WEB SITE

GuardianLife.com Looks to Demystify Financial Planningand Insurance

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has launched anew Web site, www.guardianlife.com, which thecompany hopes will educate visitors in the financial planningprocess and the role Guardians products and financialrepresentatives play in an overall financial planning strategy. Thenew site replaces Guardians existing Web address, www.glic.com.

We are making important changes in the way we use technology toexpand our relationship with our customers and agency partners,says Dennis Callahan, executive vice president and CIO. The changeswe have made to this Web site are designed to enhance the customerexperience, making it simpler to find answers to financialneeds.

The sites navigation has been streamlined to provide access toimportant content and helpful tools such as Agent Profiles, a newsection that introduces Guardians financial representatives tocustomers, and Our Strength, which highlights Guardians marketpresence and emphasizes the companys commitment to providingquality products and services.

GuardianLife.com is just one more way we are enhancing ourapproach to client and customer interaction, says Nancy Rogers,Guardians senior vice president of corporate marketing. The launchof GuardianLife.com is just one of several initiatives in a seriesof technology-focused efforts aimed at improving the customerexperience. Recently, Guardian Investor Services LLC (GIS), awholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company ofAmerica, introduced www.guardianinvestor.com.Launched in late 2003, it offers options to individual investors,financial advisers, and brokers who sell products distributed byGIS.

ONLINE SUBMISSIONS

Prudential Offers Web-based Disability Claims
Prudential Financial, Inc., has launched a new online disabilityclaim submission application for employees of group disabilityclients. The new functionality allows employees to handle manyaspects of their claims using a secure and confidential onlineprocess. Continuing to provide our clients and their employees withthe secure tools they need to manage disability issues effectivelyis of paramount importance to us, says Al Hemond, vice president ofdisability risk management for Prudentials group insurancebusiness. Online employee claim submission supports our strategy ofproviding claims management services that are responsive to thevarying needs of claimants. When we offer innovations that providetimely, cost-effective, and user-friendly services to our clientsand their employees, we are living up to our goal of being aservice-oriented claims operation.

Once a claim is submitted, employees receive automatic access toan online application that allows them to:
Set up tax withholding information.
Establish or make changes to electronic fund transfers.
Change contact information.
Provide date-of-birth information for themselves and theirfamilies.
View and print claim statements via a Portable Document Format(PDF) file.

The latest enhancements serve as a follow-up to January 2004employee modifications that included online applications to reportdelivery dates related to pregnancy claims and dates whenindividuals have returned to work.

FIRST NOTICE

Hartford Speeds Claim Submission With IVANS
Since quicker submissions of First Notice of Loss (FNOL) reportsfor commercial auto or property insurance claims can lead to fastersettlements, The Hartford Financial Services Group now is enablingits independent insurance agents to initiate electronically theclaim process for their clients.

Independent agents can submit electronically a commercial autoor property FNOL to The Hartford with attachments from theirApplied agency management system. The Applied system uses IVANSTransformation Station, a managed data exchange utilizing Webservices and ACORD XML for real-time transactions between agencyand carrier systems.

We challenged ourselves to offer agents more choice when theyreport claims to The Hartford, says John Chu, senior vice presidentof The Hartfords e-business and technology department. Althoughagents can continue to use the phone or fax for their First Noticeof Loss reports, were providing a more streamlined option to submitthat information. Were also the first insurer to enable agents toattach supporting documentation, such as photos or spreadsheets, tothe FNOL submission. This is another way we are using technology toincrease an agents efficiency.

To take advantage of this capability, agents complete a standardACORD Loss Notice form within their agency management system, thensubmit the loss notice and documentation electronically to TheHartfords claims department. Evaluation of the reported claimbegins upon receipt. Attachments to the FNOL submission can includephotos, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, or Word documents.

FINANCIAL PLANNING TOOLS

AccessAllstate.com Available to Financial ServicesPartners
AccessAllstate.com, the financial services Web site for AllstateFinancial, a business unit of The Allstate Corporation, now isavailable to Allstate Financial Institution Divisions partners. TheWeb site previously had been available only to financial advisersor Allstate agents who were registered to sell Allstate or LincolnBenefit Life Company products.

AccessAllstate.com helps Allstate effectively streamline howproducers do business with us, says Joe Tomalavage, director,Allstate Financial Technology, Allstate Financial. Now, ourfinancial institution partners are able to access clientinformation, obtain real-time policy values, download forms, ordermarketing materials online, review product and fund information,and access sales and marketing ideas 24 hours a day from onecentral location.

Producers who register and log on to the Web site see a tailoredview, which allows only products that have been approved by theirfinancial institution to be displayed. In addition, the siteprovides listings to Allstate products and riders approved by eachstate.

Tailoring the site allows Allstate to meet the uniquerequirements of our partners, says Rob Shore, executive vicepresident, Allstate Distributors. Since these producers sell avariety of products, they require consumer-friendly financialplanning tools that help them illustrate differences among thevarious types of retirement, college planning, and life insuranceproducts.

In addition to the illustrations, the Web site providesproducers with product comparison tools, investment options, asupport center, and information on training, compliance, and Website support.