Posted by
Stephanie Castro
on
3/3/2010 at 10:37 AM
As part of its Health Plan Industry partner program, Microsoft hosts a bi-monthly roundtable presentation and discussion session on areas of interest to Blues plans. For February's presentation, Microsoft invited BlueCross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) to share how they were able to better manage marketing campaigns and lead generation after integrating VUE Compensation Management with Dynamics CRM using VUE IncentivePoint.
Lori Major, Sales and Service Representative at BCBSVT, along with Matthew Staudt, BCBSVT's CRM consultant, shared how BCBSVT synchronized information between sales, service and marketing teams to enhance customer service and launch full-scale marketing campaigns with detailed tracking. Currently, all of BCBSVT's small group representatives are managing their customer interactions with CRM, and BCBSVT predicts that into the future, all large group reps will also use the system, and it may eventually be extended to the external broker force as well.
Rama Kolli from BlueCross BlueShield of Nebraska also presented an update on BCBS Nebraska's progress as they move their intranet, InBlue, to SharePoint 2007. Their new Intranet site has a more streamlined user interface and was relatively easy to deploy due to the proven and adaptable platform of SharePoint 2007.
Vermont and Nebraska's presentations were 20 minutes each, with the remainder of the call reserved for a lively question and answer session.
The next virtual event is scheduled for Wednesday April 28th, 2010. If you represent a Blues plan and are interested in participating in Microsoft's Blue2Blue roundtable, please email info@vuesoftware.com with subject line “Blue2Blue” and we will put you in touch with the appropriate party.
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Posted by
Stephanie Castro
on
2/24/2010 at 8:00 AM
The recent disaster in Haiti has been sobering to consider. The loss of life has been tragic, and the need for medical care and supplies for survivors is nearly overwhelming. Thankfully, world-wide aid efforts have been impressive in mobilizing to care for those in need, and aid organizations continue to make strides to help the victims of this natural disaster.
As the disaster relief process for the Haiti earthquake aftermath continues, one figure that is particularly staggering is the projected cost to rebuild the country. A February 17, 2010, National Underwriter article indicated that estimates for rebuilding Haiti have approached $14 billion. And whereas a majority of United States homeowners purchase property and casualty (P&C) insurance coverage to protect against some of the financial costs of natural disasters, virtually no Haitians had this luxury.
According to a Munich Re expert, at the time of the earthquake Haiti had a P&C insurance penetration rate of less than 1 percent. While Haiti does belong to the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) pool, coverage from that pool is only around $8 million. The bulk of the burden for rebuilding the nation’s homes and infrastructure will fall on donors and other countries, as Haiti cannot afford to absorb this cost by itself.
These figures are cause to consider the implications to P&C insurers of protecting countries like Haiti, which is both located in a high-risk location (near the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault zone) and one of the poorest countries in the world. Although risk is high and incomes are low, when disaster strikes, these countries are also the most in need of protection.
And the need for coverage against natural disasters shows no sign of slowing down: there has been a decade-over-decade trend of increased catastrophic events worldwide since the 1990s, with one expert predicting a similar increase into the 2010s. We have seen some of these recent disasters even in our own country. In light of this expectation, P&C insurers might consider examining their approach to high-risk locales, underrepresented groups and reinsurance.
When it comes to P&C insurance in Haiti, as well as insurance coverage in other high-risk, developing nations, what should we consider when thinking about how to protect these nations from financial disaster, while also guarding the insurer against excessive, unsustainable risk?
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Posted by
Stephanie Castro
on
2/17/2010 at 6:57 AM
Selling health insurance is a highly personal and individual endeavor that requires an organization-wide commitment to outstanding customer service. But when it comes to tools for managing customer relationships and sales and marketing activities, many health plans are behind the curve. Progressive insurers know that there are many benefits to be had by systematically streamlining sales, service and marketing activities with Microsoft® Dynamics CRM.
Mindful of the strategic advantage that health plans can reap via CRM, Microsoft has invited BlueCross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) to speak at a roundtable for Blues Plans to share how they were able to better manage marketing campaigns and lead generation after integrating VUE Compensation Management with Dynamics CRM using VUE IncentivePoint.
