FRONTOFFICE
The latest on customer-facing issues that drive revenue
accounts, too. “With small commer-
cial, we will bring in data from third
parties such as Dun & Bradstreet,
motor vehicle reports for all drivers
on the insured company’s payroll
and personal driving records of
those drivers,” Jenkins says.
Nonetheless, just as the industry
has been slow to adopt some other
technologies such as download tools,
property/casualty carriers have been
slow to embrace straight-through
technology for commercial lines. “In
midsize commercial, there’s very little
STP happening, and it may never be
there,” says Deb Smallwood, founder
of Strategy Meets Action, strategic ad-
visory firm in Boston. “It may be that
the underwriter will always have to
touch it.”
The reasons for this are obvious.
For one thing, mid-tier commercial
policies typically have premiums in
the $100,000 range, cover multi-lo-
cation risks and are more complicated
overall, making them difficult to au-
tomate from a rules standpoint.
One company that has made in-
roads in this area is EMC Insurance
Cos., based in Des Moines, Iowa.
“EMC has already entered the com-
mercial lines STP arena,” says Rick
Gass, SVP for productivity and tech-
nology at EMC. “Today, EMC agents
come directly to our agency portal,
which allows STP—from quote to
binding and application. We’ve also
recently begun real-time rating, start-
ing with business owners, and addi-
tional lines of business will be made
available to our agents as they are de-
veloped.”
Actually, even personal lines’ home-
owners have yet to fully adopt STP. As a
test, Smallwood says her firm requested
a quote from 10 P&C carriers that offer
homeowners coverage. “Only one was
able to provide an automatic quote,”
she says. “The rest said they’d get back
to us in 24 hours.”
FRONT OFFICE SOLUTIONS
designed to improve workflow and receivables management, while also helping reduce
the cost of collecting outstanding debt. Collect Point is designed for any company, including insurers, performing collections.
Collect Point is customizable for specific
business needs by implementing any or all
of its three component modules, or by integrating other existing LexisNexis Solutions:
• Web Agent— A virtual payment portal
featuring a customizable avatar that can be
personalized based on business specifications.
The avatar acts as a “web agent” and can assist
customers to accept payments, resolve disputes and collect information. Web Agent is
available to customers now
• Web Collections Manager—
Technology designed to help organizations improve
collection workflow through online receivables management and collection tools to
process payments and improve client relations. Web Collections Manager will be
available to customers in the second quarter of 2011
• Vendor Management—A file delivery
and tracking capabilities platform designed
to enable customers to send and receive
data files with their outside partners/suppli-ers. It features a robust set of tools for assigning new business, recalling accounts receivable and sending/receiving updated
information. Vendor Management will be
available in the second half of 2011
app can be downloaded directly from the
App Store, and used to manage and update
repair plans in real-time as the vehicle moves
through the shop, delivering the functionality
usually reserved for traditional desktop applications and digital cameras, says CCC Information Services.
CCC ONE Mobile enables users to spend
less time in front of the computer and more
time on the shop floor, according to the
company.
ProsPX releases
InsIderConneCt
ProspX Inc., a developer of an enterprise
search and sales collaboration solution for
the commercial insurance industry, has
launched InsiderConnect, designed to easily connect brokers and carriers to people,
information and expertise in real time.
InsiderConnect is described as the first
electronic marketing solution that delivers
targeted insurance industry and line-of-busi-ness specific news and updates to producers
who are actively working on related new and
renewal business opportunities. The patent-pending technology maintains the privacy
and confidentiality of the producer’s pipeline
at all times and without the need to maintain
profiles of any kind, says ProspX.
The platform aggregates and delivers
opportunity-specific content via a custom-generated newsletter to each producer’s e-mail inbox, which can be shared with prospects and clients, according to ProspX.
InsiderConnect was designed to allow
partners to target their updates to the producers working on specific deals, eliminating
spam and increasing the likelihood that their
information will be presented to clients and
prospects.
leXIsneXIs launChes reCeIvables management Platform
LexisNexis announced the availability of LexisNexis Collect Point, a comprehensive hosted
receivables management platform for facilitating the collections workflow. The solution is
CCC one mobIle aPP
avaIlable for IPhone, IPod
CCC ONE Mobile, a new app
from CCC Information Services
Inc., is available
for the iPhone
or iPod Touch.
The app is de-
signed to allow users of CCC ONE Repair
Workflow to manage production and repair
orders directly from their devices. The mobile
health Plan one launChes
medICare QuotIng tool
Health Plan One, an online insurance brokerage, launched Medicare Quick Quotes
Tool. This Web-based tool is designed to
help insurance agents compare Medicare
Supplement or Medicare Advantage plans
more efficiently and effectively than in the
past.
According to Health Plan One, the Medicare Quick Quotes Tool offers agents:
• Quick and easy access to prices and
details on Medicare supplement or Medicare
Advantage plans across the country from all
the major health insurance carriers, including
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, Mutual of Omaha, Gerber and others
• Greater levels of functionality and
customer service support without the need
for significant investment in resources and
technology
• The ability to create spreadsheets,
download health plan brochures and e-mail
plan options to clients
• More time for working with clients
one-on-one to finalize the decision and en-
rollment process
Many independent agency and insur-
ance offices can benefit by having the tech-
nology to quickly research, quote and pro-
vide clients with critical decision-making
information, Health Plan One says. With the
Medicare Quoting tool, brokers look up
plan information and pricing and send it in-
stantly to their client via e-mail.
