Colonial supports more than 50,000 businesses, government organizations and associations in managing their benefits programs - helping to meet their needs and the needs of their employees. This represents over two million policyholders nationwide. You will be expected to:
Applicants must have demonstrated success as a Territory/Regional Sales Manager with Worksite/Supplemental Insurance or Management experience in Group Insurance Sales. Compensation and benefits package includes:
Reply with resume to: delarose@coloniallife.com, Danielle LaRose, Regional Recruiting Manager 888-714-5336
Learn more about Colonial at www.coloniallife.com. Colonial Supplemental Insurance is the marketing brand of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. Colonial is an equal opportunity employer. Daily Quote: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” - - Oscar Wilde (Irish Poet, Novelist, Dramatist and Critic, 1854-1900)
1. WellPoint, HMOs off on Calif. health plan fears CHICAGO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The shares of WellPoint Inc. (WLP.N: ), the biggest U.S. health insurer by membership, slumped nearly 3 percent on Tuesday on worries a proposal by California's governor to boost health insurance coverage could eat into industry margins. The most troublesome aspect of the plan for health insurers, previewed on Monday by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is a proposal to require those companies to spend at least 85 percent of every dollar in premiums on medical care, analysts said. WellPoint, which provides insurance for 34 million Americans, is the most at risk because it currently spends the least on medical care out of the premium dollar in the state. "If approved, (the California plan) would imply reductions in profitability for some, and for all, signal a step toward regulating health insurer profitability," John Rex, an analyst at Bear Stearns, wrote in an investor note, echoing other analyst comments. The Standard & Poor's Managed Health Care index <.GSPHMO> index closed down about 1.8 percent. Schwarzenegger's plan requires health plans to meet at least an 85 percent medical loss ratio -- an industry gauge of how much of the premium dollar is spent on clinical care. Wall Street applauds insurers with the lowest medical loss ratio, because it leaves greater room for profit. WellPoint's average medical loss ratio has recently been less than 80 percent in California, according to analysts. "If implemented, the proposal would appear to create some problems for WellPoint," CIBC Markets analyst Carl McDonald said. Indianapolis-based WellPoint was the first non-profit health plan that is part of the Blue Cross network to go public. Its size has multiplied in recent years through a series of big acquisitions. McDonald also noted that insurers Molina Healthcare Inc. (MOH.N: ) and Health Net Inc. (HNT.N: ), which both run state Medicaid health plans for the poor, could benefit because the plan proposes to expand coverage under Medicaid by more than 1 million people. Both Molina and Health Net are above the 85 percent threshold for medical costs, McDonald said. The proposed plan would require all Californians to have health insurance and to extend coverage to an estimated 6.5 million state residents without insurance. About 47 million people in the United States lack health insurance, with California the state with the largest uninsured population. Under Schwarzenegger's proposal, companies with 10 or more workers would offer health insurance to employees, or pay 4 percent of payroll to the state so it can provide medical coverage. Companies with fewer than 10 employees would be exempt. Analysts stressed the plan is far from definite and first must pass muster with the California legislature and lobbying interests. WellPoint Chief Financial Officer David Colby, speaking separately at the JP Morgan investor conference in San Francisco, said some parts of the plan were good for the insurer and others were bad, but he was not specific. He said efforts by government to require insurance of those who do not have it would inevitably be good for the company. "The fact of the matter is we are looking at putting a lot more dollars into the health-care system ... significant dollars into the system will provide significant opportunity for us," Colby said. WellPoint shares closed down $2.75 at $76.21 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Molina rose 5 percent, or $1.53, to $33.91. Other insurers fell on the NYSE, including Humana Inc. (HUM.N: ), which dropped 1.4 percent, Sierra Health Services Inc. (SIE.N: ), which was down 2.3 percent and Health Net, down 65 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $46.50. © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 2. The Pension Protection Act