Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from August 2004

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from August 2004

He Who Pays First Wins.(Enterprise Incentive Management)
August 2, 2004... Financial services convergence, lower investment earnings, and market demand for more financial products all have combined to force insurers to develop new products more quickly. But how about getting those products to the market more quickly?...

The 'Discovery' Channel: Cross selling insurance products requires insurers and their agents to formulate a single, consolidated view of customers. But obtaining it remains a work in progress.(Insurance and Financial Review)
August 2, 2004... In the legal profession, attorneys refer to it as the "discovery" process where a legal team embarks upon intensive fact-finding to construct its case. At Bloomington, Ill.-based State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., there's a...

Amica Life's Remodeled Front End.
August 2, 2004... To provide customers with an "ideal buying experience" can sometimes mean practicing what you preach. That axiom is being practiced by business and information technology executives at Amica Life Insurance Co., a Lincoln, R.I.-based...

Eliminating Corporate Cholesterol.
August 2, 2004... Here's a new business phrase that you can chew on: corporate cholesterol. At first, I thought the phrase was invented to describe the cardiovascular diagnosis of senior executives at U.S. corporations, but on closer examination, it's being used...

Business Alliance: Will IBM's Partner Program Make A World of Difference?(International Business Machines Corp.)(Independent Software Vendors)(PartnerWorld Industry Networks)
August 2, 2004... In recent years, insurance companies have spent more money on legacy system maintenance than on packaged software applications, according to industry experts. There are several factors influencing this trend, but one undoubtedly stands...

INN Focus.(Insurance Software Providers)(PartnerWorld Industry Networks)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... What: IBM Corp. has formed PartnerWorld Industry Networks for Insurance Software Providers, an insurance-specific network of independent software vendors. Why: IBM is trying to tap what it perceives as an underserved market:...

Databases The Cause Of Erroneous Claim Payments.
August 2, 2004... Many insurers have indicated that reining in claims handling costs is a priority this year and beyond. After examining the root cause of inefficient claims management, insurers have concurred that the onus is on the absence of historical...

Compliance Technology: Automation Considered Vital For Insurers To Comply With New Federal Regulations.
August 2, 2004... Insurance companies are quite accustomed to living with regulations. With each state promulgating its own requirements, carriers consider investments of time and resources for state filing and reporting as a fundamental cost of doing business....

Product Previews.
August 2, 2004... COLLABORATIVE UNDERWRITING COMPONENT Camilion Solutions Inc., a Toronto-based provider of product management software for the insurance industry, has introduced Camilion Underwriter, a pre-configured solution built with Product Innovator,...

INN Focus.
August 2, 2004... At issue: Insurers are making inconsistent or erroneous claims settlements due to a lack of historical databases. The solution: A relational database can provide claims handlers with a complete claims history audit trail and more...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
August 2, 2004... Advanced Fraud Seminar Sponsor: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) When: August 5-6 Where: Westin Copley Place Hotel, Boston www.naic.org 2004 Advanced Sales Forum Sponsor: LIMRA International ...

Business Alliances.
August 2, 2004... GROUP 1, LAS ENTER INTO GLOBAL ALLIANCE Language Analysis Systems, a Herndon, Va.-based name recognition software company, and Group 1 Software, Lanham, Md., have forged a global alliance. Under the agreement, Group 1 will act as a...

Marketing Strategies: The Principal Targets Middle-Class Consumers In Multimedia Campaign.
August 2, 2004... Many insurance companies have been chasing after the people who have a lot of money to invest and protect-high net-worth individuals. But the Principal Financial Group has taken a leap for "the little guy'-middle-class consumers who probably...

Contracts.
August 2, 2004... 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...

Insurers' Credit Ratings: S&P's Outlook: 'Unstable Stability'.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... After a tumultuous three-year period in which insurers' credit ratings were battered and beaten, credit analysts say the current environment is stabilizing, due primarily to price strengthening in 2003. "The environment is improving, but...

Kaiser's Secret To Customer Satisfaction: Its People.
August 2, 2004... Based on the premise that knowledgeable and happy call center agents deliver the best customer service, Kaiser Permanente is using online agent training to help agents build member loyalty. Conventional management thinking says: Labor is...

At-A-Glance: Kaiser Permanente.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Headquarters: Oakland, Calif. Membership: 8.2 million States: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C. Employees: 136,511 Operating revenues: $22.5 billion...

INN Focus.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... At issue: Facing consolidation of its California call centers, as well as frequent regulatory and product changes, Kaiser Permanente needed a more efficient way to train its call center agents. The solution: Online training...

INN Focus.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... At issue: Amica's new-business process had been broken into several disparate steps, with no interfaces merging them. The solution: A business process management solution designed by Fiserv Insurance Solutions which automates the...

Few Insurance Companies Exploiting EIM's Full Potential.(Enterprise Incentive Management)
August 2, 2004... Although insurers are beginning to use enterprise incentive management systems, they have yet to take advantage of the technology's broader potential, according to Chad Hersh, senior analyst at Boston-based Celent Communications. Most insurers...

Contact Centers: the Front Lines of Cross Selling.
August 2, 2004... External agents are known for building long-lasting, sustained relationships with customers-all of which helps fuel cross selling and up-selling. But representatives that work in call centers are known for engaging customers in a more...

WellPoint 'Wires' 22,000 Network Physicians: The second-largest health insurer in the nation makes a unique electronic technology offer that's hard for doctors to refuse.
August 2, 2004... With apologies to Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman, there is a free lunch after all. Blue Cross of California has expanded a unique technology initiative to give 1,200 physicians either a complete desktop computer system or a...

e.Business Briefs.
August 2, 2004... CHUBB ENHANCES RMIS DIMENSIONS INTERNET TOOL The Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., Warren, N.J., has added new features to its RMIS Dimensions Internet-based risk management information system. The enhancements to RMIS Dimensions version 7.2...

At-A-Glance: WellPoint Health Networks Inc.
August 2, 2004... Headquarters: Thousand Oaks, Calif. Revenues: $20.4 billion in 2003 Employees: 19,100 Members: 15.3 million Specialty members: 46 million Products: PPO, POS, HMO, hybrid and specialty products and Medicare supplements ...

Considerations For Content Management: Insurance executives need to make sure their organizations are prepared to embrace content management solutions.
August 2, 2004... The days of endless rows of file cabinets chock-full with customer files are numbered as more companies provide their customers with online access to policies, billing statements and claims reporting. As insurers grapple with regulatory...