ICICI Infotech Ltd., an Edison, N.J.-based IT solutions provider, has signed an agreement to implement its PREMIA 10.0 system for Comercial America Insurance Co. (CAIC).PREMIA 10.0, has been tailored for the U.S. insurance industry, and combines a modular application software solution with a single, integrated system. Beneath a consistent presentation layer, PREMIA 10.0 provides business functionality that supports rating, quoting, underwriting, binding, billing, endorsing (including out-of-sequence), claim administration, reinsurance management, and general ledger accounting. PREMIA 10.0 also delivers enhanced reporting and an improved capability to integrate with existing systems.

Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), El Segundo, Calif., has signed a seven-year agreement with Trinity Universal Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Chicago-based Unitrin Inc. CSC will support Unitrin Multi Lines Insurance's commercial lines of insurance with business process outsourcing (BPO) and Internet-based services.A CSC client since 1982, Unitrin Multi Lines Insurance, which provides insurance products in 30 states, used CSC's technology to establish its X-Sell-A-Rate agent Web site two years ago. Under the new agreement, CSC will help Unitrin extend its Web capability to include a full range of commercial insurance services to more than 2,000 independent agents.

Answering the market's call for security, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of New York introduced Manulife New York Survivorship UL-G, the Company's first survivorship universal life insurance product to offer lifetime guaranteed coverage.

Madison, Wis.-based CUNA Mutual Group is using a high performance database engine from Objectivity Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., for its credit union member database. The Objectivity-based service provides CUNA Mutual with an improved ability to track customer records and help its sales staff cross-sell financial services products.Called Objectivity/DB, the engine has enabled CUNA Mutual to build a scalable application that generates a unified, consolidated view for each individual credit union member. With Objectivity/DB, CUNA Mutual provides an integrated set of product offerings tailored for each individual. The system enables CUNA Mutual to access comprehensive credit union member histories as well as provide members with products and services customized for their individual circumstances.

Noodle Specialty Brokers (NSB), a new division of Chicago-based e-broker InsuranceNoodle Inc., has been created to offer professional liability and specialty small commercial property/ casualty insurance products nationwide using technology developed by InsuranceNoodle.Based on InsuranceNoodle's proprietary single entry (SEMCI) technology, Noodle Specialty Brokers provides retailers and wholesalers online access to specialty small commercial products not available from national standard lines small commercial P&C carriers. NSB will offer admitted and non-admitted products as a program manager for nationally recognized carriers.

AIG Technologies Inc. (AIGT), Livingston, N.J., has expanded its Web-based Automobile Liability Insurance Reporting (ALIR) system to support South Carolina's recently announced automobile liability reporting mandate.AIGT's ALIR system enables insurance carriers nationwide to electronically report personal and commercial automobile insurance verification and cancellations.

American United Life Insurance Co. (AUL) has licensed the Visual Product Modeling System (VP/MS) from Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif. The Indianapolis-based financial services company will use VP/MS to simplify development of new life insurance products. More than 20 organizations in the United States and Canada have selected VP/MS."We expect VP/MS to transform not only how we design new products, but the products themselves," said Emet Talley, AUL vice president of information technology. "It will also give our actuaries more flexibility in designing life offerings, allowing us to add the bells and whistles that answer market needs."

Newark, Calif.--Prospects for an active hurricane season in 2004 reinforce the need for sophisticated storm tracking and modeling capabilities, Risk Management Solutions (RMS) said today.

A few years ago, when senior executives took to the podium to report their companies' earnings, no one really questioned if they were telling the truth. Today, because Enron, WorldCom and other companies have so blatantly duped investors, the federal government is hovering over them, saying "Prove it."With the threat of criminal penalties, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) holds senior executives personally accountable for the accuracy of their companies' financial statements. The law also requires publicly traded firms, including insurers, to document and test their internal financial controls, and report within 48 hours any "material" events or weaknesses that may affect their earnings.

For most insurers, there's a natural inclination to settle claims swiftly, particularly to satisfy customers who might take their business elsewhere. But as insurers improve claims processing time, ironically, many are paying a high price.To their chagrin, efficiencies surrounding claims settlement can actually produce negative results. Ultimately, many carriers find themselves dispersing dollars that shouldn't have been paid in the first place, due to claims fraud.

