Policy adminstration

Newark, N.J. - Chronically ill Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey members and emergency room physicians can now access health histories and records, along with other important information, with a quick scan. The Newark, N.J.-based insurer announced a two-year collaboration with Hackensack, N.J.-based Hackensack University Medical Center, its physicians and the VeriChip Corp., Delray Beach, Fla., to implant FDA-approved microchips in chronically ill patients enabling emergency room physicians to access those patients' medical record electronically. The microchips provide immediate access to family contact information and information about the patients' medical histories.Horizon BCBSNJ will make the new technology, developed by VeriChip, available to select members with chronic conditions. Those members who participate in the program will agree to have an implantable radio frequency identification device (RFID), the size of a grain of rice, placed under their skin.

Chicago - The Windy City will host more than 500 attendees from 55 nations this weekend at the International Insurance Society's 42nd annual seminar.

Washington, D.C. - In the first of in a series of government meetings on modernizing insurance regulation, the focus on whether insurers should be given the option of being federally regulated took center stage this week at a U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on "Insurance Regulation Reform."

Hartford, Conn. - Though Citigroup's recent sale of Travelers Life & Annuity to MetLife may appear to indicate that the "financial supermarket" idea of full-scale mergers is an untenable working model, banks and insurers continue to find ways to integrate their services, according to a new study by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc., Hartford, Conn.

New York and Dayton, Ohio - The competitive online marketplace is being bolstered by two more companies planning to offer consumes an online insurance shopping experience.

Springfield, Mass. - MassMutual Financial Group today unveiled a new addition to its Web site designed to focus on the financial needs of women, enabling them to educate and empower themselves to help build a more secure financial future.

Minneapolis - Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America will integrate detailed insurance data with investment information for USAllianz Securities, a broker dealer subsidiary of Allianz Life. The agreement represents the first time any practice management system will integrate comprehensive financial and insurance information, according to Investigo Corp., the practice management provider that is providing the solution.Investigo CEO Tom Rozman cites results of an investment industry survey that his firm conducted last fall. "Broker dealers are starving for information and must have a way to track the sales of insurance products through their firm."

Jersey City, N.J. - Catastrophic wildfires cause extensive damage to property and significant disruption to the lives of property owners. In 2005, more than 8.5 million acres burned, nearly twice the 10-year average. This is according to ISO, a provider of products and services that help insurers measure, manage and reduce risk.With more people living closer to brushfire areas, which also happen to be preserves of privacy, the exposure has nearly doubled for insurers between 1970 and 2000.

Washington, D.C. - NASD has introduced a new series of free, on-demand video Webcasts for compliance professionals that's aimed at taking the mystery out of key regulatory processes and making firms' interactions with NASD more productive and efficient.The first installment of the new "What to Expect" series focuses on what firms can expect before, during and after an NASD examination and offers practical tips for making the process go smoothly. While all NASD-registered firms can benefit from viewing this Webcast, "What to Expect: Preparing for an NASD Routine Exam" will be of particular interest to firms on a four-year examination cycle whose examinations are coming up, given significant changes in the regulatory environment in recent years.

Cary, N.C. - Reaping business benefits now matches regulatory compliance as the key driver of enterprise risk management (ERM) systems according to a global survey of 339 financial services executives. These benefits include improved performance management, better risk-based pricing, and reduced capital allocation and credit loss. These are the results of research conducted by SAS, a business intelligence provider.A full 83% of participating financial institutions view ERM as a strategic priority, per the survey. Many are setting up new ERM or "integrated compliance" programs. The survey also found that credit risk management is still the top risk management expenditure priority for most firms. In addition, 78% of respondents view credit risk management as critical and anticipate significant, quantifiable economic rewards over the next 24 months, including a 10% reduction in economic capital and a 14% reduction in cost-of-credit losses.

Beverlyy, Mass. - Electric Insurance Co. has named Marc A. Meiches, 53, president and chief executive officer. Meiches succeeds Larry Cohen who has been acting CEO since April 2005.Meiches comes to Electric Insurance from GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS) where he was the executive vice president and CFO. He joined GEIS in 2000 with more than 20 years of financial experience in creating and leading global organizations. GEIS, with more than $10 billion in premium and $50 billion in combined assets, employed 2,500 people in 50 states and 22 countries. The company was recently sold to Swiss Re.

