January 25th, 2010
Nexidia, the market-leading provider of audio search and speech analytics solutions, today announced a software license agreement with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to install Nexidia’s award-winning speech analytics solutions across the organization’s customer service center operations.
With Nexidia Enterprise Speech Intelligence (ESI) 7.0—the company’s next-generation version of its flagship speech analytics solution—BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee expects an enhanced member service experience, as well as a rapid return-on-investment.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee utilized Nexidia’s QuickStart program to evaluate the ESI application without ever having to install any software. The process started with a Proof of Concept, a two-week engagement using BlueCross’s own audio to explore and prove-out the most likely opportunities for cost savings.
The Proof of Concept was followed by a three-month OnDemand QuickStart engagement in which Nexidia hosted a daily stream of BlueCross recordings in its secure data center. Nexidia professional services team worked with BlueCross to implement call driver and average handle time analysis in the following areas: reprocessed claims, plan to plan unit calls, medical records calls, duplicate claims calls, and several other areas. During the three month term of the QuickStart, BlueCross identified specific process improvements that promise significant annual cost savings.
“We worked with Nexidia speech analytics to evaluate our call center efficiency and equipment and the impact on both our customer satisfaction and our bottom line,” said Henry Smith, senior vice president and chief-of-staff of the commercial operations unit at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. “The QuickStart process was a helpful tool to help us understand the product and the advantages Nexidia provides. The bottom line is better service for our customers, and lower operating costs for us.”
Serving Tennessee for more than 60 years, independent and not-for-profit BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee today serves nearly 3 million people across the state with affordable health plan coverage and insurance products. Headquartered in Chattanooga, it is the state’s largest health benefit plan company, paying 65 million claims and more than $17 billion in benefits annually. Under the agreement with Nexidia, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will help establish a “Center of Excellence” to help educate health insurance and related industries on the benefits of speech analytics solutions.
“Going through our full QuickStart program, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee was able to quickly see first-hand the value speech analytics can bring their business,” commented John Willcutts, president and CEO of Nexidia Inc. “We’re excited to work with them on the Center of Excellence so other Blue plans can recognize the role speech analytics plays in increasing the effectiveness of their customer service centers.”
Nexidia is the audio and video search company with patented technologies and breakthrough applications that enable customers to quickly gain new insight, build competitive advantage and realize the amazing possibilities now discoverable in audio and video content from call centers, media outlets, government intelligence and legal discovery.
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January 25th, 2010
Bloodhound Technologies defines real-time editing and transparency for the healthcare industry with the announcement of the ConVergence Point claims editing platform. ConVergence Point contains costs, increases auto-adjudication rates and improves payer-provider relations all in sub-second response time.
The result of a $14 million investment, ConVergence Point can process a claim or multiple claims simultaneously against full patient history, complete payer policy customizations, and Bloodhound’s 16 million sourced clinical edits all in 350 milliseconds. Further, ConVergence Point is the first and only next-generation platform to offer pre-adjudication editing that provides healthcare payers significant operational efficiencies in addition to identifying overpayments.
“Senior Whole Health wanted a scalable, adaptable, efficient and real-time claims editing system that could be placed anywhere in the adjudication process, and that’s what we got with Bloodhound Technologies’ ConVergence Point,” said Mike Levoshko, CTO, Senior Whole Health, a voluntary healthcare plan for low-income seniors in Massachusetts and New York State. “From the get-go, Bloodhound Technologies was able take our data and immediately respond with a comprehensive analysis. We also liked the price point, savings and ease of implementation out of the box. What’s more, ConVergence Point is a three-dimensional system that lets you turn its edit rules on and off at any point. The fact that ConVergence Point can control and archive these rules dynamically is worth its weight in gold.”
Open source rules, a full audit trail visible to payers and providers and the ability for providers to correct miscoded claims, sets the standard for provider relations and transparency. Bloodhound believes that this level of visibility will build trust between payers and providers.
