CUSTOMER SERVICE
Survey on Web Sites Shows Some Insurers Not Listening
Is there any more basic form of customer service than to respond to customer inquiries? There must be, at least for the 30 percent of insurers rated by the Customer Respect Group (CRG) for its 2003 Online Customer Respect Study. Only those insurers ranked among the largest 1,000 companies in the U.S. were reviewed. Seventy insurers fell into that group, meaning 21 failed to respond to online inquiries.
CRG has established 25 different attributes it uses to examine the online customer experience. The attributes are grouped into six categories that include how the business respects a customers privacy (privacy); how it values and respects customer information (principles); the customer focus of a site (attitude); open and honest policies (transparency); ease of navigation (simplicity); and quick and thorough re-sponse to inquiries (responsiveness).
Of the 70 insurance Web sites reviewed, Amica Mutual Insurance earned the top rating with a score of 9.1 (out of 10), barely edging Minnesota Life Insurance with a 9.0. The rest of the top 10 in order were Progressive, Allstate, UICI, Phoenix Com-panies, CUNA Mutual Group, MetLife, Safeco, and LandAmerica Financial Group. MetLife showed the greatest improvement among the insurance group from last year to this year, making the top 10 with a score of 8.3 after finishing in the middle of the pack in 2002 with a score of 7.1. The insurance industry average score was 6.8.
Donal Daly, CEO of the Customer Respect Group, believes customers are entrusting valuable assets in the hands of their insurance companies, so it is important that insurers demonstrate they can be trusted, particularly in an online environment. To address this issue and ensure a good return on technology investment, insurers should focus on improving privacy issues and response procedures to online inquiries, says Daly. By doing so, they will improve user experiences, gain customer trust, enhance customer satisfaction, and ultimately increase their bottom line.
The report showed insurers received their best rating in the area of simplicity (an average of 8.0) and the worst score in the area of responsiveness (an average score of 5.8).
Among the 70 percent of those insurers surveyed that do respond to online inquiries, 86 percent of them do so within 48 hours. Seven percent respond within 72 hours, and the other seven percent respond within four days.
Of the carriers responding to online inquiries, only 19 percent use Autoresponder technology, which automatically sends an e-mail acknowledging receipt of the customers e-mail to confirm receipt of the original inquiry and to inform the customer when to expect a full response to the inquiry.
Forty-six percent of the insurance Web sites use cookies, but 47 percent of those sites fail to explain how the cookies can be disabled.
Copies of the report can be ordered through the Customer Respect Group Web site at www.customerrespect.com.
QUOTE SYSTEM
INA Offers Real-Time Quotes Through Agent Access
Agent Access is the name given the recently launched online quoting capability developed by Insurance Group of North America (INA) for its independent agents and brokers. The service offers agents real-time quoting capabilities for INAs entire specialty insurance product line that is sold through licensed distribution partners. Coverage is available for motorcycles, recreational vehicles, collector autos, yachts, boats, and other personal watercraft.
The system frees INA agents from proprietary quoting software systems and allows them to receive quotes as well as insurance information and application data through the INA Web site (www.inainsurance.com). The system has been developed over the past year and also includes a Web-enablement service for the remaining specialty lines. Marine, cross border, and disaster mortgage protection were part of the earlier phase of the project.
ONLINE SERVICES
CIGNA Offering Group Members Online Enrollment Option
Employees at companies served by CIGNA Group Insurance have the opportunity to enroll online for their CIGNA Group Voluntary Life, Accident, or Disability benefits, and theyll be able to do it at their convenience anywhere, anytime, when the annual benefits enrollment season begins in October. Employers are seeking new methods such as online enrollment to save them time and resources in administering benefits. Employers should view their companys annual benefits enrollment process as a time to take advantage of all tools available to lighten their administrative burdens and ensure they can offer an enrollment process that satisfies employee needs, says Jolene Sarr, life product manager for CIGNA Group Insurance.
Recent studies show online benefit enrollment is the first choice of most U.S. employees. The percentage of employees enrolling through the Internet nearly doubled in three years, according to Hewitt Associates, a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm. Seventy percent of employees enrolled in their 2003 benefits through the Internet, up from 36 percent in 1999. A CIGNA survey found 51 percent of employees are interested in being able to enroll in their insurance programs over the Internet while at home.
Through the new online enrollment service capability, employees enter the companys password-protected enrollment site either through a direct link from the employers site or by going directly to the CIGNA site (www.cigna.com). Employees are then guided through the online enrollment application process as they view screens personalized with the employees own information. Electronic signatures are accepted with this service. Employees can use CIGNAs online enrollment for initial and ongoing enrollments and to update life status or beneficiary designation changes to their life or accident plan.
