Policy adminstration

San Diego, CA--WorldGroup has introduced InsureWorx First Report of Injury (FROI), the latest InsureWorx On Demand Solution (ODS). The new FROI capabilities offer exceptional efficiency and customer service to the First Report of Injury process, enabling efficient and timely intervention - critically important to controlling overall costs of workplace injury claims. The company launched the solution at RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition.

SAN DIEGO, CA---Assurex Global, the world's largest privately held risk management, commercial insurance and employee benefits broker group, is launching new software to enhance communication and information-sharing among its independent broker partners and commercial clients around the world. The software was introduced here at the Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference.

ChoicePoint, Alpharetta, Ga., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Superior Information Services LLC and Charles Jones LLC, Trenton, N.J., for a combined total purchase price of $89 million in cash. The acquisitions are scheduled to close on or before May 1, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.Superior Information is a provider of public records information for bankruptcies, civil judgments, and federal and state tax liens in the Northeast U.S. and works closely with Charles Jones in sharing data and services. Charles Jones is a leading supplier of title and property lien searches in New Jersey and has provided a variety of public record data services to title insurance companies and real estate markets since 1911. Superior Information and Charles Jones have a combined total of 300 employees.

Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, N.J., has launched a new online disability claim submission application for employees of group disability clients. The new functionality also lets employees handle many aspects of their claims using a highly secure and confidential online process."Continuing to provide our clients and their employees with the secure tools they need to effectively manage disability issues is of paramount importance to us," says Al Hemond, vice president of disability risk management for Prudential's group insurance business. "Online employee claim submission supports our strategy of providing claims management services that are responsive to the varying needs of claimants."

SunGard Sherwood Systems, an operating unit of SunGard today announced that Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, one of the largest property and casualty insurers in Canada, has licensed SunGard's FrontTier solution to replace its existing legacy policy, billing, workflow and claims systems.

Reactivity, a Belmont, Calif.-based XML Web services firm, and Grand Central Communications, a San Francisco-based provider of Integration On Demand, have formed a technology and joint marketing partnership to simplify the deployment of privacy-enhanced enterprise integration. Combining the strengths of Reactivity's XML Firewall and Grand Central's Business Services Network, the two companies will offer a rapid and scalable integration solution with the security enterprises need to ensure they are in compliance with government-regulated privacy and security regulations and their own privacy policies.

COLUMBIA, S.C.-- BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will promote two executives to top positions over BlueCross' major group division and Companion HealthCare when a key senior officer retires in June.

DriveCam Video Systems, a San Diego-based developer of fleet safety technology, has published a white paper titled, "Bringing Down the Cost of Vehicle Crashes: The Impact of the DriveCam Driving Feedback System on Insurance Costs for Commercial Fleets." Intended for insurance executives, risk managers and fleet operators, the white paper analyzes the costs and examines the root causes of motor vehicle crashes, especially as they pertain to commercial fleets.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle collisions cost the U.S. more than $230 billion each year. For fleets, the costs include both insured and uninsured expenses. In examining these costs, the paper describes the relationship between losses and insurance rates, the effect on worker's compensation costs, and preventative actions taken by fleets. It also includes two case studies involving fleets that use the DriveCam Driving Feedback System to reduce collisions.

S2, a new service offering from CBC National Inc., Saddle River, N.J., and ARI (Automotive Resources International), Mt. Laurel, N.J., was launched as part of a strategic partnership between the two subrogation recovery and salvage/remarketing industry players. According to the companies, the new venture was built on the premise that no company should let money slip through its fingers.Responding to the needs of the insurance industry, the rental car industry, and a variety of other self-insured and government entities, S2 provides clients with aggressive subrogation resale services that are designed to positively impact their bottom line.

SIMSBURY, Conn. -- The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. today announced that Internet-based self- service reporting is now available nationwide to its group life and disability insurance customers, providing them immediate online access to standard reports that help them monitor and manage their group benefits plans.

ATLANTA-- Digital Insurance Inc. announced it has signed agreements with five additional employee benefits brokers to enhance the level of day-to-day service and product sales for a portion of their small group benefits business.