In addition to real-time processing and full transparency, ConVergence Point offers significant advantages, including:
* Integration with any claims adjudication system, clearinghouse or claims gateway;
* An expandable infrastructure with the ability to scale rapidly to meet payer needs through a SaaS delivery model;
* 80 terabyte data warehouse that provides claims analytics and data mining for unmatched insight into operations;
* Open, fully-sourced edits from accredited industry sources such as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA);
* Full suite of reporting tools for payer staff and providers to precisely track ROI;
* Complete customization of edits to exactly match a payer’s reimbursement policies that is intentionally designed to dramatically increase auto-adjudication rates and eliminate the need for pending claims;
* Fraud protection and abuse detection with trend analysis and variance reporting capabilities based on historical data in the ConVergence Point data warehouse;
* The only editing platform to be fully ICD-10 enabled.
“Real-time adjudication processes are important to support the emerging consumerism market, providing clear payment liability information to both providers and consumers,” said Janice Young, program manager, Health Industry Insights’ Healthcare Payer research. “Solutions that improve the consistency, transparency and timeliness of claims processing deliver a new level of accuracy that will lead to improved relationships among payers, providers and consumers.”
“Bloodhound Technologies ConVergence Point can process a claim or multiple claims simultaneously against full patient history, complete payer policy customization and our 16 million clinical edits all in 350 milliseconds,” said Gary Twigg, CEO and president of Bloodhound Technologies, Inc. “We designed and built ConVergence Point to align with the larger trends in the market and to constantly evolve with a unique architecture that allows for infinite expansion of the processing capacity.”
Bloodhound Technologies is the only claims editing service and analytics provider to offer a fully transparent, customizable, real-time service for all participants in the claims revenue cycle. ConVergence Point, its next generation, hosted claims editing service, can process a claim against 16 million edits across total patient history in sub-second response time. All ConVergence Point edits are open-sourced and based on national standards and can be filtered to exactly match a payer’s reimbursement policies. Further, ConVergence Point provides a Web portal for providers to see edits and correct claims before submission. This remarkable service can integrate with any claims adjudication system, clearinghouse or claims gateway.
Based in Research Triangle Park, NC, Bloodhound Technologies is a venture-backed company with investments from Noro-Moseley Partners and The Wakefield Group.
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January 25th, 2010
FlexTrade Systems, Inc., a leader in multi-asset algorithmic execution management systems,announced that Millburn Ridgefield Corporation has deployed FlexFUTURES, its state-of-the-art futures trading solution.
“We’re very pleased that Millburn Ridgefield has chosen FlexFutures as its algorithmic execution platform,” said Vijay Kedia, president and CEO of FlexTrade. “As today’s listed-derivatives markets become more automated, it’s critical for asset management firms such as Millburn to have access to innovative execution tools to reduce market impact and minimize slippage. With FlexFutures, Millburn can execute through multiple brokers from a single front-end, using an array of sophisticated, customizable algorithms.”
Built to seamlessly integrate with order management systems, black boxes, and other proprietary or third-party systems, FlexFutures comes fully integrated with real-time allocations, compliance and broker restrictions, and is pre-loaded with a suite of rules-based trading execution strategies, including enhanced Icebergs and Time Slicing, which can also be used to execute exchange-listed calendar spreads.
“While there were many off-the-shelf front-ends available for trading futures, we found that FlexTrade’s execution management software was able to provide the deep level of sophistication and customization we required,” said John Mattia, Vice President of Trading. “FlexTrade is now fully integrated into our trade-execution process. FlexTrade has been able to scale to all the exchanges and products that we trade quite well, and its flexibility has allowed us to quickly adapt to changing market conditions.”
Key features of FlexFUTURES include:
* Ability to create and integrate customized execution algorithms and trading strategies while maintaining complete market anonymity and confidentiality.
* Trade through multiple brokers from a single front-end.
* Single-click or auto trading for spreads and other multi-legged trades.
* Highly customizable GUI that allows traders to view the markets in a wide variety of ways.
* Electronic trade blotter for managing voice-brokered transactions.
* Ability to manage allocations and broker restrictions in real-time.
* Open architecture that provides APIs in C, C++, Java, .NET and COM for black box trading and full integration with in-house order- and risk-management systems.
* Full integration with the FlexTRADER, FlexFX and FlexOPT trading solutions providing for multi- and cross-asset class algorithmic trading in futures, equities, foreign exchange and equity options from a single screen.
Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, Millburn Ridgefield Corporation is an asset management firm specializing in quantitatively-driven specialized portfolios of futures and forward contracts and fund-of-hedge fund portfolios. For more information, visit www.millburncorp.com.
