| TRANZACT Taps Steven Dexter as Vice President of New Business ...
FORT LEE, N.J., April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- TRANZACT, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital and the market leader in fully integrated, end-to-end, on- and off-line customer acquisition solutions for large brands, announced that it has hired Steven Dexter as Vice President of New Business Development. "Steve is an effective and energetic business development leader with a track record of success in the financial services, insurance, and telecommunications markets," said David Graf, TRANZACT's President and CEO. "He has hit the ground running to help us grow both our on- and off-line lead generation and customer acquisition efforts." Prior to joining TRANZACT, Dexter was most recently Vice President, Sales and Business Development for ChoicePoint Precision Marketing where he was responsible for a 20-person business development team with a substantial revenue budget.
AIG Auto Insurance Launches GPS-Based Teen Driver Pilot Program
AIG Auto Insurance today announced the AIG Teen GPS Program for auto insurance policyholders with teen drivers. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, auto accidents are the leading cause of death for 16 to 20 year-olds, with roughly 6,000 young lives lost annually. The program will initially be piloted in New Jersey, as well as Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington, and uses GPS technology to allow parents of teen drivers to monitor the location of the teen's car and driving. AIG Auto Insurance is a division of American International Group Inc., a New York City-based insurance organization. After installing a small GPS unit, parents can instantly determine the exact location of the teen's car via the Web or any phone. Additionally, the AIG Teen GPS Program will automatically send the parent an e-email and/or text message if the teen's car exceeds pre-defined speed limits or is driven too far from a pre-defined location, such as home, school or work.
Travelers Announces 2007 Personal Insurance Agent of the Year Awards
HARTFORD -- Tuesday Travelers presented its prestigious Agent of the Year Awards to 18 independent insurance agents who sell personal insurance products around the country. The ceremony took place at Travelers annual personal insurance leadership conference for its top independent agents and brokers in Naples, Fla. Recognized for their commitment to working with Travelers to achieve long-term profitable growth for their agency, the following individuals were named 2007 Agent of the Year for their respective region or business area:
Pam Stanley, Global Marine Insurance, Traverse City, Mich.
Jim Sim, Westland Insurance Brokers, San Diego, Calif.
Robert Luong, C & A Insurance Agency, Inc., New York, N.Y.
Thomas Lynch, Plastridge Agency, Delray Beach, Fla.
Doug Eden Joins The Main Street America Group as Senior Vice ...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Main Street America Group announced today Doug Eden has joined the super regional property-casualty insurance carrier as senior vice president, field operations. Eden will be a member of the company's senior management team based at its corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., and will report to chairman, president and chief executive officer Tom Van Berkel. "Doug, who has an extensive background managing independent agent networks, will add great value to our organization as he develops and leads our customer relationship strategies, and will direct the management of our regional field operations," Van Berkel said. Eden joins Main Street America from The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., Itasca, Ill., where he was regional president, Midwest.
Research and Markets: Wellpoint, Inc. Is the Largest Publicly ...
Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c53000) has announced the addition of WellPoint Inc. Business Intelligence Report to their offering The BusIntell Report provides the information and analysis you need on WellPoint, Inc. to gain an understanding of what makes the company the nation's leading health benefits company, and the largest health plan-owned PBM in the country. The BusIntell Report provides the following sections: Health Insurance Industry Overview, Pharmacy Benefit Management Overview, Medicare Prescription Drug Program Overview, Company Overview, Corporate Strategy, Internet Activities, Company Executives, Financial and Statistical Information, detailed Lines of Business, and Sources. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States, serving approximately 34 million medical members.
Beitlich Touts Health Care Plan to State Senate Committee
The leader of the Wisconsin Farmers Union says the state government is doing great work when it comes to reforming health care. At a public hearing in Eau Claire on Thursday, WFU President Sue Beitlich told the State Senate Committee on Health and Human Services that she 'is encouraging to know that legislators see our needs and are working to create change in this vital area.'
In particular, Beitlich says her group favors State Senator Mark Miller's Wisconsin Health Security Act--which she feels is the most comprehensive proposal, specifically in its potential to help family farmers, small business owners, and employers and their employees.
"In Wisconsin in 2005 there were an estimated 500,000 adults without health insurance--a conservative estimate that is growing--and the number of children without insurance grew from 91,000 to 110,000 in 2005," Beitlich told the panel.
Women pay more
Only, as it turns out, women pay more. A Harvard Med School study found that average medical costs for both women and men came in under the $2,000 deductible (meaning insurance covered $0 of their costs) but women had more expensive health needs and so paid $1,000 more than men. Or, as the lead researcher put it: "High-deductible plans punish women for having breasts and uteruses and having babies," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, the study's lead author. "When an employer switches all his employees into a consumer-driven health plan, it's the same as giving all the women a $1,000 pay cut, on average, because women on average have $1,000 more in health costs than men." .