IVANS Inc., a Greenwich, Conn.-based provider of networking services for the insurance and healthcare industries is offering a new wireless fidelity solution (Wi-Fi) for insurance carriers that can significantly speed their ability to remotely process claims and improve customer service. The new Wi-Fi service is offered through IVANS business partner, AT&T.As the demand for Wi-Fi technology increases, so does the need for low-cost flexible solutions. According to data provided by The Yankee Group, a communications and networking research and consulting firm based in Boston, 14% of U.S. companies plan to implement the technology within the next twelve months, and another 14% plan to follow suit in the next two years. A recent IVANS study of large and mid-sized insurance carriers indicates that only 27.9% are currently using Wi-Fi technology to allow remote access to their systems by employees, highlighting the growth potential for Wi-Fi technology.

Results International Systems (RIS) will provide an end-to-end, Web-enabled policy processing system Partners Mutual Insurance Co.'s personal and commercial lines of business. The RIS solution will deliver a policy processing system with integration to claims, billing, rating and form printing. RIS will provide the hardware, software, systems personnel, systems security, back-up and disaster recovery.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.-- Vitria, a leading provider of business process integration solutions, today announced that Premera Blue Cross, a Blue Cross Blue Shield Association independent licensee for Washington state and Alaska, has selected Vitria's Healthcare Solutions as the integration infrastructure to simplify, streamline and automate its transaction management processes.

Seattle-based Safeco Corp. has launched Safeco Now for property/casualty insurance--an online sales platform that integrates personal and small-commercial insurance product. Safeco Now is a streamlined Web site for independent agents and brokers that gives them access to 90% of their daily online work tools with just one click.The highlight of the system, according to Safeco, is the single-platform sales tool that enables distributors to quote and bind--in just minutes--seven major lines of P&C and surety business: personal auto, homeowners, business owners policy (BOP), commercial auto (fleet and non-fleet), workers' compensation, business umbrella, and surety (notary; license and permit bonds; court bonds; public official bonds).

AMSTERDAM and MILAN--Accenture has signed an agreement to acquire Nomos Sistema, a leading provider of life insurance administration and product management software systems in Italy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Toronto, Canada--DWL, a provider of Enterprise Business Services software, today announced that Empire Financial Group has launched phase two of groupweb - an initiative to achieve proven cost reduction with web-based self-servicing capabilities for group business. Following on the success of Empire's initial implementation of DWL InsuranceT for Group Life and Health, which provides a password protected site for electronic plan administration, phase two of the project now adds full update and enrollment capability in real-time, using version 3.0 of DWL Insurance for Group Life & Health.

Miami, FL-- SunGard Insurance Systems, an operating group of SunGard, announced today the SunGard VIP sales illustration system has been awarded the Designed for Windows XP logo certification. This certification is a result of a long-standing technology affiliation between SunGard Insurance Systems and Microsoft, further strengthening the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner relationship recognized for many years. SunGard VIP clients running on Windows XP can realize benefits such as greater application stability and efficiency; as well as, the assurance that the SunGard VIP system will be fully functional in later versions of Windows.

WebMD Corp., Elmwood, N.J., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dakota Imaging, Inc., a privately held provider of automated healthcare claims processing technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.Dakota's scalable software and BPO services provide automation for mailroom, document processing, scanning, data capture, data scrubbing, automated workflow and online secure document management. Dakota's solutions can reduce costs associated with manual processing of healthcare documents and increase auto-adjudication and auto-payment of medical claims through advanced data scrubbing.

The insurance industry's response to fast-changing regulatory and corporate governance demands is characterized by a primary reliance on manual processes and ad-hoc measures, according to survey conducted by ILOG, a Mountain View, Calif.-based business rules software vendor, and Pearl River, N.Y.-based ACORD.Although specially appointed compliance officers generally have been assigned to manage the impact of regulatory demands, the survey reveals the industry is failing to fully embrace the high business value of information technology when addressing regulatory requirements such as HIPAA and corporate governance demands driven by mandates such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.