Policy adminstration

Over the next 18 months, employees will be spending more time online--not surfing the Web or checking e-mail but rather logging onto their company Web site and signing up for employee benefits with a click of the mouse. According to MetLife's recently released 2004 Employee Benefits Trend Study, employee self-service on the Internet is an important benefits strategy, particularly among large employers. As a result, companies expect a huge surge in e-benefits use over the next two years.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.--As some insurance carriers tinker with proprietary policy download solutions in their electronic interfaces with independent agents and brokers, agents are seeing increased workflow time as well as other unanticipated issues, according to the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), the user group of Applied Systems agency management technology. "Agents are paying the price for unconventional download," said ASCnet President Robby Dunn. "For years, IVANS, trade associations, carriers, agents and their vendors have worked side-by-side to integrate common, multi-company communication components, develop file retrieval and update processes, and establish clear agency support services. We all saw the advantage of an industry solution. Competing on technology in this space did not make economic or business sense then, and it still doesn't."

Newark, Calif.--Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, today announced that it will fund technology improvements for the Florida Coastal Monitoring Program that will support its collection of real-time wind speed data during major hurricanes. The Florida Coastal Monitoring Program (FCMP) is a joint venture to develop full-scale experimental methods to quantify near-surface hurricane wind behavior and resulting loads on residential structures. The program's aim is to provide data necessary to identify methods to cost-effectively reduce hurricane wind damage to residential structures.

SIMSBURY, Conn.-- The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., one of the leading sellers of group life and disability insurance in America, has acquired 100,000 group life and accident policies from the Union Labor Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of ULLICO Inc. The $29 million purchase is a strategic acquisition by The Hartford's group life and accident insurance businesses, according to Richard Mucci, executive vice president of The Hartford's Group Benefits Division. The Hartford sells group life and accident policies through Hartford Life Insurance Co. and Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co.

ATLANTA, GA--The year 2005 should be challenging, with additional complications from regulatory and legislative issues, say members of the LOMA Board of Directors. LOMA's Resource magazine surveyed members of LOMA's board for their views on what the industry can expect in 2005.

Conshohocken, PA--RippleTech, a provider of security, compliance and systems management solutions, announced today the launch of the LogCaster for Sarbanes-Oxley solution.

ISO, a provider of anti-fraud and personal injury claims solutions, has identified ten key factors that can help insurers reduce the rising costs of handling personal injury claims.

NEEDHAM, MA--New challenges in the US insurance industry are creating one of its most difficult operating environments in recent memory. In the context of such divergent issues as terrorist threats, state and federal regulatory activity, competition from other financial services players and tight global economic conditions, TowerGroup forecasts a cautious approach to technology spending by US insurers in 2005.

WAUSAU, Wis.-- Financial executives for mid-sized companies expect greater productivity savings by reducing workers compensation claim costs than by reducing claim costs for other lines, according to a new survey commissioned by Wausau Insurance.

Uniondale, NY--OnlineBenefits Inc., provider of Internet-based HR solutions, has officially unveiled AgencyWare, the first integrated sales, service and commission tracking software product specifically designed for group benefits brokers.

Over the years, a number of oxymora have established their place among the most popular in the American lexicon-among them "airline food," "jumbo shrimp" and "working vacation."These terms are all regarded seemingly as incongruous or contradictory. So is "business intelligence"--at least in the manner that it relates to the insurance industry.

Agent extranets that don't support quoting, issuing and servicing policies are like dinosaurs: plodding, cumbersome and heading toward extinction.Grange Insurance executives understood that merely pushing information through a portal to its agents would fail to meet its standards of service.

Life insurers continue to face resistance in their quest to sell more polices at banks, a condition largely marked by a lack of technology standardization between banks and insurers, as well as a lack of simple awareness on the part of bank customers.This ongoing struggle was detailed in a recent study by Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). The report, titled "Catalyst for Change: Next Steps in Bridging the Cultural Divide Between Banks and Life Insurers," offers specific proposals designed to support the growth of a vibrant bank insurance marketplace. "Creating the successful bank life insurance blueprint involves a series of detailed and precise actions, procedures and processes," states the report, which offers 21 marketing and distribution recommendations for enhancing life sales in bank branches.

For realtors, it's all about location. It's also true that insurers can benefit from understanding the geographic dimension of their data.Writing flood insurance policies is one common way that insurers have applied geographic information systems (GIS), but a new report suggests there are other areas where the technology can be applied to benefit carriers.

In the fiercely competitive direct-to-consumer insurance market, the ability to mine prospect data-and act quickly on that information-is critical to success. That was the challenge Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts (SBLI) faced as it launched an aggressive marketing effort that would eventually bring in tens of thousands of new inquiries from potential customers.Specifically, SBLI, which is based in Woburn, Mass., needed to move several gigabytes worth of data through a system that not only could help identify hot prospects, but also would more proactively track the status of pending customers moving through the application process.

In December 2003, a handful of insurance execs interested in starting their own business venture came up with an idea: an Internet-based distribution network that could cut application processing time and expense for carriers, give agents a more efficient and profitable way to write policies and provide consumers with competitive, lower-cost health insurance.Almost one year later, their dream became a reality in the launching of America's HealthCare/Rx Plan (AHCP), a subsidiary of Chicago-based Insurance Capital Management. The Web site, www.ameri-choice.com, has resulted in more than 5,000 new major medical insurance applications worth more than $10 million in premium revenue since its full launch last June. In addition, more than 2,000 independent insurance agents are writing health policy business for the site's principal carrier partner, Continental General Insurance, a division of Ceres Group, Cleveland.

The dynamics of marketing and selling insurance are rapidly changing. Savvy Generation X members who use the Web to comparison shop for insurance typically have different insurance providers for their auto, life and home. Baby boomers question how much insurance is too much.Given the diversity of today's insurance market, how do you reach your target customers? What do you do to stay ahead of the competition and secure long-term clients for all of your lines of business?

Challenging market conditions, led by accelerating price competition, are causing insurers to look more closely at streamlining their underwriting procedures to defend or improve their profitability. Inevitably, this is creating a new focus by senior executives on data, technology and process management.Although underwriting is a basic building block of the insurance process, traditional methods often are slow, inefficient, inconsistent and inaccurate.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans may begin working with banks to offer Blue-branded debit cards to their members who participate in tax-favored health savings accounts (HSAs) as well as flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).

Jersey City, N.J.--Reducing underwriting costs through technology is a key goal for insurance organizations in 2005, according to analysis undertaken by Jersey City, N.J.-based ISO.