WHOS USING WHAT
West Bend Mutual Insurance has implemented Carrier Connect from Afni Insurance Services, which will allow West Bend customers to access insurance information through their agents own Web site.
VantisLife, operating in Connecticut as Savings Bank Life Insurance, has agreed to use the NaviSys Front Office system to accelerate the bank channel and direct sales of life products.
Austin Mutual Insurance Company has selected the browser-based system from AscendantOne to provide rate-quote-issuance, underwriting, policy administration, and account management solutions to Web-enable Austins agency distribution channel.
Farmers Insurance Group has added the E-911 call management system from RedSky Tech-nologies for its call center.
Manulife Financial has selected FASAT (Field Administration Support and Tracking system) from DSPA Software to provide distribution management services to its sales force.
Harmony Health Plan, a managed care organization in Indiana and Illinois, has reached a multiyear communications service agreement with Sprint to provide a range of voice communications services.
CNA has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter from Guidewire Software to be the technology cornerstone of the insurers enterprisewide initiative to enhance its claims operations. Hastings Mutual Insurance Company also has implemented Guidewire ClaimCenter as its new enterprise claims system.
CNA Marine Operations, a division of CNA, has purchased a Web-based application from Insurance Systems Inc. that will allow the insurer to provide online policy processing from quoting to binding.
Zurich North America has reached an agreement with ConfirmNet Corp. to allow Zurichs agents access to ConfirmNets CertificatesNow and TrackCertsNow solutions to help manage certificates of insurance.
Great American Insurance Group has implemented systems from Corporate Systems, Inc., to help manage call center activity and electronic state reporting using the software companys CS TeleClaim and EDI Reporting solutions.
Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance has gone into production with the PowerComp insurance suite from Taliant Software. PowerComp is a fully integrated, component-based policy, claims, and management application.
MONY Life Insurance Company has signed a contract with SunGard Insurance Systems to deploy SunGards VIP enterprisewide illustration system for MONYs annuity channel. MONY also has completed implementation of AdminServers annuity administration solution that will utilize an XML interface.
Kaiser Permanente has entered into an arrangement with BenefitPoint, Inc., to use the Web-based platform for client management and procurement.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska has selected Zix Corporation, a provider of e-messaging management and protection services, to help the insurer meet HIPAA requirements for secure e-messaging.
The Hartford Financial Services Group has introduced a bridge to enable users of Fiserv FSCs WinFSC Comparative Rater to integrate their data directly to The Hartfords quote-to-issue Internet rating product.
MetLife has extended its business process outsourcing contract with ACS, a provider of BPO and IT outsourcing solutions, for three more years. The two sides completed a five-year contract this year. The BPO supports MetLifes dental claims processing.
Michigan Millers Mutual Insurance Company has selected Metaserver and its business process integration software to help the insurer deliver straight-through processing for all lines of business.
Mississippi Insurance Managers has licensed FormsPlus XP from QualCorp., Inc., to automate its surety bond program.
Clarendon Insurance Group, a Hanover Re company, has selected CSC to provide back-office business process outsourcing services for the insurers nonstandard automobile insurance business in New York. PEMCO Mutual Insurance Co. has licensed Exceed from CSC. Exceed is a global insurance system designed to extend and enhance the life of PEMCOs legacy systems.
Eastern Alliance Insurance Group has signed an agreement with AGO Insurance Software, Inc., to use AGOs Gateway Version of the workers comp system for policies written by the insurer in Pennsylvania.
Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company has a new end-to-end quote and policy production solution developed jointly by AscendantOne, Document Sciences Corporation, and Optical Image Technology, Inc.
Primerica, a subsidiary of Citigroup, has launched its term life insurance products in Europe on the SOLCORP/INGENIUM platform from SOLCORP. This will allow Primerica to benefit from the efficiencies and common maintenance of a global base platform. Max New York Life also has licensed the SOLCORP/INGENIUM administration system.
Premera Blue Cross has selected Client Letter from Top Down Systems Corporation to generate correspondence for its health insurance customers as part of Premera Dimensions, a suite of healthcare products.
Royal & SunAlliance agents using the Applied Systems agency management software can access real-time claims and billing information through Transformation Station from IVANS.
American Hardware Mutual Insurance Co. has renewed its contract with Insurity Inc., a ChoicePoint company, to continue using the Commercial Intellisys policy management system.
Westfield Group has offered its independent agencies a subsidized subscription to MarshBerry.com to help agents improve sales, boost employee performance, and compare their agencys performance with that of similar agencies.
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