Practice management

DALLAS-- Entrust Inc., a global leader in securing digital identities and information, today announced that Aon Limited, a leading global insurance broking, risk management and human capital consulting company, is expanding its use of the Entrust Secure Identity Management Solution by capitalizing on Entrust's innovative CPU-based pricing model to make deployment of its Web-based applications more cost effective.

PHILADELPHIA--CIGNA today released the findings of a new study that reveal an unmistakable trend: Integrating disability with health care programs has the potential to lower employers' total benefits costs and help disabled employees get back to work sooner and stay at work. As a result of the positive results found in the study, CIGNA is lowering its prices on disability benefits purchased with CIGNA medical coverage.

OLDSMAR, Fla. --eAutoclaims, a provider of claims management services, and ADP Claims Services Group, a leading provider of integrated business solutions for the property and casualty, collision repair and automotive recycling industries, announced today an agreement offering insurance carriers a new service to more efficiently and effectively administer their managed repair programs.

New York Life Insurance Co. has unveiled an educational online resource for African—American consumers at www.newyorklife.com/africanamerican. The site is intended to increase awareness and understanding of the protection and wealth building aspects of life insurance, annuities and the company's financial products. Centered on education, the site will be updated regularly with articles targeted toward individuals, families and businessowners.In addition to offering details on insurance and financial planning, the site contains information on the company's commitment to diversity, supplier diversity program, diversity—themed messages in its current advertising campaign, job postings, and various awards for being an outstanding employer in the African—American community.

Investment professionals wanting to help clients better plan for retirement investing and distribution now have access to a tool capable of modeling both. Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Financial has introduced its Nationwide preVIEW tool, located on the company's sales and service center Web site at www.bestofamerica.com. "Investing for retirement is only half of the retirement financial equation," said Richard A. Karas, president of Nationwide Financial Services Distributors Inc. "Investment professionals should be enabled with answers to the complete equation, which includes calculating accumulation and distribution needs. This tool can help producers develop personal defined benefit plans for their clients."

Wilmington, Del.-based Rockwood Programs has initiated a promotional campaign designed to raise market awareness regarding its Sponsored Errors & Omissions Program. This campaign will be aimed at insurance companies and Managing General Agencies with large sub-producer networks.

GREENSBORO, N.C.-- Jefferson Pilot Financial, one of the nation's leading providers of fixed and variable universal life insurance and fixed annuities, today introduced its E-Delivery service for owners of variable universal life and variable annuity policies on the company's public Web site at www.jpfinancial.com. E-Delivery, or electronic delivery, enables owners of variable policies to view product prospectuses and semi-annual and annual reports online.

With the number of career life insurance agents on the decline, new research from TowerGroup urges insurers to explore nontraditional distribution outlets as a means to mitigate potential future losses. These channels include banks and wirehouses, where life insurance premium sales have traditionally been elusive."It's imperative that insurers approach this market with a fresh perspective relative to products, distribution and operations," says Cindy Saccocia, senior analyst in the Insurance practice at TowerGroup and author of the research. "The distribution of life insurance through nontraditional channels is an area of growth for those insurers willing to invest in long-term opportunities."

Answer Financial Inc., provider of the SAM'S CLUB Insurance Services program, will offer group health insurance plans to small businesses through the SAM'S CLUB Insurance Services program, enabling business owners to provide a suite of employee benefits.This launch builds on an already extensive list of insurance products available nationwide geared toward SAM'S CLUB business members including commercial property, liability and worker's comp insurance as well as auto, home, life and individual health insurance plans. The initial rollout of group health will be to five states largely populated with SAM'S CLUB business members: Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.

EnvoyWorldWide Inc., a Bedford, Mass.-based provider of enterprise notification services, and Unitrin Direct, the direct, personal auto insurance arm of Unitrin Inc., Chicago, have unveiled details of Unitrin Direct’s successful pilot of EnvoyConnect, the campaign management suite from EnvoyWorldWide.Implemented in September 2003, EnvoyWorldWide’s solution enabled Unitrin Direct to deliver automated, personalized messages to policyholders, proving to be very cost effective while improving customer satisfaction and retention. Unitrin Direct is now live with a full implementation of EnvoyConnect.

