study incorporates a skin test that uses an adhesive collection strip that is applied to a study participant's hand. Upon removal of the strip, dead skin cells are collected and then sealed in a collection device and processed using IMI's patented PREVU* LT Skin Sterol Test system.

Customer service can be performed and measured in many ways. In this month's cover story, the nuances of customer relationship management-performance monitoring and analysis-play a big role in insurer's success. Being able to provide high levels of service with each and every customer contact-whether in person, on the phone or online-is sure to drive revenue and retention.How your company manages customer service may be the result of definable metrics, such as demographic studies, formal assumptions about customer behavior, anticipation of future requirements, etc. It may also involve a bit of guesswork. The results of your measurement should prove unequivocally that you know your customer.

We all remember the horror stories about customer relationship management projects gone awry: XYZ Insurance Co. spent $5 million in 2000 on a CRM engagement, and another $2 million on software, only to find out a year into implementation that the big idea wasn't working. XYZ's call center performance measurements-such as average wait time, average call handling time, and abandon rate-were below industry benchmarking standards-if they were measured adequately at all.Now, five years later, these same insurers have sophisticated performance management systems in place that tell them exactly how long it takes for their service representatives to resolve a customer's problem, how long a caller waits in a queue, and how much money the company can save by improving these key performance indicators.

In the late 1990s, when insurance firms were running high loss ratios (from 110 to 130), Lombard Canada Ltd., one of the oldest property and casualty insurance operations in Ontario, hired a consulting firm to assess its underwriting and claims leakage while it sought to improve IT and drive down expenses.With the firm's help, Lombard's loss ratio started dropping. While other Canadian firms were still grappling with hefty loss ratios, Lombard moved on to major technological decisions.

Since the beginning of the decade, it's been pedal to the metal for AAA Life Insurance Co.. The organization, which offers term and universal life products, fixed annuities, and travel accident insurance to AAA members, has grown from 75 employees in 1999 to a staff of 400, supporting more than 800,000 customers and more than $1.1 billion in assets.As AAA Life's business began to accelerate at breathtaking speed, the organization's managers began to see some treacherous bumps and obstacles on the road ahead. The company lacked an enterprisewide system for watching and managing costs within the various business units. With relentless hiring and increasing costs of doing business, managers needed a clear, single view of where more gas needed to be applied to boost business, and where the brakes needed to be applied to curb spending.

Avon, Conn. - Worksite carriers recorded another year of reserved growth in 2004, according to the sixth annual U.S. Worksite Study, conducted by marketing advisory firm Eastbridge Consulting Group, Inc., Avon, Conn. New worksite sales in the U.S. totaled an estimated $4.223 billion, a 3% increase over 2003 results. Growth improved from the 1.8% increase realized in 2003 (based on revisions several companies made to their reported 2003 sales). [Note: As a result of these revisions, total sales for 2003 were revised downward to $4.1 billion.]

Chicago - Agents are being introduced to an e-mail autoresponder that automatically includes complete health insurance quotes to prospective customers and allows continuous flow of e-mails to prospects over a specified timeframe. Norvax, a Chicago developer of Web-based sales and customer communications tools, has released its LeadMiner tool in three versions - Basic, Pro and Marketer. Each version enables agents to automatically e-mail messages customized with their own information on a regular basis at intervals specified by the agent, automatically send HTML and text e-mails with instant, integrated health insurance quotes, and automatically add updated health insurance quotes to scheduled e-mails sent after the initial contact.

Princeton, N.J. -- American Re-Insurance Co. was named "Best Overall Reinsurer in the U.S." in the 2005 survey of cedant perceptions about reinsurance and reinsurers conducted by Flaspohler Research Group, a Kansas City, Mo.-based business-to-business research. American Re received the same recognition in 2003, the last time this survey was conducted."We are enormously proud of the results of the Flaspohler Survey. Retaining our No. 1 ranking in the "best overall reinsurer" category clearly demonstrates that we continue to be judged as the best reinsurer in this market by our clients - by far the most important arbiters of our performance," said John Phelan, Chairman and CEO of American Re-Insurance Co.

Frisco, Texas -Skywire Software, an insurance and financial services software company based in Frisco, Texas, announced it has completed its acquisition of InsBridge, Richardson, Texas, a rating and underwriting applications software provider.

Brookfield, Wis., - Fiserv, Inc., a financial management and compliance software provider, released a software system designed to be compliant with the Sarbanes Oxley Act. The Nautilus SOX solution is a tool that uses document management technology for enterprise-wide compliance with the 2002 federal legislation, and similar provisions that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners is expected to embrace for non-public insurers. The software provides an automated, searchable system for documenting internal controls and business processes to help ensure SOX compliance. With Nautilus SOX, users can create, collaborate, log, execute and conclude business transactions in a structured, efficient environment. It also provides users immediate access information regarding a process or project, including all outstanding issues, approvals, statuses, discussions and communications. The system's framework of pre-defined indexes and templates enables users to monitor and record all external and internal events affecting SOX compliance--from risk assessment to controls testing and remediation. Notifications and scheduled reviews can be set up to ensure that important deadlines are met, and the system can automatically route content between collaborating participants.

Orem, Utah - Xactware Inc. has introduced a collaboration tool that allows homeowners to review and approve their insurance to value calculations. This new tool, XactInfo, is a first-of-its-kind offering for the property insurance market, according to Xactware Inc., Orem Utah. Existing XactValue customers can automatically link into XactInfo for homeowner review and approval. XactInfo automatically sets up a personalized Web site for each homeowner and displays a copy of the information recorded about the home during the initial valuation such as total square footage, features and finishes. Homeowners can use the site to directly communicate with insurance agents and other interested parties regarding approval of existing information, and to provide updates as needed.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual Financial Group, Springfield, Mass., announced the acquisition of New York-based Golden Retirement Resources Inc., (GRR) a privately held firm that develops and distributes products and services for the retirement-income market. Comprising member companies with more than $350 billion in assets, MassMutual Financial Group is a global, diversified financial services organization providing life insurance, annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, retirement planning products, structured settlement annuities, trust services, money management, and other financial products and services. Under the transaction, MassMutual Holding, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) purchased a majority interest in GRR (including all intellectual property), and intends to own the entire company by year-end. No financial terms were disclosed.

Boston - Liberty Mutual has launched a new Website designed to put benefit tools and information at the fingertips of benefit managers, employees, brokers and consultants. The site - MyLiberty Connection - is a gateway to the Boston-based carrier's on-line tools, secure services, and product information. From the site, users access resources built just for them; so each audience gets specific product and service information answering their common questions, and on-line tools to manage their exact benefit needs.

Jersey City, N.J. - Despite slowing premium growth and a deluge of catastrophic losses, property and casualty insurers ended a 26-year drought by posting $5 billion net underwriting profit in 2004, according to Insurance Services Office (ISO), Jersey, City, N.J. Powered by the best underwriting results in almost three decades, insurers' net income after taxes and overall profitability rose for the third consecutive year, and insurers' surplus climbed to a record high, according to ISO's newly-published insurance issues series study "Insurer Financial Results: 2004."

Hartford, Conn. - The U.S. life insurance industry is projected to post operating gains in 2005 and 2006 that build on positive 2003 and 2004 results, according to Conning Research and Consulting Inc. Hartford, Conn.