Worcester, Mass. - The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., a regional property and casualty company has introduced a business owner's policy (BOP) class comparison look-up tool. The tool is designed to help The Hanover's agent partners quickly and efficiently categorize a small business owner's industry classification and obtain a quote for the company's Avenues BOP faster than ever."The new BOP class comparison look-up tool will simplify the quoting process for our agent partners, saving them precious time and helping them achieve even greater productivity," says Marita Zuraitis, president of The Hanover's property and casualty companies. "This tool is yet another example of our commitment to continuous improvement and to deliver on our promise to provide world class products and services, while doing whatever it takes to make it easy for agents to successfully conduct business with us."

Do drivers who wear turtlenecks get in more accidents than drivers who don't? What if the theory proved true? Although it would be nice to find out whether this level of minutia affects accurate pricing of risk, when it comes to ratings, this question is not one insurers are asking-yet. But insurers are finding unique ways to price risk-from aggressive braking patterns to career choice. Progressive is one such insurer taking steps toward accuracy, and it's using technology to do so. Most recently, Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive Direct Insurance Co. launched an odometer-reporting, Web-based pilot program in Iowa and Virginia. And, in the summer of 2004, the carrier began piloting a usage-based program in Minnesota called TripSense.Using a device called a TripSensor, which plugs into the ODBII port in newer vehicles, Progressive is collecting driver data in the hopes of creating a win-win for its underwriters and its policyholders.

From the healthcare carrier's perspective, the logic is simple: Support physician members' ability to access aggregate patient data and use of e-prescribing and e-doctor visits. Physicians use technology to provide improved quality care, business- and patient-related efficiencies. Ultimate ROI: healthier patients and reduced exposure associated with later health-related problems.Long-term results may not be available yet, but carriers have high hopes for programs designed to create incentives for providers that will help create a "healthier" patient base.

AGENCY WEB PORTALNew York-based P&C Insurance Systems Inc. introduced a Web portal that allows direct Web-based upload of ACORD data from agency management software. The portal leverages the architecture of the PCIS management system to provide Web-based multi-line rating, real-time agency access to quote documents, and up-to-date agency production reports.

DESPITE DEADLINE, MANY FIRMS LACK AML PROGRAM

It's no secret that the onslaught of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has left many a carrier bruised and battered. Combining systems-IT and human-requires forethought, skill, dedication and focus.There may not be much consolation in the knowledge that insurance M&A activity increased in 2005 to the highest level since 2001 and may foreshadow an acceleration of activity this year and the next, according to Conning Research and Consulting Inc., Hartford, Conn.

Insurance Networking News recently interviewed Marcus Ryu, vice president of consulting services, at Guidewire Software Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based firm that provides software to the P&C and workers' compensation industries. Ryu plays a central role in developing and implementing leading solutions for the insurance industry.INN: In the white paper titled, "Achieving Underwriting Excellence with Guidewire PolicyCenter," you cite a study by McKinsey & Co. What did that study reveal?

During 2005's July 4th weekend-a time typically filled with barbeques, fireworks and celebrations, Employers Direct Insurance Co., celebrated, but not for the same reason most other Americans were celebrating. This particular weekend marked the moment Employers Direct began its quest for improved efficiency through automation by going live with Guidewire ClaimCenter from San Mateo, Calif.-based Guidewire Software Inc.Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Employers Direct was founded in January 2003 to meet the workers' compensation needs of California employers, including those of hotels, restaurants, country clubs, new car dealers, manufacturing companies, specialty supermarket chains and retailers. Employers Direct operates via a direct-to-consumer model.

The world of commerce and insurance more specifically is shifting relentlessly from a paradigm based on tangible assets to one based on intangible assets. Increasingly more insurance companies will succeed with fewer people with deeper industry or functional knowledge and with significantly less dependence on physical artifacts, such as paper.This is not an Internet-era crazed screed about insurance agents disappearing. Rather, my point is that insurance companies themselves must change the way they do business if they are to attract and retain the policyholders and producers necessary to profitably stay in business.