Founded in 1996, FlexTrade Systems Inc. is the industry pioneer and global leader in broker-neutral algorithmic trading platforms and execution systems for equities, foreign exchange and listed derivatives. FlexTRADER, our flagship platform for algorithmic trading, is widely viewed as unique in the industry for its high performance and multi-asset capability. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, FlexTrade has a worldwide client base spanning more than 120 buy- and sell-side firms, including many of the largest investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, commodity trading advisors and institutional brokers. Clients include Bank of America, Bank of New York, Barclays Global Investors, Jefferies & Company, Inc., Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC, UBS Global Asset Management and Wachovia.
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January 25th, 2010
(TSX:KFS, NYSE:KFS) Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (”Kingsway” or “Company”) announced that it expects to report a material fourth quarter loss due to underwriting losses at its subsidiary Lincoln General Insurance Company (”Lincoln”), impairments to goodwill, further valuation allowance of future tax assets and net realized losses on investments. All amounts contained within this press release are in U.S. dollars.
The Company announced it will undertake a strategy that includes:
– reducing the volatility of the balance sheet to protect the Company’s
capital through the divestiture of the common share equity portfolio;
– shrinking premium by approximately $350 million to achieve an
acceptable level of capital, which will include exiting non-core
and/or unprofitable lines of business at Lincoln and Southern United
Fire Insurance Company (”Southern United”);
– selling non-core assets and running off of certain business with the
objective to free up approximately $200 million in capital; and
– continuing corporate restructuring plan to focus on core lines of
business and reduce expenses in excess of $80 million.
In addition, Mr. Robert Gillespie has also resigned from the Board of Directors for personal reasons.
Underwriting loss at Lincoln
Throughout 2008, terminating unprofitable programs and exiting non-core lines of business was a priority at Lincoln, and as a result of this and other factors, written premiums were reduced by approximately $347 million or 43%. The Company announced that it expects to report an underwriting loss of approximately $80 million at Lincoln in the fourth quarter of 2008. Included in this underwriting loss are increases in Lincoln’s provisions for estimated unpaid claim reserves to maintain the gross provision for unpaid claims (net of salvage and subrogation) at or above the point estimate as recommended by the independent appointed external actuary. The largest increase is attributable to Lincoln’s terminated artisan contractors’ general liability book of business which accounted for approximately $42 million of Lincoln’s estimated unfavourable reserve development for prior accident years. A portion of that increase related to costs incurred to bring the claims in-house during the fourth quarter of 2008. Lincoln’s provision for estimated unfavourable reserve development for the fourth quarter is approximately $70 million.
Goodwill impairment and future tax asset valuation allowance
As a result of this underwriting loss and other factors, the Company has made an initial assessment that the goodwill asset will be impaired as well as that a further valuation allowance will be recorded against the future tax asset. The Company estimates that these non-cash related charges will be in a range of $184 million to $204 million.
Net realized investment losses
Net realized losses from the securities portfolio, including write-downs of fixed income and equity investments that are considered to be other than temporarily impaired will result in a net realized loss of approximately $114 million in the quarter. This includes a write-down of all of the unrealized losses on the common share equity portfolio as of December 31, 2008 as a result of the Company’s intent to divest of this portfolio.
Net loss for the quarter
It is expected that the impact of the aforementioned items will increase the net loss for the quarter to approximately $324 million to $344 million or approximately $5.88 to $6.24 loss per share. The book value of the Company is expected to be approximately $8.37 to $8.74 (C$10.19 to C$10.65) per share as at December 31, 2008.
Corporate restructuring plan
Kingsway will de-risk its business portfolio and focus investment by exiting non-core and unprofitable lines of business at its Lincoln and Southern United subsidiaries, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals. The Company is looking at strategic alternatives in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department relative to the future of Lincoln. Our objective will be to maximize the value of business controlled by wholly owned subsidiaries Avalon Risk Management Inc. and its assigned risk business through RPC Insurance Agency LLC, and a select amount of profitable specialty transportation and surety business distributed by key partners. We anticipate these changes will reduce written premium by approximately $350 million in 2009.
The Company has also commenced the execution of a transformation program that will concentrate the organization in its core and profitable lines of business and is targeted to improve the group’s financial stability in the current economic climate.
The Company will consolidate operations in both the U.S. and Canada, simplifying the management structure, reducing costs through synergies and operational efficiencies, and positioning Kingsway to seize competitive advantage. Management anticipates that the plan will deliver estimated annual savings in excess of $80 million by the end of 2010, and significantly reduce its future cost base.
