Carriers & Vendors Making News

State Farm Issues Grant to Mansfield University

October 5, 2012

Representatives of State Farm Insurance were at Mansfield University (MU) on Oct. 4 to present a $50,000 grant for improvements in technology and teaching capabilities in the Computer Information Science (CIS) department.

MU said a laptop lecture classroom in Elliott Hall already has been outfitted with the funding. Updates to a networking computer lab that will allow MU students to learn software development for Apple IOS and Google Android mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and Nexus 7 are underway. Instruction in mobile device programming will begin in the spring 2013 semester.

This is the second grant the CIS department has received from State Farm, said MU. The first, in 2004, funded the construction of the networking lab in Elliott Hall that is now being improved with the mobile technology capabilities. Mansfield CIS students have been recruited as interns at State Farm’s Bloomington, Ill., headquarters for 15 years, with many being hired after graduation. State Farm is looking to expand its recruiting efforts beyond CIS graduates to work in a variety capacities at their offices in the Northeast.

Blue Flag Insurance Launches Online Tool for Drivers

September 28, 2012

A website from Blue Flag Insurance is now available for consumers to compare auto insurance rates. 

Blue Flag Insurance says that, to use the website, drivers enter their zip codes to see a list of local insurance providers. The drivers then can then click on any of the insurance companies' names for more information or fill out a brief form to receive accurate, personalized insurance quotes. All of the quotes come directly from major insurance providers.

Website representatives say the tool neither charges for insurance quotes nor asks for more information than the driver's zip code. In addition to car insurance resources, Blue Flag Insurance provides dedicated tools for researching home insurance, life insurance and health insurance.

Auto-Owners CEO Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

September 20, 2012

Jeffrey Harrold received The Griffith Insurance Education Foundation’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes industry leaders for their commitment to education, and for their support of the missions of The Griffith Foundation and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Co.s (NAMIC).

Griffith says Harrold, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, is chairman and CEO of Auto-Owners Insurance Co. For 21 years, he worked on the P&C side of the business before assuming responsibility for life company operations in 1998. In 2002, he became responsible for all P&C branch underwriting operations.

Harrold was named EVP in 2004, says Griffith. In 2005, he assumed additional responsibility for home office P&C underwriting and the marketing division, including sales, marketing, regional sales operations, and agency automation systems support. In July 2008, he was named president of Auto-Owners Insurance Group, and in August 2010, he was named CEO. In August 2011, he was named chairman of the board and CEO.

Applied Systems Honors Innovative Clients with Pinnacle Awards

August 21, 2012

Applied Systems has recognized a select group of customers with the first annual Pinnacle Awards, awarded for “their partnerships with Applied Systems and their deployment of the company’s software in making significant contributions to their businesses and the insurance industry.”

“All of us at Applied Systems are honored to support these fine organizations in their innovative usage of technology for the betterment of their agencies and the business of insurance,” said Reid French, Applied Systems' CEO.

The 2012 Pinnacle Award winners are: Alliant Insurance Services Inc.; Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.; Harrington Insurance Agency Inc.; Hoffman Brown Company; and Willis North America Inc, a unit of Willis Group Holdings.

The announcement was made today at TENCon 2012, Applied Systems’ software user event. Winners were selected based on “innovation in product deployment, the power of partnership and the ability to deliver proven and tangible business results to their organizations,” the company said.

7 Carriers Take Home Connect for Life and Annuity Awards

August 17, 2012

Seven carriers were honored at CSC’s Connect for Life and Annuity conference in New Orleans this week. The third annual Connect for Life and Annuity Awards recognize CSC clients for exceptional results achieved in policy administration, information technology, customer experience and social networking, and for setting outstanding examples in the area of regulatory compliance leadership.

John Hancock Financial Services received the overall Industry Leadership Award for upgrading its existing VANTAGE-ONE and Distribution Support System mainframe environments to a new zLinux distributed platform for a lower total cost of ownership. John Hancock expects the move to lower its operating costs and optimize its platform's efficiency and effectiveness.

Other 2012 winners, nominated and selected by CSC's North American client community, are:

• Pacific Life Insurance Company. For the second consecutive year, Pacific Life won the Leadership in Policy Administration Award. This year the carrier was recognized for an upgrade of CyberLife completed with staffing support from CSC's managed services, setting a standard for timely software upgrades.

• Federated Life Insurance Company. The insurer received the Leadership in Information Technology Award for implementing nbAccelerator in conjunction with Insurance Optics Business Analytics. The systems now support onboarding applications, policy processing, requirements management and work tracking. They also facilitate Federated's tele-interview process.

• Lincoln Financial Group. Lincoln Financial won the Customer Experience Award for implementing Customer Service Accelerator to provide its representatives with a single, intuitive, web-based application that interfaces with Lincoln's core administration systems.

• American Family Insurance. The insurer won the WikonnecT/Social Networking Award for providing useful content to CSC's business-to-business social networking site, WikonnecT.

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Allstate Insurance Company. Both were recognized for their proactive leadership in CSC's Regulatory Compliance Community.

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