Njm Insurance Group Selects Guidewire Claimcenter
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 | |  | Published by roblov on 30.10.2006 at 19:31. |
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WEST TRENTON, NJ and SAN MATEO, CA, March 15, 2005
- NJM Insurance Group, currently the largest property-casualty
insurer in New Jersey, and Guidewire Software®, a leading
provider of solutions to property-casualty and workers’
compensation insurers, today announced that NJM has selected Guidewire
ClaimCenter® as its new claims system. ClaimCenter will manage
claims for all of NJM’s primary lines of business, representing
approximately $1.4 billion in annual written premiums in auto
insurance, homeowners and workers’ compensation.
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, the parent of the
NJM Insurance Group, is a unique policyholder-focused organization
that exercises careful stewardship over the use of policyholders’
funds, emphasizes prompt, exceptional customer service, and has
shared the rewards of efficient operations by returning substantial
dividends to policyholders every year since 1918. NJM holds the
best records in two key areas – the lowest amount of funds
used for underwriting operating expenses, and the lowest incidence
of valid consumer complaints about auto insurance since the New
Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance began its recordkeeping
in 1987. Improving on this unmatched level of service was a major
goal in the selection of a new claims system. NJM was also looking
for a modern technology platform to help automate and streamline
the claims process and provide the flexibility to address its
continually evolving business needs.
“We evaluated many of the available claims systems and,
in the end, Guidewire ClaimCenter offered us the level of control
that we will need to continually respond to changing consumer
needs in the unique New Jersey market,” said Thomas M. Curry,
Esq., NJM Vice President, in charge of the General Claims Department.
“After an exhaustive evaluation by dozens of our adjusters,
supervisors, and managers, ClaimCenter clearly was the most effective
investment of policyholders’ dollars toward improving service
and controlling operating expenses over the long haul.”
Guidewire ClaimCenter’s extensive configurability and robust
architecture have been proven to support large insurance carriers
with complex business processes and systems environments. With
ClaimCenter, NJM can tailor the solution to its unique requirements
without the custom programming required by traditional systems.
A powerful integration layer supports NJM’s modern architectural
standards and enables interfaces to legacy systems. And with scalability
to support thousands of users, ClaimCenter can deliver rapid performance
and reliability to the entire NJM claims organization.
Guidewire ClaimCenter is the leading end-to-end claims system
for property and casualty and workers’ compensation insurance.
ClaimCenter’s flexible business rules enable claims organizations
to optimize and monitor the claims process. Claims executives
can define, enforce, and continually refine their preferred claims
handling practices. And a modern technology architecture, web
client, and web services ensure lower total cost of ownership
in any environment.
“We are proud to be selected by NJM Insurance Group, a
proven leader in one of the most challenging insurance markets
in the United States,” said John Raguin, Chief Executive
Officer, Guidewire Software. “We look forward to working
together through the implementation and are confident that ClaimCenter
will support NJM’s unique business needs for years to come.”
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Group writes more than 98%
of its business in New Jersey. It is the state’s largest
writer of Workers’ Compensation and Personal Auto Insurance
and numbers among the five largest providers of Commercial Auto
and Homeowners coverages. Formed in 1913 by factory owners who
wanted to purchase insurance from a reliable, local, safety-oriented
carrier, the Company has earned a reputation for efficiency, integrity
and customer satisfaction. Since 1918, NJM has returned dividends
to policyholders every year for a cumulative total of $4.0 billion.
Guidewire Software is a leading provider of solutions to property
and casualty and workers’ compensation insurers. Guidewire
applies modern software technology to help insurance carriers
run their core operations and reduce costs. Guidewire ClaimCenter
is the industry’s first end-to-end, 100% web-based claims
system for all lines of business. For more information, please
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Njm Insurance Group Selects Guidewire Claimcenter
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| | | Published by Ark del KAOS on 30.10.2006 at 16:46. |
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NJM Insurance Group, currently the largest property-casualty insurer in New Jersey, and Guidewire Software(R), a leading provider of solutions to property-casualty and workers' compensation insurers, today announced that NJM has selected Guidewire ClaimCenter(R) as its new claims system. ClaimCenter will manage claims for all of NJM's primary lines of business, representing approximately $1.4 billion in annual written premiums in auto insurance, homeowners and workers' compensation.
New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, the parent of the NJM Insurance Group, is a unique policyholder-focused organization that exercises careful stewardship over the use of policyholders' funds, emphasizes prompt, exceptional customer service, and has shared the rewards of efficient operations by returning substantial dividends to policyholders every year since 1918. NJM holds the best records in two key areas - the lowest amount of funds used for underwriting operating expenses, and the lowest incidence of valid consumer complaints about auto insurance since the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance began its recordkeeping in 1987. Improving on this unmatched level of service was a major goal in the selection of a new claims system. NJM was also looking for a modern technology platform to help automate and streamline the claims process and provide the flexibility to address its continually evolving business needs.
"We evaluated many of the available claims systems and, in the end, Guidewire ClaimCenter offered us the level of control that we will need to continually respond to changing consumer needs in the unique New Jersey market," said Thomas M. Curry, Esq., NJM Vice President, in charge of the General Claims Department. "After an exhaustive evaluation by dozens of our adjusters, supervisors, and managers, ClaimCenter clearly was the most effective investment of policyholders' dollars toward improving service and controlling operating expenses over the long haul."
Guidewire ClaimCenter's extensive configurability and robust architecture have been proven to support large insurance carriers with complex business processes and systems environments. With ClaimCenter, NJM can tailor the solution to its unique requirements without the custom programming required by traditional systems. A powerful integration layer supports NJM's modern architectural standards and enables interfaces to legacy systems. And with scalability to support thousands of users, ClaimCenter can deliver rapid performance and reliability to the entire NJM claims organization.