As insurance CEOs mull over their IT teams' plans to purchase new technologies, inevitably the decision boils down to this: What's the financial upside? It's an important question to ask, although a clear quantifiable answer is often hard to come by. However, two articles in this issue-fraud detection and financial reporting-offer clear-cut reasons for why insurers should consider implementing these business-supporting technologies.Fighting fraud is a multi-billion-dollar challenge for the insurance industry. Some estimates calculate the total annual cost of fraud across health, life and property/casualty lines is between $85 billion and $120 billion.

With public concern about credits scores far from extinguished, 11 state insurance departments-dubbed "the coalition of the willing"-are planning to conduct their own multi-state study of the effects of credit-based insurance scoring on consumers.The 11 states-Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and West Virginia-have issued calls to insurance companies for individual policyholder data in order to conduct their research on the effects of scores, which insurers use to price auto and homeowners policies.

Managed care companies across the United States continue to await a ruling on a series of class-action lawsuits alleging that the nation's largest managed care companies violated the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organ-izations Act (RICO).Filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, the litigation claims that managed care companies violated the RICO Act by conspiring to reduce and delay claims payments to network physicians. One allegation lodged by a plaintiff physician, for instance, claims that managed care companies used billing software to automatically "bundle" several CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes and, in turn, failed to reimburse the physician for all services rendered.

The Contracts Update section includes announcements of contracts insurance information technology companies have signed with customers in recent weeks. Contract news can be faxed to Insurance Networking magazine at (312) 913-1366 or by electronic mail to Stephen.Dwyer thomsonmedia.com AgencyPort Insurance Services Inc.

Only five short years ago, insurers were scrambling to get their IT systems ready for Y2K. This year, they're at the cusp of implementing enterprise solutions that leverage component-based software across the organization, saving them significantly in both IT development and maintenance costs."Before 2000, I conducted approximately 100 Y2K risk assessments in the industry," says Deborah Smallwood, insurance practice leader at TowerGroup Inc., Needham, Mass. "The common themes were: What is your vision? What is your strategy? Do you have your arms around your portfolio? And they all failed. In the course of five years, insurers have come a long way."

When it considered the various ways to comply with the security rule included within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Chattanooga, Tenn.-based BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee identified its "incident response" capabilities as a viable compliance strategy.More specifically, the Tennessee Blues plan formed an incident response team (IRT) to respond to information systems incidents that could potentially compromise the security of personal or protected health information of its customers. The Blues plan can now better respond to information systems incidents as a cohesive team and minimize impact of incidents on its business and customers, says a security analyst at the company.

Providence Washington Insurance Cos., Providence, R.I., will cease underwriting new and renewal business, to the extent permitted by law. In addition, the company has entered into an agreement with OneBeacon Insurance Co., Boston, whereby OneBeacon will acquire renewal rights in Providence Washington's small business package policies. Providence Washington plans to continue servicing its existing portfolio of commercial and personal lines business. The company reported statutory net losses of $7 million in 2002 and $35 million in 2003. It reported a net loss of $7 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2004. These losses contributed to the policyholders' surplus dropping from $92 million at year-end 2002 to $59 million at year-end 2003, and to $53 million as of the quarter ending March 31, 2004.

eAutoclaims Inc., an Oldsmar, Calif.-based claims management services company, has executed the final closing of approximately $2.5 million in new financing. Of the $2.5 million, $2.25 million was a sale of equity to multiple investors at $0.28 per share and $250,000 was an 8% convertible debenture from one of the company's directors.Both the equity and convertible debentures include warrant coverage. This represents additional capital of $900,000 from the company's previous announcement on May 5, 2004. Noble International Investments acted as placement agent on a material portion of this raise and will continue to advise the Company as its investment banker.

BOSTON--John Hancock today introduced a new, highly competitive variable universal life policy for small- to mid-sized businesses, called Performance Executive Variable Life (VL). The product focuses on high early cash values and offers strong cash value accumulation. It has an outstanding selection of investment options, and benefits and features that are among the most comprehensive in the industry.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The process of proofreading 17-digit automobile VIN numbers or lists of property coverages can consume as much unproductive time for an insurance agency as recording account information with a quill pen. New tools are needed to match the insurance business with the competitive needs of a new century. Thanks to one major insurance company, agencies will soon find they have more time to devote to managing customer relationships, time which used to be spent knee-deep in paperwork.