As the Company exits businesses, streamlines operations, and adjusts the cost of doing business to reflect current revenue levels, there will be an impact on employees. Management currently estimates that as a result, approximately 750 additional positions will be eliminated over the next 18-24 months. The Company will continue to monitor staff requirements as the business context and volume change, and adjust accordingly.
Colin Simpson was recently appointed to the newly created role of Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, with accountability for leading the transformation. Reporting to Shaun Jackson, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Simpson has a two-fold mandate: drive execution of the change agenda to build the platform for long-term profitable growth, while ensuring the business continues to focus on achieving short-term objectives in a difficult market.
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January 25th, 2010
One of the greatest fears a parent has when teens get their drivers license is reckless and dangerous driving. Now, with the XACT | TRAX portable, personal tracking device from Xact Technology(TM), parents can rest assured that their children are driving safely.
Xact Technology’s proprietary web-based portal provides a user-friendly dashboard for the management of GPS tracking features and preferences. Parents can use the portal to set a speed limit or a “geo-fence” to alert them when their teen driver either goes beyond a pre-set speed limit or drives outside of the pre-determined area. XACT | TRAX also stores the destination information which can be easily viewed on the web-based portal. XACT | TRAX sends speed and location results to a phone, blackberry or via email to alert parents (or other contacts if desired). The device also meets the standards of most auto insurers that provide discounts for the use of GPS enabled devices.
“XACT | TRAX is a unique product that gives both piece of mind for parents with teen drivers and has a significant impact on the cost of auto insurance. Couple this with the low-cost of the unit and the no-subscription service, and this is a very valuable and beneficial product for any parent with teenagers who drive,” said William Acevedo, vice president of product development, Xact Technology. “Through the XACT | TRAX device, parents can monitor their teen drivers in real-time, enabling them to know if they are driving safely or recklessly.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in the U.S., one in four crash fatalities involve someone 16 to 24 years old, nearly twice as high as other age groups. The NHTSA also notes that teenagers tend to take more risks while driving, such as speeding, due to overconfidence in their driving abilities.
Mr. Acevedo continued, “For too long we have been watching the statistics of teen car accidents grow larger and larger without giving parents the technology and products needed to take a more proactive role in their children’s lives when they are behind the wheel. With XACT | TRAX, parents can finally apply GPS technology in an easily and affordable manner to ensure their safety.
Xact is currently working with insurance providers to increase awareness of safety products which increase teenage driver safety.
21 states currently allow for auto insurance companies to provide a discounted rate if a driver installs and uses a GPS tracking device. The following is a small list of states and insurers that provide discounts off comprehensive car insurance for the use of a GPS vehicle tracking device with an alarm system. Discounts will vary from state to state and from company to company.
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January 25th, 2010
The Phoenix Companies, Inc.announced that it has rescheduled its fourth quarter 2008 earnings news release date to February 27, 2009. The news release will be issued before the market opens, and the company will hold a conference call with the investment community at 10 a.m., Eastern time. The release and conference call were previously scheduled for February 10, 2009.
The date was changed to finalize the accounting analysis and documentation related to the company’s investment portfolio in light of unprecedented market conditions, and to enable the company to complete final accounting for the spin-off of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc.
The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.phoenixwm.com in the Investor Relations section. The call can also be accessed by telephone at 973-935-8512 (conference ID #81097108). A replay of the call will be available through March 13, 2009 by telephone at 706-645-9291 (pin code #81097108) and on Phoenix’s Web site, www.phoenixwm.com in the Investor Relations section.
With a history dating to 1851, The Phoenix Companies, Inc. helps its customers find straightforward solutions to often highly complex personal financial and business planning needs through life insurance and annuities. Phoenix’s products are available through a wide variety of third-party financial professionals and intermediaries, supported by the company’s wholesalers and financial planning specialists.
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January 25th, 2010
Rob Routs will take over as Chairman of AEGON’s Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in April 2010.
Mr. Routs, 62, a former Executive Director with Royal Dutch Shell PLC., will succeed Dudley Eustace, who will retire in 2010 as chairman of AEGON’s Supervisory Board. Mr. Eustace, who joined AEGON’s Supervisory Board in 1997 and whose current term ends this year, will be nominated for an additional one-year term at this year’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 22, 2009. As announced at last year’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Mr. Eustace has been asked by the Supervisory Board to stay on as Chairman for an additional year, in light of the number of new members to the Supervisory Board and in order to ensure continuity.