Now Allows Insurers to Offer Combined Insurance Products But Siloed IT Systems Will Prevent Immediate Delivery of Hybrid Offerings Flexible Enterprise Platforms Needed to Meet Consumer Demand, says MajescoMastek EDISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumers will likely be disappointed about the immediate availability of combined life, annuity and long-term care insurance products now allowable under recently enacted legislation, because most current software will prevent their delivery, according to IT solutions provider MajescoMastek. The passage of the Pension Protection Act in August 2006 will have a sweeping long-term impact on the insurance industry. But insurance carriers’ IT systems that can only support a single base insurance product and operate in product silos will impede the widespread introduction of hybrid products in the short term, the Edison, N.J.-based company predicts. “To live up to the promise of new hybrid products inherent in the legislation, insurance companies will now need to scramble to make major overhauls of their software systems or significant changes in their business structures,” says Steve Kendrick, MajescoMastek’s head of Insurance Business Development. That’s because, he notes, software solutions have always been designed primarily to support a single product in a single market offering. “Insurance carriers that implement flexible enterprise platforms which allow them to deliver multiple line-of-business combination products within one policy will be in the forefront of the race to field new hybrid products,” he says. Recent advances in software know-how should enable underwriters who are early adopters to be ready to deliver these products, which consumers will increasingly demand, starting in earnest in 2009. “Software platforms must begin to get ready now,” Kendrick says. “Nimble carriers will be considering earlier support plans by offering annuity base plan products with guaranteed purchase options for long term care riders in the future.” Looking 10 years out, says Kendrick, this new legislation—assisted by technology--will provide consumers, agents and advisors with needed new products to confront risks and take advantage of investment opportunities in the 21st century. Its impact, he predicts, will be even greater than change produced by universal life (UL) in the early 1980s. MajescoMastek is the U.S. company of Mastek, a $156 million global technology solutions provider. MajescoMastek offers insurance carriers Elixir, the only SOA-based enterprise platform for life and annuity carriers. http://www.majescomastek.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 3. NYSE, others buy 20 pct stake in India's NSE bourse NEW DELHI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - NYSE Group Inc. (NYX.N: ) and three other foreign investors have bought a 20 percent stake in India's biggest stock exchange in the latest move in a wave of consolidation sweeping global exchanges. The operator of the New York Stock Exchange, investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS.N: ), private equity firm General Atlantic and SoftBank Asian Infrastructure Fund have each bought a 5 percent stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- the maximum holding permissible -- in a deal valued at $460 million, the NSE said on Wednesday. "This alliance marks a significant milestone for NSE in developing a place for itself in the emerging global scenario," NSE Chief Executive Ravi Narain told a news conference, adding that with more Indian firms looking to list overseas, it was natural that foreign exchanges were keen on a presence in India. The New York Stock Exchange lists 10 firms from India. NYSE said it would pay $115 million in cash for its stake to a consortium of sellers including ICICI Bank Ltd. (ICBK.BO: ), IFCI Ltd. (IFCI.BO: ), IL&FS, Punjab National Bank (PNBK.BO: ) and General Insurance Corp. of India. "Our investment complements our global growth strategy," NYSE Chief Executive John Thain said in a statement. NYSE, which is also in the throes of a $14 billion merger with pan-European bourse operator Euronext (ENXT.PA: ), said it expected to close the purchase in the first quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals in India. Merrill Lynch & Co. was financial adviser to NYSE. India's central bank has capped total foreign investment in stock exchanges at 49 percent, including direct investment of 26 percent and investments by portfolio investors of 23 percent. SURGING TRADE NSE, owned by a set of financial institutions, banks and insurance firms, began operations in June 1994 with trading on the wholesale debt market. It then launched a capital market segment for equities and a futures and options (F&O) segment. Average daily turnover in its capital market segment