Policy adminstration

Armonk, N.Y. - U.S. consumers want insurance companies to more effectively communicate new products and services available to them, provide customized policies to better meet their needs and bring their customer experience up to par with other industries, according to an IBM study of more than 3,000 P&C insurance policyholders. Yet, despite boasting one of the largest demographics of loyal and satisfied customers of any industry, few insurance companies are looking for new and innovative ways to connect with their customers to enhance their experience and drive organic growth.

Boston – Liberty Mutual Group has made its acquisition of Ohio Casualty Corp. official. Liberty first announced its intention to purchase the Fairfield, Ohio-based carrier for $44 per share in cash in May.

Stamford, Conn. – A rapidly shifting, increasingly consumer-centric insurance market is no safe harbor for health insurers, a new research note from Gartner, Inc. contends.

Stamford, Conn. – Nearly 90% of CFOs believe that the cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) outweighs the benefits, according to the latest survey from the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin.

Novato, Calif. and Armonk, N.Y. – Allianz of America (AZOA), parent company of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, has signed a $330 million-, 7-1/2-year outsourcing agreement with IBM to handle information technology (IT) operations of the life insurer.

Pearl River, N.Y. – ACORD has released the first three of its standardized producer appointment forms.

Washington—Eight more insurance companies have signed on as sponsors of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents’ (PIA) agent branding program, Local Agents Serving Main Street America.

Silver Spring, Md. — Insurers are recognizing the savings associated with installing distributed scanning and capture technologies, according to a July 2007 survey by AIIM, who specializes in disseminating information about enterprise content management.

New York - A subsidiary of New York-based American International Group, Inc. (AIG) has entered into an agreement to acquire Wurttembergische und Badische Versicherungs-AG (Wuba), its major subsidiary DARAG Deutsche Versicherungs- und Ruckversicherungs-AG (DARAG) and other minor subsidiaries from entities associated with J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC. Subject to regulatory approval from insurance and cartel authorities, the transaction is expected to close later this year. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement to acquire Wuba and its subsidiaries," said AIG President and Chief Executive Officer Martin J. Sullivan. "The transaction both reaffirms AIG's commitment to growing in the German marketplace and greatly enhances our insurance offerings to small and medium sized companies." Based in Heilbronn, Germany, Wuba offers property and casualty, marine, personal lines, and accident & health insurance through its 2,500 broker relationships across the country. "Wuba is an experienced and highly respected German insurer with a strong brand," said Nicholas C. Walsh, Executive Vice President of Foreign General Insurance for AIG. "We plan to continue their commitment to superior customer service, broker focus, distribution management and technology." AIG serves commercial, institutional and individual customers with insurance products, with operations in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. Source: AIG

Worchester, Mass. - The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., a regional property/casualty company based in Worchester, Mass., is offering Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) bonds through the company’s online point-of-sale system, BONDirect. The federal government’s ERISA bonds protect employee benefit plans against losses caused by fraud and dishonesty committed by employee trustees.

Toronto-based kanetix, Canada's online insurance marketplace, compared the average lowest auto insurance premium quoted at www.kanetix.ca in Q2 2007 with the average lowest premium quoted from the same period in 2006, and found that the average lowest price had decreased by almost 17%.

El Segundo, Calif. - To remain competitive in the life and annuity industry, insurers should exploit technology to create more innovative products and introduce them faster, according to insurance industry analysts speaking at Computer Sciences Corp.’s Life and Annuity Users’ Forum.

Washington— The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) is reiterating its opposition to the National Insurance Act of 2007.

In the wake of insurers increasing their efforts to utilize the Internet to broaden their accessibility, streamline efficiency and reduce time and costs, two insurers have recently ramped up their online customer service capabilities.

Washington, D.C. - The House Financial Services Committee today passed H.R. 2761, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007 (TRIREA) by a vote of 49 to 20.

Richmond, Va. - Markel International Ltd., the company's London-based operation, will enter the Asian market with marine and professional liability products, the company reports. Markel Vice Chairman Steven Markel told INN that the push in Asia is in conjunction with its operations as a syndicate of Lloyd's of London.

Frisco, Texas – The consolidation in the vendor arena continues as Skywire Software, making its third major acquisition of the year, snapped up Canadian automation and compliance solutions provider Whitehill Technologies, Inc.

The momentum to move to a nationwide e-health network that includes electronic medical records and secure transmission of information between stakeholders is being fueled by entities of all sizes and influence-from grass roots-oriented non-profits to major health insurers to the federal government. This momentum is putting mounting pressure on the faction that may stand the most to gain yet seems most reluctant to participate-the health care provider.No one questions the fact that the e-health market is still in a state of relative infancy, in spite of the support being offered by the government, insurance, standards and vendor communities.

If you think your contact center (what used to be your call center before e-mail and Web chat were added to the customer service mix) doesn't do much for sales, you might have a look at a new study from Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. The Daly City, Calif., maker of contact center software recently surveyed 500 consumers in the United States, and found that almost half placed more importance on customer service than product quality, price or the vendor's reputation when it came to loyalty. A full 40% said they'd stopped doing business with a company solely because of a bad contact center experience.Donna Fluss, president of DMG Consulting, a West Orange, N.J., company that specializes in helping clients build contact centers, says the centers should be playing a more significant role than just keeping customers happy and loyal-especially for insurance carriers.

From collaboration to customer service, companies are turning to networks of applications and individuals to accomplish tasks, increase competitiveness and improve productivity. As a result, pressure is on enterprise networks to constantly keep increasing capacity, intelligence, speed and performance-both inside and outside the firewall.The typical insurance carrier is increasingly becoming a networked organization, albeit at a slower rate than other industries.