Bill Would Mandate Dental Coverage for Children in State Programs
Responding to the recent preventable deaths of children in Maryland and Mississippi from untreated dental infections, Congress is moving toward including mandatory dental coverage for children in state-subsidized health programs. The legislation is on track to be folded into the biannual reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, which the House is due to consider later this month. "Lack of dental care is the most prevalent unmet health need among our children," said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who left his dental practice when he entered the House a decade ago. "Tooth decay and other dental diseases often lead to other, more severe health-related issues in children." "You could even say it is at the 'root' of the problem," he added.
Local Medical Leaders Develop Plan for Physician-Owned Insurance ...
In response to the growing health insurance crisis, local medical leaders have developed plans to create The Physicians Assurance Corp. (TPAC). The intended goal of TPAC is to provide a fair, equitable, and shared insurance solution primarily owned and managed by local physicians for both the medical community and small employer members. "Group medical insurance premium rates are not stable for small employers, especially in the central Ohio market. It is not uncommon to see price increases two to three times the trend," said Dr. Alice Epitropoulos, founder of The Refractive Center of Ohio and board member of TPAC. "This variance leads to significant employer uncertainty and in turn, uncertainty to their employees." "Small employers see larger premium rate increases because they lack the purchasing power of larger employers.
Wildwood man gets probation in insurance fraud
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Wildwood resident Joseph Venziano was sentenced Thursday to five years' probation for insurance fraud. Venziano, 66, was indicted in November and pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a third-degree crime, in February. He previously admitted that between Oct. 18, 2002, and Dec. 30, 2003, he falsely represented that he remained married to his former wife so she would be eligible for spousal health insurance benefits. According to the state Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, health insurance benefits were provided through Venziano's employer by the Aetna Life Insurance Company, and the policy provided that those benefits would end if the marriage ended. Venziano was divorced in 1998, but Aetna paid $9,393 to various health care providers for services rendered to the former wife between 2002 and 2003.
InsuranceLister.com Introduces A New Look To Their Agency Listings
InsuranceLister.com introduces a new look to their agency listings. Agents are now going to have an ability to customize their agency listing and create custom sub-domains. With new added features like agency contact forms, maps, directions and custom sub-domains, InsuranceLister.com is equipping agents with everything they need to have an adequate web presence. InsuranceLister.com is a unique and inexpensive alternative to buying insurance leads. InsuranceLister.com will work with individual insurance agents on customizing their agency profile to comply with the requirements of their companies. We have agents from dozens of different insurance companies in over 1500 zip codes. Don't miss out on reserving your zip codes today! InsuranceLister.com is at the cutting edge of advertising. According to eMarketer in April 2005, the 2004 "Internet Trends Report" states that insurance shoppers search online at an increasing rate of about 40% every year.
California Mayors Recognize Anniversary Of Pet Insurance In America
In a broad show of support for California-based Veterinary Pet Insurance dozens of mayors across the 'Golden State' have written letters to VPI congratulating the pet-centric company on reaching the historic milestone of protecting America's pets for a quarter of a century.VPI has also proclaimed April 7 as National Pet Health Insurance Day in commemoration of the company's very first policy issued on that day in 1982 to television's Lassie. As the nation's oldest and largest pet health insurance provider, VPI has received signed letters of congratulations from over 50 mayor's offices throughout California, representing a population of nearly four million people -- including those in Long Beach, South San Francisco, Anaheim, Burbank, and VPI's headquarters, Brea -- conveying gratitude to VPI for its commitment to helping make proper veterinary care affordable and empowering pet owners to make optimal healthcare decisions for their pets."Because we were founded and have our headquarters in California, we place tremendous value on the support we've received from our leaders in cities and towns across the state," said Dennis P.
Cross Plains residents pleased
CROSS PLAINS - After sitting dark for nearly two years, the building that once housed a Lands' End call center was buzzing Wednesday morning with smiles, applause and optimism as local and state leaders welcomed an insurance giant to this village of 3,000. With a construction crew toiling in the background to update the building, Gov. Jim Doyle said that Allstate Insurance Co. will soon fill the space with its own call center and about 200 jobs while receiving up to $750,000 in state tax credits. "I know this community well and you are going to find the best, hardest-working people," Doyle told Allstate representatives. "The Department of Commerce worked hard to help the community find a new use for this facility." Leo Fansler, Allstate assistant vice president for claims, said the planned Cross Plains office, which will be one of eight Allstate express-claims call centers in the United States, will help the company achieve its goal of providing the best customer service in the insurance industry.
Insurance Profiling Faces Ban
TALLAHASSEE - Florida regulators are preparing draft legislation to ban the use of education and occupation in setting auto insurance rates they say leads to higher rates for minorities. The move comes after a report found that the practice "unintentionally harms minorities and low-income individuals." For example, some white-collar professionals get better rates, even though some blue-collar laborers tend to have fewer accidents. "Just because something might be legal doesn't make it right," Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said in response to the report issued Monday. The report by Office of Insurance Regulation found that some insurers use educational and occupational information to set rates, and customers who are penalized often don't know they're being placed in a more expensive policy.
|