Evolution Benefits Inc., Avon, Conn., and Seattle-based drugstore.com inc. have teamed to create a paperless, IRS-compliant system for electronically substantiating and adjudicating the reimbursement of over-the-counter medications (OTCs) eligible under flexible spending accounts.The program, available through the drugstore.com Web store, automatically recognizes and separates those OTCs eligible for reimbursement under flexible spending accounts (FSAs)--a benefit authorized by the Internal Revenue Service last year--as well as for prescription drugs covered under basic health plans. Purchases of eligible OTCs and covered prescription drugs can be placed on Evolution's Benny Card, a special purpose, debit MasterCard card, and electronically deducted from the consumer's appropriate Benny Card account(s).

BB&T Insurance Services today said it plans to buy Iler Wall & Shonter Insurance Inc. of St. Petersburg , Fla. The acquisition would give the nation's sixth largest insurance broker its second agency in the Sunshine State .

Keane Inc., a Boston-based business and information technology consulting firm, has completed the acquisition of Nims Associates Inc., an information technology and consulting services company with offices in the Midwest and Advanced Development Centers in Indianapolis and Dallas. On February 11, Keane announced it had signed a letter of intent to acquire Nims, which reported 2003 fiscal year revenue of $48 million. This transaction was completed on February 27, 2004. Nims has a 25-year history of project delivery in IT consulting, training, and outsourcing services with a long-term client base of Fortune 1000 companies, particularly in the financial services and insurance industries. Keane also announced that Nims' president Dwight Berryman has joined Keane as a group vice president reporting to Bob Atwell, senior vice president of North American Branch Operations.

Traditional methods of predicting financial intermediary investment preferences based on distribution channel segmentation provide little insight into underlying behavior and may actually be counter-productive, according to the results of a new study conducted by kasina, a New York-based consulting firm.The study, "The Six Segments: A Comprehensive New Look at Intermediary Behavior" examines the investing behavior and product preferences of financial intermediaries across the full range of distribution channels, including wirehouse and regional brokers, registered investment advisors, independent advisors, accountants, and bank- and insurance agency- based agents.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--Workscape Inc., a provider of benefits and workforce management solutions, today announced that it has acquired the business of Performaworks, Inc., a leading developer of Goal-Driven Performance Managementsoftware based in Burlington, Mass.

ATLANTA--Crawford & Company was recently named one of three national service providers to offer property, casualty, and workers' compensation claims handling to CNA Insurance Companies. "Crawford is honored to be chosen as the primary provider for such a prestigious and world-renowned company," said Grover L. Davis, Crawford chairman and CEO. "I look forward to continuing to grow this relationship, and am confident that this arrangement will greatly benefit both companies."

Quotesmith.com, Darien, Ill., has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of privately held Life Quotes Inc., an Evergreen, Colo.-based life insurance agency. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Quotesmith.com also has agreed to sell 2.36 million shares of its common stock to Zions Bancorporation for $5.50 net per share, thus raising $13 million in new capital, which is contingent upon the closing of the Life Quotes asset acquisition. After the completion of this capital transaction, Quotesmith.com will have 7.3 million outstanding common shares, with Zions holding a 32% equity interest and one board seat.

The Phoenix Companies Inc. has completed the implementation of Metaserver Inc.'s business process integration (BPI) technology that supports the Phoenix Information Gateway, which is supporting several straight-through processing initiatives for the Connecticut-based insurer.

Daniel Burrus, a leading technology forecaster and one of the New York Times' top three business "gurus will keynote the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, to be held May 23-25, 2004, in Las Vegas, NV. Burrus has a worldwide reputation for accurately predicting the future of technological change."In times of great uncertainty, we must ask ourselves what we are certain about," says Burrus. "Changing times mean changing strategies." At the Forum he will share "Technostrategies for Creating and Sustaining Strategic Advantage" in an uncertain world.

Atlanta, GA--DWL, a provider of Enterprise Business Services Software, today announced the release of DWL Insurance for Group Life and Health 3.0, giving health insurers the market's most functionally rich set of self-service business capability for agents, customers, call center staff, internal employees and distribution networks. Built on a composite application framework, version 3.0 has more than 35 new end-to-end business services to allow group life and health companies support plan member enrollment, dependant enrollment, billing, coverage selection and provide new and enhanced claims processing functionality.