During the roundtable discussion, BCBSVT will share how they have synchronized information between sales, service and marketing teams to enhance customer service and launch full-scale marketing campaigns with detailed tracking. “We are well-positioned to take our customer service strategy to the next level” said Dennis Cahill at BCBSVT.
Most importantly, as BCBSVT moves into the future, CRM will provide better business insight to improve sales performance – a real game changer when it comes to customer service and enhancing the results of marketing and sales activities.
The roundtable, which will be held on February 24th at 1:00PM EST, is by invitation and is open only to Blues plans. For more information or to request an invitation to attend, send an email to info@vuesoftware.com with subject line “Blue2Blue”. We are excited for our wonderful client BCBSVT to be featured at this informative peer to peer virtual event.
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Posted by
Joseph Westlake
on
2/10/2010 at 9:02 AM
There is an ever-increasing demand for innovative business models in today’s competitive insurance marketplace. More insurers are beginning to see the value in leveraging their distribution partners and expanding their offerings. With each additional product offering, operations become more complex.
Operational technology becomes challenging with growing data warehousing needs and more complex compensation modeling, in addition to the constant needs for business intelligence and analysis of sales behaviors based on territories, etc. To consolidate all operational management into a single technology platform calls for a unique and robust solution.
Today, the most advanced solution architecture is designed to support the integration of multiple systems into one platform. This amalgamation of technologies delivers compelling benefits to the complex business environments of the insurance industry.
For example, the recent implementation of integrated technologies at Insphere Insurance Solutionssm, one of the largest independent career agent insurance distribution groups in America, emphasizes the positive role integrated solutions can play in the insurance industry. The company rolled out Insphere Insitesm, a proprietary technology platform that combines best-in-class industry technology tools into a single system providing a significant competitive advantage for field managers and agents.
VUE Compensation Management is used as the company’s core technology and VUE IncentivePoint is utilized to seamlessly integrate compensation management with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The other technology tools that are used to create the comprehensive platform are Agent Portal, iPipeline and Norvax.
Phillip J. Hildebrand, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insphere Insurance Solutions, summed up the technology by saying,
“Simply put, by integrating these tools into our proprietary technology platform, our agents will operate in a seamless multi-carrier environment that will feel like they are working with a single carrier for everything from quoting, electronic applications, application tracking, managing compensation and managing their client base. We believe the Insphere Insite technology platform, in addition to in-house training and support, provides a unique offering for an independent career agent that delivers a tremendous advantage in the marketplace.”
It will be interesting to see how quickly insurers will come to adopt integrated technologies. The operational benefits of such a platform suggest that more insurers will begin to realize that integrated technology platforms pose a compelling benefit to their bottom line.
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Posted by
Abhinav Dave
on
2/9/2010 at 5:33 AM
Many companies today provide tailored software solutions for organizations to improve processes. With such a crowded marketplace, it can be difficult to differentiate between these products. The choice of which solution or which software vendor to select is a challenging issue that many organizations face.
Companies who are shopping for solutions use many parameters to judge a solution or a software vendor and their reliability. One factor that organizations can depend on to represent consistency and reliability is the rate at which software vendors upgrade their solutions and make advancements.
It is a given that technology will advance with time, as new discoveries and developments lead to improvements in security, productivity and quality of life. This is the case with the recent launch of the Windows 7® Operating System.
While new operating systems enhance usability and security, changes in operating systems can also cause compatibility issues with existing software solutions. So it is not only important for organizations to invest in the right solution, but also in long term partnerships with vendors who are proactive and progressive in their solution offerings.
Software vendors that provide constant advancements and upgrades are better positioned to offer reliable solutions in the long run. For example, VUE Software upgraded its suite of products to be compatible with the latest Windows 7 ® Operating System and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2. By doing so, we have provided advanced opportunities to our clients.
We’ve invested in forward-looking technology so that customers for years to come will benefit from the newest technology. Tapping into such cutting edge technologies allows organizations to keep their systems and operations consistent, up-to-date, and most importantly efficient and cost effective. Hence, selecting the right software vendor with the right attitude towards technology ensures the highest possible ROI over time.
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