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September 27, 1999

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Company Policy: Reach More Clients

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Insurers are turning to the Web and E-commerce to compete for new customers

By Jennifer Mateyaschuk

nsurance companies on the leading edge of IT are simplifying their systems to offer customers financial services as well as traditional insurance products. These companies have recognized the opportunity to compete with financial institutions and are moving to improve customer service, streamline call centers, recognize customer buying patterns, and cross-sell mutual funds, insurance plans, and other services to an existing and growing customer base.

To achieve this, many insurance companies have embarked on E-commerce initiatives to reach more customers, some of whom may not have felt comfortable with insurance agents but like the Internet.

Prudential Insurance Co. of America is one company that has jumped into E-business. "We're focusing on the customer and giving the customer convenient access to information over the Internet," says Pete Lacovara, VP of IS at the Newark, N.J., insurance, real-estate, and financial-services company. Prudential's PruOnline site lets clients access information about their securities policies, money-market and mutual funds, cash balances, and the total net worth of their accounts, updated daily. They can also pay bills, transfer funds between accounts, and receive automobile insurance-rate quotes online. Eventually, they'll be able to inquire about such products as homeowners' insurance and receive insurance approvals over the Net.

In addition to its Internet efforts, Prudential is linking all of the call centers and back-office systems that support its various product lines. "If a customer calls with a question about their insurance policy and a question about one of their mutual funds, I want one call-center representative to be able to answer both," Lacovara says. This way, he adds, customers won't have to call different numbers, and they'll have the same service experience for all of Prudential's product lines.

Interactive Services
Marsh Inc., a $4.4 billion insurance brokerage company, has already modified much of its business to serve its business customers better. About two-thirds of the company's IT budget is being spent on infrastructure. Marsh, which determines a company's insurance needs and negotiates with insurance carriers for the client's comprehensive coverage plans, launched its InMind information and interactive client-services system last year. The Web system lets clients access information on insurance policies, brokerage services, and subscription services.

"Our InMind system has put power in the hands of our clients," says Marsh CIO William Wilson. "We want to put as much power in their hands as possible so they can get the best service possible."

The brokerage services let Marsh clients track the performance of their investments, collaborate in a private chat room on business issues, share company policies and procedures, obtain a synopsis of insurance policy summaries, track ongoing claims progress, and request bonds online. InMind's Net Cert Request lets clients request certificates of insurance, which the clients can track through delivery.

Marsh's SuretyPro service, meanwhile, lets customers request savings bonds online and check the status of the bonds. InMind subscription services let clients view international insurance requirements and retrieve online policy standards and coverage checklists.

Though many IT-savvy insurance companies see the Internet as a means to improve relations with customers, some warn that relying too heavily on the Net could be a fatal mistake. "There needs to be a balance between what we do on the Internet and what our sales-people can do for the customer," says Prudential's Lacovara. "There are customers who only want to deal with agents face-to-face and others who never want to talk to agents. We have to take that into consideration and make sure both are equipped to do business with the customer, the way the customer wants it."

Power To Agents
To this end, Lacovara is looking to put more power in the hands of his agents by using wireless technology. In an effort Lacovara calls "outrageously mobile computing," Prudential is testing the Palm Pilot 7 with Prudential real estate agents. Eventually, he hopes to expand the program to include insurance agents. The technology connects real estate agents to the multiple listings databases, as well as other databases and financing information. Using Palm Pilots, agents can instantaneously look up listings or other information on houses they're showing clients without going back to their office PCs.

Lacovara envisions a time when insurance agents can walk into a client's home and constantly be in touch with the office. "We don't want our insurance agents to have to ask the client if they can plug in to their phone line to look up information." But, he says, it will take two to five years before the wireless system is in place for all Prudential agents.

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