“I am very pleased that Rob has agreed to succeed me as chairman of AEGON’s Supervisory Board,” Mr. Eustace said. “His broad experience in a variety of management positions with an international company will be of tremendous benefit to AEGON and its stakeholders in the years ahead. I am certain he will make a very successful chairman.”
Mr. Routs has been a member of AEGON’s Supervisory Board since 2008. His current term expires in 2012.
Biography
Name: Rob J. Routs
Age: 62
Nationality: Dutch
Educated at the Technological University at Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Rob Routs began his career at Royal Dutch Shell in 1971 as a researcher and engineer. Over the next 30 years, he held a series of management jobs at the company in the Netherlands, the United States and Canada. Until recently, he was Royal Dutch Shell’s Executive Director for the Downstream. Mr. Routs was appointed to AEGON’s Supervisory Board in 2008. He also sits on the Board of Directors of Canadian Utilities and of the business school INSEAD and he is a member of The Economic Development Board of Singapore International Advisory Council.
As an international life insurance, pension and investment company based in The Hague, AEGON has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON companies employ nearly 32,000 people and have over 40 million customers across the globe.
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January 25th, 2010
Lockton, the world’s largest independent insurance broker, has named Michael D. Paulsen as Vice President in the firm’s Chicago office.
Paulsen, 38, of Chicago, is responsible for new business development and client advocacy for property/casualty and employee benefits clients. He has extensive experience counseling a wide array of middle market firms in transportation, manufacturing, senior housing and professional services. He has also worked extensively with distressed companies and mergers & acquisitions.
“Clients value Mike Paulsen’s aggressive client advocacy,” said Tom Pluss, President of Lockton’s Chicago operations. “He goes well beyond a superficial examination of client business issues to help clients reduce their total cost of risk.”
Paulsen previously served for more than six years as a producer and client advocate in Chicago at Willis HRH and its predecessor, Thilman Filippini. Paulsen has been in the insurance industry for 15 years and has experience in workers compensation risk management, employee benefits risk management, loss control and claims. Mike is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Occupational Safety & Health.
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January 25th, 2010
There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of current economic conditions on the voluntary business. Some in the industry are expecting a push for more voluntary as employers look for ways to provide benefits in times of shrinking budgets. Others believe the market may decrease or, at a minimum, that any growth will be slowed. Due to the current crisis, Eastbridge Consulting Group added a question to its most recent Voluntary Insurance Confidence Index survey that asks specifically about how those in the industry believe the economy will impact voluntary sales.
“Overall, those in the market expect some negative impact,” say Gil Lowerre, Eastbridge president. “But most expect the impact to be minor as opposed to major,” adds Lowerre. Sixty-two (62) percent of respondents said they expect a negative impact but only three percent said it is likely to “a major negative impact.”
“There are two areas we’ll be watching closely over the next six months—employment numbers and broker attitudes,” adds Bonnie Brazzell, vice president at Eastbridge. Employee count is key in voluntary, and reduced hiring or increased layoffs do pose risks. Additionally, producers’ attitudes are important. “If brokers get discouraged, then sales may start slowing,” says Lowerre. But, in this survey, brokers were still cautiously optimistic—about the same as carriers.
The Voluntary Industry Confidence Index study is conducted semi-annually and includes responses from individuals active in the market—carriers, brokers, and vendors. Like other confidence indices, the index is a single number that compares the current results to a baseline measure. The first Confidence Index survey was completed in December of 2005; the results from that survey serve as our “base” year (meaning the index was at 100 for that year).
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January 25th, 2010
Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance (MEM), Missouri’s largest workers’ compensation insurer, and Guidewire Software®, a leading global provider of solutions to property/casualty insurers, today announced that MEM has fully deployed Guidewire ClaimCenter® as its new claims management system. ClaimCenter is now in use by MEM’s 95-person claims handling team and has fully replaced the company’s internally built and maintained legacy claims system.