Guidewire ClaimCenter is the leading end-to-end claims system for property and casualty and workers' compensation insurance. ClaimCenter's flexible business rules enable claims organizations to optimize and monitor the claims process. Claims executives can define, enforce, and continually refine their preferred claims handling practices. And a modern technology architecture, web client, and web services ensure lower total cost of ownership in any environment.
"We are proud to be selected by NJM Insurance Group, a proven leader in one of the most challenging insurance markets in the United States," said John Raguin, Chief Executive Officer, Guidewire Software. "We look forward to working together through the implementation and are confident that ClaimCenter will support NJM's unique business needs for years to come."
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Health Insurance Time Of Year
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| | | Published by baptux on 30.10.2006 at 20:55. |
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Among the choices facing some is an innovative insurance plan pioneered in 1992 in South Africa by a firm called Discovery and marketed in the United States as Destiny Health. It's an approach George W. Bush's and Congress's health care policymakers should keep in mind as they scramble to come up with proposals to deliver on Bush's vaguely worded campaign promises to reform health care finance.
The Destiny health plan has several intelligent features. One is an annual deductible: you pay for basic expectable medical expenses before insurance kicks in. One reason for the high cost of most health insurance is that we expect it to pay for routine medical expenses: it is as if your auto insurance policy covered oil changes but didn't pay you when the car was totalled.
When insurance kicks in, it is in the form of a personal medical fund, similar to the health savings account model that was part of the 2003 Medicare/prescription drug act. Unused amounts can be rolled over into the next year, and employees who leave the company will have access to remaining balances. This encourages employees to treat the money as if it is their own -- which it is -- and to keep cost in mind while making health care decisions. Experts of all ilks agree that one reason health care costs keep rising so rapidly is that consumers have gotten into the habit of making decisions with no regard at all for cost. The Destiny plan encourages them to break that habit.
The third and perhaps most interesting feature of the Destiny plan is its wellness programs, designed to encourage healthier lifestyles. Employees' insurance premiums are cut if they abstain from smoking, exercise regularly, hold down their weight and seek preventive care such as Pap smears or prostate exams. For achieving such goals, they earn "vitality points," which can be redeemed for health club memberships and travel discounts.
These health plans have proved popular. Destiny enrollment increased from 300,000 in 1998 to 1.6 million in 2004. A survey of Destiny members showed that 75 percent are familiar with the terms of their plan, compared with 38 percent for those in other plans, and that 97 percent believe a person's lifestyle choices have done something to reduce the cost of health care, compared to 29 percent for those in other plans. Some 85 percent of Destiny members have started an exercise program and 76 percent have started a nutrition program in the preceding year. For employers, the payoff is tangible: single-digit increases in the cost of health insurance, compared to double-digit increases for most other plans.
The Destiny model addresses one of the leading causes of increased health care costs in America: bad lifestyle choices. In their book "Epidemic of Care," Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorsen and Dr. George Isham note that there has been a 33 percent increase in the number of Americans with diabetes since 1990 -- and that type II diabetes can usually be prevented by appropriate behavior and diet changes. "We eat foods that make us vulnerable to diabetes and heart disease," they write, "and then don't exercise enough to keep those diseases from taking over our bodies." This is hugely expensive: diabetes requires expensive medical interventions that all health insurance policyholders must indirectly pay for. The Destiny wellness program pays policyholders to avoid behaviors that, statistically, will produce huge health care costs later on. It looks to be well worth the money, even in the short term.
Destiny's approach is part of a larger trend. Starting in the New Deal era and in World War II, government provided and encouraged employers to provide social insurance and health insurance that would guarantee benefits and buffer individuals against the workings of the market. Today, no one wants to eliminate the social safety net entirely. But it has become apparent that insulating individuals against cost has adverse consequences: low savings rates, unsustainable rises in health care spending, harmful personal behaviors that lead to enormous health care problems and costs. And it has become apparent as well that individuals are not helpless or incompetent beings in need of protection from the marketplace by big government or large corporations. With an adequate safety net, and within an appropriate structure, they can figure out things for themselves. The Destiny plan helps show us the way.
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Search For Rates By Loan Type And Location
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| | | Published by tsaiming on 30.10.2006 at 14:42. |
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Microsoft is not a depository or financial institution, and is neither
affiliated with any financial service providers identified herein nor
responsible for the services or products advertised thereby.
2006
Informa Research Services, Inc.,
This information has been obtained from various financial institutions,
and Informa Research Services cannot guarantee its accuracy. The information
includes financial product data that was in the Informa Research Services
database at the time of publication, and may not reflect all of the products
available in your region. Before acting on the information shown on this page,
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Anthem-wellpoint Merger Good For Indy
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| | | Published by Ben Ward on 30.10.2006 at 20:14. |
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As for how many more jobs, it's unclear. Anthem CEO and President Larry Glasscock says the Anthem headquarters is home to 200 to 250 employees. But now the company is more than doubling in size. "We would expect, by virtue of creating a prosperous company, we think employment will increase."
In recent years, news headlines were dominated with job loss and companies leaving Indiana. Not only is this business staying, but is expanding into other states. City officials say that's a nice selling point as they work to attract more business.
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Conforming Loan Limits To Rise In '05
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| | | Published by CodAv on 30.10.2006 at 17:44. |
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The enterprises are permitted to adjust their loan purchase caps once a year by the rate of change in the October average U.S. house price from the same month a year earlier. The average U.S. home price rose last month by 8.5 percent to $264,540 from $243,756 in October 2003, the Federal Housing Finance Board said earlier.
Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) last year erred in determining their loan limit. The change for 2005 was calculated from $331,400, the enterprises' regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said in a statement.
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