Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management articles from May 2003

Insurance Networking News: Executive Strategies for Technology Management archives from May 2003

CRM Strategies: Carriers Narrow CRM Focus.
May 1, 2003... As insurers weigh their options for customer relationship management investments, it's become apparent that carriers are redefining what CRM strategies can-and cannot-accomplish. With the expectation bar set too high and the ability to...

What IT Assets Do You Have?
May 1, 2003... Let's face it. During an economic downturn, every dollar earned, spent or saved seems to carry more weight than it does when the economy is growing. With more financial pressure on carriers these days, IT departments are under more scrutiny to...

Agents Are Not Yet Sold On Real-Time.
May 1, 2003... The potential savings for agents and carriers using real-time interfaces amounts to thousands of hours-and dollars-each day. A billing inquiry initiated through an agency management system takes two minutes, whereas the same inquiry takes...

Finger-Pointing Plagues Industry.
May 1, 2003... When I asked Frank Cerne, publisher and editor of this magazine, for feedback on the article I wrote in this issue on agents' slow adoption of real-time carrier interfaces ("Agents Are Not Yet Sold On Real-Time," see cover), Frank said, "It...

Channel Conflict: Allstate's Agent Terminations Spur Congressional Bill.
May 1, 2003... In response to how Allstate Insurance Co. handled its employee-agents during its reorganization in 1999 and 2000-and to prevent other employers from repeating that action-the Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2003 was introduced in Congress...

IN Focus.(Allstate Insurance Co. sued by terminated employee agents)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * Past Action: In June 2000, Allstate terminated 6,400 employee agents, offering them the option to convert to independent contractor status. The move was part of the company's 1999 reorganization, which sought to save $600 million...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... LOMA Financial Inforum Sponsor: LOMA When: May 4-7 Where: Hyatt Regency, Naples, Fla. www.loma.org Demystifying Reinsurance Sponsor: Reinsurance Association of America When: May 12-14 Where: Drake Hotel, Chicago...

Vendor News: Fiserv Adds Web Distribution To Its Stable.(Fiserv Inc. acquires ReliaQuote Inc.)
May 1, 2003... Most insurance e-business solutions providers have long considered investments in Web-based insurance distribution outlets as bold and risk-taking strategies to enhance their corporate fortunes. This belief didn't deter Brookfield,...

IN Focus.(Fiserv Inc. acquired ReliaQuote Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * The Deal: Fiserv Inc. acquired ReliaQuote Inc., an Internet-based insurance agency and brokerage. * The Strategy: ReliaQuote provides banks, credit card issuers and mutual fund companies with a platform to deliver life insurance...

Patriot Act: Insurers Arm Themselves In War On Terror.
May 1, 2003... Life insurers are seeking quick and painless solutions for compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act, which requires insurers to develop and implement anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs intended to disrupt financial networks that support...

IN Focus.(Life insurers respond to USA PATRIOT Act)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * At Issue: The USA PATRIOT Act requires life insurers to verify customer information, establish suspicious activity reports, enhance due diligence, and prohibit correspondent accounts with foreign shell banks. * The Solution: ...

Product Previews.
May 1, 2003... Underwriting Components WorldGroup Consulting Inc. has added underwriting components to its insurance specific component library WGInsureWorx. The underwriting components extend the policy administration capabilities of WorldGroup's...

Legislation: Congress Addresses Asbestos Litigation.
May 1, 2003... The insurance industry could learn as early as this week the broad outlines and ballpark costs of the so-called third wave of asbestos litigation. That's the timeline Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has...

IN Focus.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * At Issue: Congress is attempting to limit carriers' exposure to asbestos claims and provide adequate funding for medical treatment. * The Proposal: Sen. Hatch will propose the creation of a $108 billion trust fund to pay medical...

Risk Management: Loss Control Focus Shifts To Security, Terror Threats.
May 1, 2003... Facing a mandate to reduce their loss exposures for a variety of reasons-from the threat of terrorism to the need to secure better insurance coverage terms-risk managers are upping the ante on loss control spending. A survey of nearly 400...

Business Alliances.
May 1, 2003... Web-Based Cat Modeling Questerra, a Charlottesville, Va.-based subsidiary of MeadWestvaco, is partnering with Towers Perrin Reinsurance, Stamford, Conn., to provide a spatial platform and Web-based catastrophe modeling reporting and...

Financial Services Convergence: Principal Bank Maps Growth Strategy.
May 1, 2003... Before the passage of the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley legislation in 1999, several insurers received clearance from the federal government to operate online thrift institutions. Executives with Principal Bank of Des Moines, which opened for...

IN Focus.(Principal Bank plans to grow)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * At Issue: Can insurance-owned banks attract new customers and cross-sell services to existing policyholders? * Principal Bank: Currently has 85,000 customers and $1.5 billion in assets. Executives hope to leverage the carrier's...

Contracts.(insurance information technology companies contracts with customers)(Directory)
May 1, 2003... 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...

IT Outsourcing: Carriers Trim Outsourcing Budgets.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Although the industry in 2002 experienced a number of high-profile IT outsourcing arrangements, a new study suggests that insurers overall are decreasing their reliance on hosted IT applications. The study, by Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner...

ANICO Calls On CRM To Improve Its Service: By arming customer service representatives with better customer data, ANICO improves its speed of answering inquiries and slashes average call length.(American National Insurance Co)
May 1, 2003... Business leaders at American National Insurance Co. checked under the sofa before sitting down to assemble the customer relationship management (CRM) jigsaw puzzle. Why? Because they wanted to make sure they had every piece. First, the...