in the fiscal year 2005/06 was nearly 62.5 billion rupees ($1.4 billion), while average daily turnover in the F&O segment was nearly 192 billion rupees, its Web site showed. Its 50-share S&P CNX index <.NSEI> is the benchmark for derivatives trade in India, and last month hit a record high. Local newspapers had recently reported that NYSE and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (NDAQ.O: ) were in discussions with NSE's smaller rival, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The Business Standard reported at the weekend that the BSE had shortlisted the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L: ), NYSE, Nasdaq, Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE: ) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) (SGXL.SI: ) for a proposed sale of a 26 percent stake. BSE, founded in 1875 and Asia's oldest bourse, has set itself a deadline of May to reduce the stake held by brokers by offering 26 percent to strategic investors and another 25 percent through an initial public offering. As the volume of trade soars in the world's largest exchanges, they are scouting for deals that can give them greater scale, creating the deep pools of liquidity traders want and the opportunity to expand into different businesses. ($1=44.5 rupees) (Additional reporting by Rina Chandran in MUMBAI and Robert MacMillan in NEW YORK) © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 4. Insure.com, Inc. Inks Sponsorship Deal with Rush Limbaugh DARIEN, Ill., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Insure.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSUR) today announced that it signed a new sponsorship agreement with Rush Limbaugh, the nation's #1 rated talk radio host. Limbaugh will voice Insure.com radio spots on his nationally syndicated talk radio show.www.insure.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 5. CA Gov. Schwarzenegger's Health Care Proposal Will Force Nonprofit Hospitals to Face 'Perfect Storm' of Problems in 2007, Philanthropic Health Care Expert William C. McGinly Warns Industry Must Turn to Benchmarking Program for Answers, AHP Says FALLS CHURCH, Va., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal for extended health coverage to the uninsured will negatively impact nonprofit hospitals and other philanthropic health care entities around the country, which already face a "perfect storm" of problems ranging from the cost of treating illegal immigrants and the uninsured to Congressional tightening of nonprofits' tax status, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) CEO William McGinly warned his members today. "When you add an estimated 6.5 million, or one-fifth of California's population, as uninsured and illegal immigrants to the universe of those in need without providing funding, then nonprofit hospitals and other institutions will be stressed over the limit in providing these services," McGinly said. "Add in other factors, such as razor thin financial margins, unnecessary Privacy Act rules which impede access to our most generous groups of donors -- grateful patients and their families -- and an attempt by Congress to challenge the tax exempt status of our entities, and the philanthropic health care industry in California and the rest of the nation faces a 'perfect storm' of problems in 2007, with no end in sight," he warned. "In the future, philanthropic dollars will be eroded by these increased challenges and added costs," McGinly said. He added that many of his AHP members are turning to a new program, the AHP Performance Benchmarking Service, to prepare for these and other future challenges and to better achieve the most efficient return on each dollar donated. The AHP benchmarking program uses data collected from participants which generate comparison reports for improved financial and human resource evaluation and planning to grow philanthropy programs for not-for-profit hospitals. This program provides data on core benchmarking indicators including: return on investment, size of endowment, pledge conversion ratios, tenure of staff and program specific metrics. Participants use the data to increase philanthropy through improved performance in their fundraising efforts including improved capital campaign and major gift programs. The reports are created in a variety of formats; including, tables and graphs, charts, sorted list and spreadsheets. www.ahp.org Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article Did you know you can listen to INSURANCE NEWSCAST on your desktop? Or, Did you know you also have the option to download INSURANCE NEWSCAST to your MP3 player or a CD? Visit www.insuranceradio.net to listen to INSURANCE NEWSCAST on your desktop. There is also a tutorial on how to download the broadcast to your MP3 player or burn it to a CD.
6. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Financial Profiles, Inc. ITASCA, Ill., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) today announced the acquisition of Financial Profiles, Inc. located in Coral Springs, Florida. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1981, Financial Profiles, Inc. is a specialty retail life insurance agency. They specialize in life policies, life settlement, premium financing and estate planning for their family-clients primarily in the Southeast. Karen Tharp, James Tharp and their associates will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of David Ziegler, Executive Vice President - Eastern Region of Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 7. WebCE® Acquires APlusOnlineCE.com DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WebCE, the nationwide provider of continuing education services for financial services professionals, announced it has acquired APlusOnlineCE.com (“APlusOnline”), a Newport News-based continuing education provider. The acquisition will strengthen WebCE’s curriculum for Certified Financial Planners® and gives APlusOnline customers access to WebCE’s 150 insurance CE courses. www.WebCE.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 8. INSURANCE NEWSLINK Articles Recent articles added to INSURANCE NEWSLINK, the worldwide, strategic concise intelligence database of over 27,000 articles including interviews, uniquely analysed by company, market, research, regulatory, and IT topics. Please click here for a content overview and a 15-day free review. THE TIME EFFECTIVE WAY TO STAY AHEAD
Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 9. NEW EXPERT COMMENTARY FROM IRMI.COM There are now over 800 risk management and insurance articles on IRMI.com. Below you'll find summaries of some recent additions with links to the articles. MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: THE HIGH COST OF MERITLESS CLAIMS - Charles Kolodkin and Paul Greve examine a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the conclusions that may be surmised from the data. http://www.irmi.com/Expert/Articles/2007/Kolodkin01.aspx THE CONCEPT OF RECIPROCITY IN MEDIATION - As a mediator, Jeff Kichaven explains how he learned to love both lawyers and being evaluated by them. http://www.irmi.com/Expert/Articles/2006/Kichaven01.aspx SIXTH CIRCUIT RULES INDEMNITY AGREEMENT IS NOT AN INSURED CONTRACT - In his last Case of the Month column for 2006, Kevin Merriman looks at a case finding no coverage under an umbrella policy. http://www.irmi.com/Expert/Articles/2006/Merriman12.aspx Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 10. United HealthGroup Targeting Uninsured Men with Belay Product NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of healthcare market intelligence, reports that United HealthGroup is tapping into a new vein of customers with a product aimed at working, uninsured males in the 35-54 age bracket. According to the latest Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana Health Plan Analysis, United's new product Belay is a low-cost, high-deductible health plan being piloted in the Cleveland and Chicago markets. "According to United, Cleveland has one of the highest rates of single, working, uninsured people in the United States with more than 129,000 individuals ages 35 to 54 living in this area" states Rick Byrne, HealthLeaders-InterStudy market analyst. The product name Belay is a reference to rock climbing where to belay one's line is to secure the climbing rope. With security as the subliminal message, United has deployed marketing teams to home improvement stores where they offer the policy to construction workers who may lack coverage, and used an X-Games rock-climbing champion to help launch the marketing campaign. This product cannot be purchased through an agent, only enrolling directly through the carrier, online or over the phone. Users are covered for 100 percent of just about everything after the annual deductible of $2,500, $3,500 or $5,000 is met, and they can access United's savings-based network, or choose its narrower preferred network for a lower premium. With a plan that is easy-to-understand and inexpensive, the simplicity is intended as a selling point. www.healthleaders-interstudy.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 11. AIG’s National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa.(R) Introduces Financial Institutions Risk Protector(SM) for Private Financial Institutions NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa.® (National Union), a member company of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), today announced Financial Institutions Risk ProtectorSM, a package of management and professional liability insurance coverages for privately held financial institutions. Financial Institutions Risk Protector provides companies with the ability to bundle a number of essential management and professional liability coverages into one comprehensive policy, and offers a modular format for purchasing coverage, including: directors & officers liability; employment practices liability; fiduciary liability; errors & omissions (E&O) liability for insurance companies and for banks; security & privacy liability; and employed lawyers liability. Financial Institutions Risk Protector combines the most critical management liability coverages as well as professional liability coverages tailored to the needs of privately held financial institutions into a single package, available with flexible retentions and aggregate limits to maximize cost-efficiencies. For more information, please contact your local National Union office. You can also e-mail managementliability@aig.com or visit www.aignationalunion.com. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 12. Scottish Re Group Limited Files Preliminary Proxy Statement with the SEC HAMILTON, Bermuda, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scottish Re Group Limited (NYSE: SCT), a global life reinsurance specialist, today announced it has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in relation to the agreement announced November 27, 2006 between Scottish Re Group Limited (the "Company") and MassMutualCapital Partners LLC and certain affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (the "Investors"), whereby the Investors will invest $300 million each into the Company. Scottish Re Group Limited will distribute a definitive proxy statement to all shareholders, together with an invitation to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders at which shareholders will be asked to vote, in person or by proxy, on a set of proposals relating to the Investors' investment. The preliminary proxy statement is available on the SEC's EDGAR website at http://www.sec.gov/ and is subject to revision prior to the mailing of the definitive proxy statement.www.scottishre.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 14. Since You Care Guide, Medications and the Older Adult, Available from the MetLife Mature Market Institute® WESTPORT, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The MetLife Mature Market Institute has updated its Since You Care publication, Medications and the Older Adult. The popular guide, available free to the public, now contains a section on Medicare Part D, "helpful hints" and a number of updated resources. The Since You Care guides, produced in cooperation with the National Alliance for Caregiving, are designed to provide caregivers with information, practical suggestions and useful tools on a variety of care-related subjects. For a copy of the Since You Care Guide: Medications and the Older Adult, call 203-221-6580, e-mail maturemarketinstitute@metlife.com, or download the guide from www.maturemarketinstitute.com. You may also write to the MetLife Mature Market Institute, 57 Greens Farms Road, Westport, CT 06880. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 15. EMPLOYERS(SM) Aligns With E-chx to Make Workers' Compensation Insurance More Convenient for California's Small Businesses RENO, Nev., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EMPLOYERS(sm) has joined in partnership with the payroll outsourcing company E-chx, Inc., together with the Granite Professional Insurance Agency on the new E-COMP(sm) program. Granite will serve as the exclusive agent for the program, which is designed to allow small businesses in California to conveniently manage workers' compensation insurance coverage in partnership with payroll services. The new partnership can simplify the process of managing payroll and workers' compensation coverage, helping small businesses by easing administrative tasks and freeing businesspeople to focus on what they do best. Combining payroll and workers' comp services can lead to convenient, electronic payment for both services through E-PAY(sm); with no deposits or down payments required; and premiums calculated on actual payrolls, with no on-site or physical audit required, unless state-mandated. The new program, available through Employers Compensation Insurance Company, can be accessed through E-chx representatives throughout California, who refer interested parties to the Granite Professional Insurance Brokerage, Inc. A dedicated in-house Program Director is available, along with toll-free information, by calling (888) 49E-Comp or (888) 493-2667. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 16. Bob Dole on Medicare Campaign Reminds Congress That 'It's Working' Medicare Campaign Web Site to Feature Daily Part D 'Success Stories' WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Although recent surveys report up to 85 percent of seniors are satisfied with the current Medicare prescription drug plan, some Members of the 110th Congress appear intent on making substantial changes in the Part D plan. This Friday, the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives plans to propose legislation that would allow the federal government to create price controls on the new Medicare drug program. Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who is a strong supporter of the Part D benefit, is concerned about the prospect of major change for the program. To underscore his belief in the success of the Part D program, Senator Dole this week will launch a series of Medicare Success Stories on http://www.bobdoleonmedicare.com, chronicling individual successes being experienced under the current system. These Success Stories are from around the country and will be released once a day for the next two weeks. To view the Medicare success stories or download the podcasts, visit http://www.bobdoleonmedicare.com. For more information about the Medicare prescription drug coverage, beneficiaries should call the CMS hotline at 1-800-MEDICARE, or log onto http://www.medicare.gov, the official CMS Web site. The Bob Dole on Medicare Campaign is sponsored by Pfizer Inc. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 17. Jopari Signals Strong 2007 Edi Compliance Push By Payers Seeking Solutions In States Rolling Out Workers’ Comp E-Bill & E-Pay Rules CONCORD, CA—JANUARY 9, 2007—Acquiring technology to accept and pay bills electronically is a key operational milestone for workers’ compensation payers in 2007. According to Jopari Solutions, Inc., the property and casualty industry’s leading supplier of payment automation and EDI compliance services, near term demand for standardized EDI processing capability has become a hot issue for insurer and TPA claims operations in a growing number of state jurisdictions. Coordinating closely with the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), which is working aggressively to achieve national adoption of workers’ compensation EDI standards over the next several years, lead states already have set timetables implementing mandatory e-Billing and e-Payment rules, including accelerated provider payment timeframes (CA) and mandatory Medical Bill EDI reporting. www.jopari.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 18. The American College Press Publishes Book By Financial Services Leader Tom Wamberg, Clu® About Separate Account Bank-Owned Life Insurance BRYN MAWR, PA—January 8, 2006—With industry premiums exceeding more than $5.2 billion a year, Bank-Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) is becoming an increasingly popular product. In an effort to help financial professionals learn more about BOLI, The American College Press announced today that it is publishing a new text entitled, Separate Account Bank Owned Life Insurance, The Theory and Practice. Tom Wamberg, CLU® wrote the book to help financial professionals better understand how BOLI works and the reasons why banks increasingly use this product. The book also helps readers navigate their way through the maze of decisions that must be made when purchasing a BOLI plan. Bank-Owned Life Insurance has become a very popular tool for banks to finance the cost of employee benefit liabilities. Introduced in 1983, BOLI is now owned by more than 3,000 banks. The book can be ordered online for $49.95 plus shipping. To order a copy, go to http://www.TheAmericanCollege.edu/tacpress/monograph.asp and click on the “Order Your Copy” tab. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 19. Foundation Source Achieves Major Milestone: 500th Private Foundation Client Company Also Announces Record Performance in Fiscal 2006 with Over $2.0 Billion in Assets Under Administration FAIRFIELD, Conn. – January 10, 2007 - Foundation Source®, the nation’s leading provider of support services for private foundations, announced today that it has signed an agreement with its 500th private foundation client to provide its full suite of back-office, online and client services. In addition, the company announced that it has crested $2.0 billion in foundation assets under administration, representing nearly 100% year-over-year growth. www.foundationsource.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 20. INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Pictures Of The Day" -- Sponsored By:
View INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Sports Pictures Of The Day" View INSURANCE NEWSCAST "Entertainment Pictures Of The Day" Sponsored By:
21. TRUSTED CHOICE® LAUNCHES NEW AD Travel Channel, Fox News, CNN and more will air commercial ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 8, 2007—Trusted Choice® is celebrating the New Year by hitting the airwaves with a brand new television commercial. Viewers tuning in to the Travel Channel this month will learn about the benefits the nearly 7,000 participating Trusted Choice® agencies can offer—choice, advocacy and customization—at every consumer life stage. While showing consumers purchasing a home, opening a business, entering retirement and other life milestones, the ad explains that “The Trusted Choice® agent in your community works with you so you can choose the insurance that fits your life—no matter how it changes.” The ad then points viewers to www.TrustedChoice.com to find a local agent. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 22. QualCorp, Inc. Unveils QueryPlus Reporting Tool for Agency Management Systems January 2, 2007 – QualCorp, Inc. announces that they have just released a reporting tool that makes the on-going chore of mining data out of the industry’s most widely used agency management systems a straight forward and simple. By using a simple 6-step query/filter process built into a friendly and intuitive user interface, the customers can create very complex reports by simply dragging and dropping data fields. Our customers can create connections which find, filter and link live data, without writing one line of programming code, without hiring consultants, without sitting through training sessions or being an IT professional. https://qualcorp.com/products Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 23. CNH Financial Services selects FinArch's Financial Studio Merelbeke/Zedelgem - 9 January 2007 - Financial Architects (FinArch), international provider of a Finance Resource Planning (FRP) platform for the finance industry, today announced that CNH Financial Services, the bank of the group Case New Holland who provides retail financing services for both agricultural and construction equipment in Western Europe, selected the Financial Studio solution to comply with regulatory reporting requirements in Belgium. CNH Financial Services officially launched its banking activities in the Belgian market last month and will be subject to the CBFA regulations. To comply, CNH Financial Services opted for FinArch's Financial Studio solution to provide the regulatory reporting as required by the Belgian regulators. www.cnhcapital.com www.finarch.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 24. Security Benefit Life Selects APEX DATA SYSTEMS Apex Data Systems Administration and Claims Software (COGNAC-EXPRESS) Selected for Group and Voluntary Benefit Administration and Claim Operations. TUCSON, Arizona. Jan. 5, 2007—Apex Data Systems Inc. announced it has signed a multi-year agreement to provide benefit plan administration and claims payment management technology to Security Benefit Life Insurance Company. The Topeka, Kansas-based Insurance Company has implement Cognac Express, the consolidated administration and claims payment solution from Apex Data Systems. www.ApexDataSystems.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 25. NAPCO® Opens Florida Regional Office Edison, NJ (Janaury 9, 2007) -- NAPCO, one of the largest independent consolidators of global property and casualty insurance capacity in the United States, is pleased to announce the opening of its fifth regional office located in Boca Raton, Florida. In line with this expansion into the Southeast United States, NAPCO has hired Desiree F. Alfonsin. Alfonsin immigrated to the United States from her native Spain in 2000 and has since been working exclusively in the Florida insurance marketplace. Her primary focus has been on property catastrophe placements. Alfonsin's attention to outstanding service as well as her technical knowledge have assisted her in establishing strong relationships with clients and underwriters.www.napcollc.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 26. New E&O Market Announced for Members of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. (DeWitt, New York, Jan. 8, 2007) — Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. (IIABNY) announces the addition of a new Errors & Omissions market available to its members through IAAC, Inc. (IIABNY’s membership services division). Fireman’s Fund is the new carrier that will be available through IAAC, Inc. to IIABNY members. The Fireman’s Fund Insurance Companies® joins Westport Insurance Corporation and several other admitted and non-admitted markets available to IIABNY members through IAAC, Inc. www.iiabny.org Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 27. Worksite Clinics Reduce Costs, Provide Health Stat US health care costs continue in an upward spiral, with no end in sight. Nearly two-thirds of all Americans under age 65 with health insurance obtain this coverage as part of their employment package, making this cost crisis very real for US employers. In 2005, employer premium costs increased 9.2%, nearly three times the rate of inflation, with the average annual cost for coverage for a family of four topping $11,000. These 2005 costs put health care spending more than four times ahead of national defense spending. For 2007, the cost increases for health care are expected to exceed 11%, again pushing medical inflation rates back into double digits.* Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 28. AIA COMMITS TO MOVING CRITICAL NEW HIGHWAY AND AUTO SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 8, 2007– The American Insurance Association (AIA) today commended Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety for issuing an important report titled, “The 2007 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws.” The report found that no state has adopted all 15 traffic safety measures which have been proven effective in significantly reducing death and injury on the nation’s roads. The “2007 Roadmap” is divided into four issue categories which include: occupant protection (primary seat belt enforcement and an all-rider motorcycle helmet law); child passenger safety (including a child booster seat law from ages 4 to 8); an optimal graduated driver licensing (GDL) program (targeting teen drivers); and impaired driving. A copy of this report is available at: http://www.saferoads.org/sec_roadmap2007.htm. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 29. CIGNA HealthCare Expands Health Savings Accounts to Small Group Employers BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Jan. 5, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CIGNA HealthCare announced today that it is offering the availability of Health Savings Accounts through JPMorgan Chase to employers with fewer than 50 employees. CIGNA is offering the expanded availability now for HSA qualified plans that took effect on or after January 1, 2007 in Arizona, North Carolina and South Carolina. The offering will be expanded to include employers and their employees in Connecticut, California, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York during the first quarter of 2007, with further expansion planned throughout the remainder of the year. http://myCIGNA.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 30. AARP Puts Full Force of Nearly 38 Million Members Behind Congress' Efforts to Give Medicare Rx Bargaining Power Launches National Ads This Weekend In Advance of Vote WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress will take up a key issue next week that can benefit the 43 million people enrolled in Medicare, and AARP is putting the full force of its nearly 38 million members behind efforts to pass H.R. 4, the "Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act." "Drug prices are too high," AARP CEO Bill Novelli said. "We believe in giving the HHS this important step to lower prescription drug prices. Our members have been visiting, writing and calling Congress urging support of H.R. 4, and our national ads beginning this weekend say-'It's time for Congress to give Medicare the bargaining power it needs.'" For a copy of the ad AARP is placing this weekend, please contact Nancy Wood at nwood@aarp.org. Also, on the press center site, http://www.aarp.org/research/press-center/, please refer to the January 5 letter to Congress outlining AARP's support of H.R.4, as well as the release from January 4 when AARP announced that beginning in the 110th Congress, the association will be recording House and Senate roll call votes on key issues, and informing the association's nearly 38 million members of the results of these key votes. www.AARP.org Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 31. CSC's Life Insurance Outsourcing Service Benchmarks Exceed LOMA Survey Results for Second Year EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE: CSC) today announced the results of a service performance benchmark of its life and annuity business process outsourcing (BPO) services. For the second year in a row, CSC's service levels ranked higher than the industry standards reported by LOMA, a leading international association for the insurance and financial services industry, in LOMA's 2006 Individual Life Insurance Service Turnaround Times Survey. To perform the CSC benchmark and analyze its service level performance rankings, CSC once again mapped its BPO service categories to those in the LOMA survey, which include metrics from 40 vendors. In the policy holder service functions section, CSC's performance met or exceeded industry averages in 26 categories. For example, calculations showed that the average time it took CSC to deliver death claims was 2.6 days compared to the LOMA average of 7.3 days. For policy changes, CSC averaged 3.5 days to LOMA's 9.6 days. For premium payments, CSC averaged 0.2 days versus LOMA's 2.1 days. www.loma.org www.csc.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 32. Workscape Teams with WebMD to Provide Online Wellness and Benefits Decision- Support Tools for Employees MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Workscape, Inc., experts in outsourced benefits and compensation solutions, today announced it has teamed with WebMD, the leading provider of health information, to provide an integrated solution that helps employees make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions.Through the agreement, Workscape's solution connects their clients' employees in a secure and personalized way to WebMD's decision-support tools and resources through the same interface they already use to make benefits choices. As a result, when employees participate in "rewardable" activities, such as the completion of a health risk assessment (HRA), they'll receive awards "real-time" in conjunction with their benefits enrollment. www.workscape.com Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article 33. USRisk Brokers Launches Parking and Valet Operators Program Irvine, Calif. — Jan. 4, 2007 — USRisk Brokers, a subsidiary of U.S. Risk Insurance Group ( www.usrisk.com ), today announced that it has introduced a new Parking and Valet Operators Program designed for businesses engaged in operations related to parking customers' cars, such as self-parking garages and lots, assisted parking, valet parking and parking for special events. Coverage is written by carriers rated "A" XV or better by A.M. Best. Return to Headlines - - Print Article / Read Entire Article / E-Mail Article
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