Chubb Provides Electronic Applications for Liability Products

E-COMMERCE

The Chubb Group of Insurance Com-panies is offering electronic applications for its professional and management liability insurance products to agents and brokers on the carriers Web site, www.chubb.com. Editable PDF files can be downloaded and saved on agents or brokers computers, completed, and submitted to Chubb electronically.

We are committed to making it easier for agents, brokers, and customers to do business with Chubb, comments Judy Cook, vice president, Chubb & Son, and e-business manager, Chubb Specialty Insurance. Chubbs new e-applications for professional and management liability insurance products provide a fast and easy way to complete and submit applications. No password or user ID is required. The application can be completed and saved on the customers desktop and shared via e-mail. Once the agent or broker and the customer have completed the application, they simply e-mail it to Chubb.

The e-applications and the recent redesign of the Chubb Web site are the results of feedback from agents, brokers, and customers, according to Kathleen Tierney, senior vice president, Chubb & Son, and director of strategic marketing, Chubb Specialty Insurance. Both are important components of our online services and make it easier for producers and customers to choose Chubb, she says. They also help lay a foundation for future online enhancements.

The electronic applications easily are accessible from the new Forms & Applications page on chubb.com (http:// search.chubb.com/formsearch/). Adobe Reader Version 6.0 or higher is required to edit and save the applications electronically. E-applications are currently available for:

CHUBB PROE&OErrors and omissions liability insurance tailored to individual professions.

D&O EliteProvides directors and officers with their own dedicated limit of liability.

Executive Protection PortfolioA package of insurance coverages for publicly owned companies, including directors and officers (D&O) liability, employment practices liability (EPL), crime, fiduciary liability, kidnap/ransom and extortion, and outside directorship liability.

ForeFront PortfolioEight insurance coverages from which privately owned companies can select, including D&O liability, professional liability, EPL, fiduciary liability, kidnap/ransom and extortion, crime, workplace violence expense, and Internet liability.

The electronic applications can be used for new or renewal business by both retail agents and wholesale brokers and consist of different versions as required by various states.

RATING
Travelers Agents Get Access to Real-Time Tool

Travelers personal lines, a member of St. Paul Travelers, is providing agents with real-time automobile rates through the single-data-entry comparative-rating platform XcelerRator in collaboration with Xcipio, Inc. The rating tool links with ATLAS3, Travelers Internet-based auto-mation system for real-time policy quoting and issuing.

XcelerRator is designed to improve agency workflow by providing a single-entry, multicarrier platform that underwrites, tiers, quotes in real time, prefills ACORD and carrier supplemental forms, and seamlessly uploads applications to carriers.

This is another example of how Travelers is committed to providing agents with as many ways as possible to do business with us, especially if it saves them valuable time. We have been working extensively with third-party rating providers to transition from manufactured to real-time quoting, and XcelerRator is among the first in production with this new capability, says Patrick Gee, senior vice president of operations for personal and small commercial lines at St. Paul Travelers.

With direct access to ATLAS3, Travelers returns quotes to agents in a matter of seconds and links the agent with Travelers proprietary system to issue the policy for a straight-through workflow process.

WEB SITE
John Hancock Launches Resource for Retirement Offerings

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services is offering a new Web site to help business clients in their roles as sponsors of 401(k) plans. The site has been designed for easy navigation and provides customized features to meet the needs of the plan administrator and others who assist in the management of 401(k) plans.
We wanted to introduce something that would make plan administration exponentially easier, says Ralph Vizl, vice president, strategy and research, Retirement Plan Services. Our new Web site is faster, has better customization capabilities, and multilevel sorting and search capabilities. It should make it much easier for plan sponsors to respond to employee requests for information, monitor the effectiveness of their plan, and to support their role as a plan fiduciary.

Some of the sites features include: 24 months of detailed transaction history, including online confirmations of contributions and loan repayments to help administrators track activity and respond to employee inquiries; an account messaging center with notifications and alerts for items such as missed contributions and changes to contract features; and an online administration guide to help plan sponsors quickly become familiar with all the tools and resources at their disposal.

John Hancock has an ongoing commitment to support plan sponsors with information and easy-to-use tools and services so they can administer their employee benefit plan with confidence and with a minimum of time and effort, and we think this Web site does that, states Vizl.

WHOS USING WHAT

Rockford Mutual has selected Horizon Systems & Services All-Points browser-based, policy ad-ministration system for the BOP product line to provide agent quoting and submission of new business. In addition, Germantown Mutual has licensed Horizons Internet-based system for policy administration, direct billing, underwriting decision support, and agency interface.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., now supplies Connecticut-based insurance agents with seamless access from Xcipio Inc.s single-data-entry comparative-rating platform to The Hartford Expressway.

SUA Insurance Company (SUA) is in production with Delphi Technologys OASIS Workers Compensation Management solution following a one-month implementation. The OASIS WC software suite supports SUAs end-to-end policy, financial, and claims management.

Canal Insurance has integrated successfully the claims and document management processes using Guidewire Softwares ClaimCenter and ImageRights document management solution.

A. Central Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Central Mutual Insurance Company, has implemented Insuresofts Web Portal Product. This product allows agent quoting for A. Centrals personal automobile insurance product in the state of New York.

Erie Insurance Group is using a telephone marketing compliance solution from Gryphon Network, a provider of real-time compliance and productivity solutions for the direct-marketing industry.
Assumption Life, a mutual life insurance company, is using Whitehill Technologys xml-Transport for legacy extension, data transformation, and distribution.

Pioneer State Mutual Insurance Company has purchased the ImageRight document management system to manage all claims documents.

Genworth Financial has deployed FileNet Corporations FileNet P8 platform to streamline its operations.

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) announced agreements with four insurance groups for different projects. ING Life Insurance Co. has signed an applications outsourcing contract to deliver development and maintenance services to support 25 of ING Life Japans business system applications. Ohio Mutual Insurance Group has replaced its legacy system with CSCs POINT IN Policy Administration and Advanced Claims components. The PMA Insurance Group and MAG Mutual Insurance Company will use components of CSCs Legal Solutions Suite to manage legal expenditures and improve processes and communication with outside legal counsel.

AXA Distributors, the wholesale distribution division of AXA Financial, has implemented Pyxis Mobiles mWholesaler as the companys wireless software solution.

Highmark Inc. has implemented the Logidex mapping and discovery engine from LogicLibrary to govern and manage its software development processes. An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark is the largest health insurance company in Pennsylvania.
Principal Financial Group has selected Xellerate Identity Manager from Thor Technologies as a component of its enterprise identity management solution.

Lloyds has licensed the RiskLink catastrophe modeling software from Risk Management Solutions, which will be used by Lloyds Loss Modeling team.

John Hancock Life Insurance and CGI Group Inc. have signed a seven-year information technology outsourcing contract valued at $166 million. CGI will be responsible for infrastructure management services, including mainframe and midrange equipment, data storage and recovery, document management, as well as professional services to transform the delivery platforms.

Midwest Insurance Companies has signed a licensing agreement with ISO for workers compensation data-reporting services. ISO will provide Midwest with premium and loss information and unit statistical reports the insurer can file with designated statistical agents and state rating bureaus.

The Phoenix Companies, Inc., has chosen AdminServers policy administration platform to improve product design capabilities, time to market, and operating costs. Phoenix also will be the first AdminServer client to use the platform for both life and annuity products.

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co, Ltd. (U.S. Branch), selected FergTech, Inc., as its partner to produce and distribute insurance and regulatory documents for the insurers corporate name-change project.