MEM recognized that a modern claims system would help the company more consistently achieve its claims management objectives and provide enhanced levels of customer service. Guidewire ClaimCenter was selected largely because of the system’s comprehensive out-of-the-box functionality and the strength of its technical architecture, which will provide MEM with a solid, flexible technology foundation to help meet current and future business needs. MEM selected HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCL), India’s leading global IT services company, and an onshore/offshore implementation model for additional cost effectiveness. MEM’s dedicated project team managed the implementation, with HCL assisting in all aspects of the project including: configuration, integration, data conversion and claims reporting, and with Guidewire providing a project training and support role.
“This mission-critical ClaimCenter project was a very successful one for our company. We needed the project to come in on-time, on-budget, and to our specifications,” said Timothy Jackman, MEM’s vice president of Claims, Customer Service and Compliance. “We were able to meet all of our project objectives by choosing the right methodologies, tools and partners in HCL and Guidewire. With ClaimCenter we expect to better manage claims – from decreasing medical and indemnity expense to ensuring claims handling and service consistencies.”
“I am very pleased with the results of this program from a number of perspectives,” said Michael Foerst, MEM’s chief information officer. “HCL did a great job managing their resources, so MEM received all the upsides of a global staff without many of the management downsides. Guidewire introduced us to the Agile development methodology which gave us visibility into our project each step of the way. Our results from this effort were so positive we are using similar Agile methods on two other projects.” Foerst concludes, “I have seen many vendors claim that their technical architectures were configurable and extensible, but few have lived up to our expectations as ClaimCenter did on this initiative.”
“ClaimCenter has been well received by our staff,” Jackman added. “Our users particularly like ClaimCenter’s automatic assignment of claims, workplans that help them know what is ‘on-task’ for a given day, and the overall user-friendliness of the system. They also really like the ability to work in multiple claims simultaneously that ClaimCenter provides.”
“We congratulate MEM on a successful ClaimCenter project,” said John Raguin, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. “This success has enabled MEM to transform the way they are able to handle claims and serve their customers going forward.”
Guidewire ClaimCenter is a leading end-to-end claims system for property/casualty insurance. ClaimCenter’s flexible business rules enable claims organizations to optimize and monitor the claim process. Claims executives can define, enforce, and continually refine their preferred claim handling practices. In addition, a modern technology architecture, providing 100% web client, and web services interface enable lower total cost of ownership in any environment.
About Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance
Missouri Employers Mutual (MEM) is the No. 1 workers compensation insurance company in Missouri. Headquartered in Columbia, MEM is a mutual insurance company benefiting its policyholders—the employers of Missouri. With offices located in Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis, MEM is dedicated to providing policyholders with exceptional customer service, quality loss prevention expertise and timely, personal claims management. MEM’s mission is to provide innovative, cost-effective solutions employers need to create safe, healthy and injury-free workplaces, and is committed to building long-term, sustainable growth to maximize policyholder value. For more information please visit http://www.mem-ins.com.
Guidewire Software is a leading global provider of technology solutions to property and casualty and workers’ compensation insurers. Guidewire delivers proven software to run core insurance operations, including billing, underwriting, policy, and claim management. The Guidewire Insurance Suite™ consists of Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter®, and Guidewire BillingCenter®, which provide a modern, web-based platform for all lines of business. Guidewire is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in London, Munich, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com.
HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company, working with clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses. Since its inception into the global landscape after its IPO in 1999, HCL focuses on ‘transformational outsourcing’, underlined by innovation and value creation, and offers integrated portfolio of services including software-led IT solutions, remote infrastructure management, engineering and R&D services and BPO. HCL leverages its extensive global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 19 countries to provide holistic, multi-service delivery in key industry verticals including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense, Telecom, Retail & CPG, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Travel, Transportation & Logistics, Automotive, Government and Energies & Utilities. HCL takes pride in its philosophy of ‘Employee First’ which empowers our 52,957 transformers to create a real value for the customers. HCL Technologies, along with its subsidiaries, had consolidated revenues of US$ 2.0 billion (Rs. 8974 crores), as on 31st December 2008. For more information, please visit www.hcltech.com
NOTE: Guidewire, Guidewire Software, Guidewire ClaimCenter, Guidewire PolicyCenter, Guidewire BillingCenter, Guidewire Insurance Suite, and the Guidewire logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Guidewire Software, Inc.
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January 25th, 2010
A recent survey of New Jersey auto repair shops conducted by USA/DIRECT Inc., an independent research firm, showed there are significant differences in repair quality, speed of repairs, and customer experience when it comes to how well auto insurance companies provide claim services to policyholders.
In a blind survey, Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation (”Palisades”) was ranked far superior to many of the leading companies, including Progressive, GEICO and State Farm. The survey asked body shops to rate auto insurance companies on how well their practices and policies supported quality of repairs, speed of repairs, and the overall customer experience.
“We founded Palisades over 16 years ago as a new kind of auto insurance company–one that would redefine exceptional customer service,” said CEO and President, Ed Fernandez. “We were the first in the industry with our Crashbusters® mobile claims settlement vans and later Door to Door Valet Claim ServiceSM and guaranteed shop repairs to provide customers with the very best in innovative services,” said Fernandez.
The survey results showed that Palisades scored one and one-half times (1-1/2) higher than State Farm, nearly six (6) times higher than GEICO, and nearly nine (9) times higher than Progressive on quality of repairs.
For speed of repairs, Palisades was almost one and one-half (1-1/2) times higher than State Farm, over three (3) times higher than GEICO, and over four (4) times higher than Progressive.
When the body shops were asked how a company’s policies and practices contributed to a positive overall customer experience, Palisades scored over one and one-half (1-1/2) times higher than State Farm, over three (3) times higher than GEICO, and over five (5) times higher than Progressive.
“Ours is an industry that’s driven by rates… but customers shouldn’t have to give up great service for low rates,” said Fernandez. “When your car has been damaged because of an accident, all you want is an insurance company to repair the damage quickly without hassles and to do it right–that’s what we’ve been doing for over 16 years,” he continued.
The surveys were conducted via telephone and email between December of 2008 and January of 2009. Out of 1,700 licensed body shops in NJ, 170 were selected for this survey based on having sufficient experience with Palisades to render an opinion. Of the 170, 50 completed the surveys. Companies were evaluated on each question using a 10 point scale with 10 being excellent and 1 being poor.
Palisades is the nice New Jersey car insurance company that gives you more. Drivers and agents get more reasons to smile with more value, friendly New Jersey expertise, and service done right. Palisades sells exclusively through over 300 independent agents and is a leader in the fast settlement of claims. Insurance is underwritten by Palisades Safety and Insurance Association, Palisades Insurance Company and Palisades Property and Casualty Insurance Company. Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation is a Plymouth Rock managed company. The Plymouth Rock Companies write and manage more than $1 billion in personal and commercial auto and homeowner’s insurance across the Northeast.
USA/DIRECT is a New Jersey based research firm in operation for nearly two decades. Their experience is based on decades of hands-on, client-side Fortune 500 market research and marketing background. USA/DIRECT offers a complete range of studies for new product development and established brand repositioning including market studies to determine new areas of opportunity, branding, concept and product testing, test market research, national category tracking, customer satisfaction benchmarking and tracking, corporate image and issues of public importance. USA/DIRECT has been awarded the Marketing Research Association’s highest PRC “Expert” Rating.
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January 25th, 2010
InsureMe and Farmers Group, Inc. announced that the InsureMe lead service is now integrated with Farmers’ FastQuote system.
Farmers agents receiving InsureMe leads now have the opportunity for lead data to be automatically imported into Farmers FastQuote, a web-based quoting tool that allows agents to provide auto, home and term life insurance quotes with greater speed and efficiency.
Denver-based InsureMe is one of the largest online sources for free insurance quotes. Consumers fill out one application online and then are instantly matched with insurance agents representing major carriers, such as Farmers, who provide them with insurance quotes and coverage. Along with the integration into Farmer’s FastQuote system, InsureMe provides tools for the agents to better track and sell to their leads.
“In today’s internet-based shopping environment, consumers must be addressed and contacted quickly,” said Todd Chapple, InsureMe’s chief revenue officer. “The automatic integration of our leads with Farmer’s quoting system allows the agent to serve the customer swiftly and completely.”
InsureMe helps people nationwide find affordable insurance by connecting them with their local insurance professionals. For more information about InsureMe, or to shop for free insurance quotes, visit InsureMe.com. Agents should check out the InsureMe agent site. InsureMe is a Bankrate, Inc. company.
Farmers Group, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Farmers® is the nation’s third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Headquartered in Los Angeles and doing business in 41 states, the insurers comprising the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households.
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