IN Focus.(American National Insurance Co. investment in call centre software paid off)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * Case Study: American National Insurance Co. * At Issue: ANICO executives determined that arming CSRs and agents with good information was the best approach to growing market share. * The Solution: The carrier invested...

Call Center Goals: Improving Speed, Workflow.(American National Insurance Co. uses Pegasystems Inc. call center software)
May 1, 2003... Speed is an important call center objective for American National Insurance Co. because "shaving a minute here or 30 seconds there makes a big difference in costs when you're running a call center," explains Gary Kirkham, vice president and...

Farmers Puts Dent In Auto-Repair Fraud.(Farmers Group Inc.)
May 1, 2003... Farmers Insurance has not only beefed up its fraud detection spending, it has become a bulldog in the courts and within the criminal justice system. Its SIU operating philosophy has changed from reactive to proactive. Everyone knows the numbers...

IN Focus.(Farmers Group Inc. combats auto insurance fraud)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... * Case Study: Farmers Insurance Group * At Issue: To combat auto insurance fraud, Farmers changed its claims-handling approach to be "proactive" rather than "reactive." * The Solution: Farmers has formed 11 special...

Tech Tools That Help Detect Fraud.
May 1, 2003... Fraud can be subtle and complex. It can be hidden among voluminous amounts of data. New schemes are always emerging. Insurers understand the impact of fraud and consider it a serious problem. Fraud management technology that uses predictive...

CRM's Evolution.(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Problem: Insurers have had a difficult time measuring CRM results. Compounding the problem is that many CRM projects were built from proprietary client/server platforms, which undermined overall flexibility. The Solution: The...

Dashboard Keeps Agents Attuned to Customers' Needs.(Farmers Insurance Group's web portal Agency Dashboard )
May 1, 2003... Supporting its more than 12,000 exclusive agents is at the heart of Farmers Insurance Group's CRM initiatives. The centerpiece of this strategy is a branded program called Agency Dashboard, which enables agents to obtain ongoing insights on...

A CRM Strategy with a Nice 'View'.(customer relationship management)(DWL Customer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Many insurance e-business experts agree that establishing a single source of customer data is a key to making customer relationship management (CRM) succeed. A single source of data produces a unified customer view across the enterprise, in...

e.Business Briefs: ACT Recommends Download Process.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Agents Council of Technology (ACT) Download Work Group, which is affiliated with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), Alexandria, Va., has issued a report to encourage carriers, vendors, agents and brokers to...

e.Business Briefs: Travelers Debuts Tool For Executive Liability.(Travelers Property Casualty Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Travelers Bond, a division of Hartford, Conn.-based Travelers Property Casualty Corp. has launched a tool that enables agents to obtain premium indications for Travelers executive liability products via the Internet. This capability is now...

e.Business Briefs: The Hartford Accepts Excel Schedules.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Hartford Financial Services Group has sped up the process for AMS systems users to handle large amounts of schedule data as part of the application and rating process for middle market business. The Hartford, Conn.-based insurer can now...

e.Business Briefs: Aetna Launches Simple Steps For Wellness.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna is launching Simple Steps To A Healthier Life, a Web-based wellness product aimed at enhancing employee health and productivity. The product incorporates information on disease prevention, condition education,...

e.Business Briefs: Afni Building Interface For West Bend.(Afni Insurance Services )(West Bend Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Afni Insurance Services, Simsbury, Conn., is developing an interface for West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. between IVANS Transformation Station and West Bend Mutual's billing inquiry system. The interface will provide access to the West Bend,...

e.Business Briefs: Ohio Casualty Rolls Out IVANS For Three Systems.(Ohio Casualty Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Ohio Casualty Insurance Co., Fairfield, Ohio, is rolling out inquiry functions using IVANS Transformation Station across three agency management systems: AMS platforms using IVANS WebSEMCI; The Agency Manager and Vision from Applied...

e.Business Briefs: inreon Expands in Asia.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... inreon, the online reinsurance platform founded by Munich Re and Swiss Re in 2000, is expanding its operations in Asia with both Korean Re and China International Re agreeing to write business via the platform. So far 22 insurers, brokers and...

Real-Time Interface: Use It or Lose It.(Agency-Company Organization for Research and Development (ACORD) recruiting insurance agents)
May 1, 2003... Weak carrier marketing is one reason agents have not flocked to real-time agency-carrier transactions, according to industry sources. "Only a handful of carriers have actually told their agencies these services are up and running," says one...

Carriers Using Transact Now.(Brief Article)(Directory)
May 1, 2003... Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. Encompass Insurance The Hartford Financial Services Group Kemper Auto and Home Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. Safeco Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The St. Paul Cos. ...

Carriers Using IVANS Transformation Station.(Brief Article)(Directory)
May 1, 2003... Acuity* American International Group (AIG) Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. Cincinatti Equitable Life* Donegal Mutual Insurance Co. EMC Insurance Encompass Insurance* First Insurance Co. of Hawaii* Frankemuth...

Be Proactive In Fighting Insurance Fraud.
May 1, 2003... The quiet catastrophe of insurance fraud is gaining more attention as insurance executives continue to look to operational efficiencies-rather than investment income-to protect their bottom lines. With the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud...