Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from February 2005

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from February 2005

Industry Moves Toward Global Sourcing: Despite the controversy over offshore outsourcing, the insurance industry, along with other industries, continues to outsource IT services and business processing to regions of the world where it's most cost-effective.
February 1, 2005... Rewind-to February 2004. Outsourcing, in particular offshore outsourcing, was a bad word in the American lexicon. Merely one year later-with the presidential campaign over and President Bush still in office, it's not such a bad word anymore. In...

Analyze This: Slowly, insurers are beginning to grasp the power of business intelligence across the enterprise. But data and cultural issues continue to impede overall adoption.
February 1, 2005... Over the years, a number of oxymora have established their place among the most popular in the American lexicon-among them "airline food," "jumbo shrimp" and "working vacation." These terms are all regarded seemingly as incongruous or...

Grange Goes The Extra(Net) Mile: Grangeagent.com was developed to enhance agent workflow and streamline business processes. In a few short months, 99% of Grange's agents have logged on to the portal to activate its transactional tools.
February 1, 2005... Agent extranets that don't support quoting, issuing and servicing policies are like dinosaurs: plodding, cumbersome and heading toward extinction. Grange Insurance executives understood that merely pushing information through a portal to...

Underwriting Vigilance Pays Off.
February 1, 2005... Insurance is a complex business, but it all boils down to this: To be financially successful, carriers must collect enough premium dollars to cover claims and expenses. The tricky part, of course, is maintaining underwriting discipline in a...

Texas Study Expected To Help Settle Contentious Debate.
February 1, 2005... The Texas Department of Insurance is the latest organization to enter the controversial arena of scrutinizing the use of credit scores by insurance companies. Many insurers use the scores to assess risk when underwriting auto and homeowners...

INN Focus.(Insurance News Network )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... At issue: The Texas Department of Insurance is the latest in a line of organizations to study credit-based insurance scores, which have been criticized by some consumers who have been adversely impacted. The difference: TDI's...

Agent Report Recommends How To Safeguard Information.
February 1, 2005... Independent insurance agents have built their reputations serving customers, but now they're being asked to not only serve customers, but to protect their personal information. As individuals become increasingly vigilant about the privacy...

ACLI: Life Insurers, Banks Face Challenges To Spur Branch-Level Marketing.(American Council of Life Insurers)
February 1, 2005... Life insurers continue to face resistance in their quest to sell more polices at banks, a condition largely marked by a lack of technology standardization between banks and insurers, as well as a lack of simple awareness on the part of bank...

Product Previews.
February 1, 2005... Internet-Based Compliance Tool Manakoa Services Corp., a Kennewick, Wash.-based risk management and regulatory compliance solutions company, is offering Manakoa KnowledgeBase, a subscription-based portal for regulatory compliance...

Letters To The Editor.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2005... Gentlemen: I have read with considerable concern the recent article entitled "Unitrin Direct Taps into the Benefits of a BPO" that appeared as an INSURANCEinsights supplement to the October 2004 issue of Insurance Networking News. ...

Will Agents ACT on Recommendations?
February 1, 2005... To provide guidance on crafting policies that comply with privacy laws and regulations, the ACT report outlines several key initiatives that independent agents and brokers should consider implementing. They include: * Develop an...

Business Alliances.
February 1, 2005... Alliance Targets European BPO Market San Francisco-based Exigen Group and Lattelekom SIA, a principal telecommunications provider in Latvia, have signed a letter of intent to form a strategic partnership to deliver transformational business...

Technology Uncovers A New Data Dimension.
February 1, 2005... For realtors, it's all about location. It's also true that insurers can benefit from understanding the geographic dimension of their data. Writing flood insurance policies is one common way that insurers have applied geographic information...

Contracts.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... 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 News magazine at (312) 913-1366 or by...

Calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... Techniques of Risk Management Sponsor: Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc. When: Feb. 3-4 Where: The Crescent Club, Memphis, Tenn. www.rims.org Insurance Technology Symposium Sponsor: Strategic Research Institute...

Insurers Call On Teleunderwriting.
February 1, 2005... A recent study suggests that replacing the traditional paper application process with one that enables applicants to provide information directly to insurers by telephone or the Web offers significant benefits. According to Boston-based...

Database System Puts Direct Customers In The Spotlight: Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts in early 2004 implemented a Web-based system that enables agents to comb through data for new prospects and provide real-time updates on pending application status.
February 1, 2005... In the fiercely competitive direct-to-consumer insurance market, the ability to mine prospect data-and act quickly on that information-is critical to success. That was the challenge Savings Bank Life Insurance Co. of Massachusetts (SBLI) faced...

INN Focus.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Case Study: Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts At Issue: SBLI needed a system that could help manage its direct-to-consumer model by quickly identifying hot prospects and more proactively track the status of...

Diversified Firm Puts On Pretty Face: Faced with high-volume mailings generated from legacy administration systems, Ameritas Acacia Cos. implemented a software tool that has vastly improved the appearance and delivery of its agent and policyholder statements.
February 1, 2005... Insurance and financial services companies don't produce shiny new cars for their customers to drive away-or big-screen TVs for their customers to take home and show off to the neighbors. Essentially, they sell agreements-promises described in...

At-A-Glance.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
February 1, 2005... * The Ameritas Acacia Cos.: A diversified group of insurance and financial services companies comprising Ameritas Life, Acacia Life and their affiliates * Location: Lincoln, Neb. * GAAP Pre-tax income: $89.7 million (2003) * Life...

INN Focus.(Insurance News Network)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... At issue: Grange Insurance needed to upgrade its agent Web site to support transactions and improve service to its 1,200 independent agents. The solutions: The carrier in late 2004 unveiled Grangeagent.com, a transactional Web...

How Long Have You Had a Transactional or Informational Agent Portal?: Percentage of 44 P&C insurers surveyed.(Property and Casualty)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... Transactional Informational Less than 5 Years 7% 32% 3-5 Years 45% 52% 1-2 Years 30% 11% Less than 1 year ...

When Insourcing Makes Sense.(OneBeacon Insurance Group hires Opus Group LLC to evaluate and redesign underwriting processes)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Outsourcing has received a lot of attention as a way to reduce costs and improve operational flexibility. Sometimes, however, the best decision a company can make may be to keep the work in-house or to bring it back in-house. The latter is...

Hartford Life's Condor System Mines Databases for the Gold.
February 1, 2005... Similar to many companies, Hartford Life Insurance Co., an operating unit of Hartford Financial Services Inc., Hartford, Conn., wants to know what its customers are going to do-even before they do it. And the provider is largely succeeding...

Health Care Portal Gives Insurers A Shot In The Arm: America's Health Care Plan portal cuts underwriting time, eases agents' workloads and gives consumers lower-cost health insurance choices.
February 1, 2005... In December 2003, a handful of insurance execs interested in starting their own business venture came up with an idea: an Internet-based distribution network that could cut application processing time and expense for carriers, give agents a...

e.Business Briefs.
February 1, 2005... Kaiser Gets Consumers Up and Moving In keeping with its mandate of promoting health and wellness through prevention, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente has launched its 10,000 Steps walking/fitness program. By clicking on the Web site...

Understanding Your Target Customers: Location-based technology can provide a crucial added dimension to your existing data.
February 1, 2005... The dynamics of marketing and selling insurance are rapidly changing. Savvy Generation X members who use the Web to comparison shop for insurance typically have different insurance providers for their auto, life and home. Baby boomers question...

Technology And Underwriting Optimization: Insurers must develop new strategies and deploy technologies to automate and manage the underwriting process.
February 1, 2005... Challenging market conditions, led by accelerating price competition, are causing insurers to look more closely at streamlining their underwriting procedures to defend or improve their profitability. Inevitably, this is creating a new focus by...