09:13 AM
CRM Briefs
Meridien Research (Newton, MA) predicts that front-office CRM technologies will allow insurance firms to cut costs and stimulate their businesses by refocusing from individual lines of business onto customer retention in its newly-released study: Converting Policyholders into Customers: Insurance Agents Hold the Key. To enrich customer relationships, according to the study, insurers must deploy a solution that addresses the desktop user interface, remote channel connectivity, customer framework data model, customized workflow and decision support analytics.
Unitrin Specialty Lines Insurance (Vista, CA) renewed its contract with ProcessClaims (Redondo Beach, CA). The agreement encompasses Financial Indemnity's and Charter Insurance's use of Process Claims' Web-based claims management solution to electronically manage the claims process for field appraisers, collision repair partners, independent appraisers and other associated partners.
Pegasystems Inc. (Cambridge, MA), a provider of process automation software for CRM, will acquire 1Mind Corp. (Concord, NH), a provider of CRM and e-business solutions for healthcare payer and insurance companies. The acquisition will increase Pegasystem's penetration of the healthcare and insurance markets, claims Pegasystems. The integration of the two companies will result in Pegasystems substantially increasing its Blue Cross Blue Shield customer base.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (Baton Rouge) has awarded M.D. Online (Chester, NJ) a contract to provide electronic healthcare claims processing for physicians using M.D. Online's suite of browser-based claim delivery and online inquiry products.
DataMirror (Toronto), a provider of enterprise application integration solutions, has released a software solution that allows companies to integrate mainframe data with other systems across the enterprise for e-business, business intelligence and CRM and other distributed data applications. The software provides relational access to non-relational data residing on mainframe systems, claims DataMirror.
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Newark) has signed an agreement with AdvancePCS (Irving, TX). AdvancePCS will begin to provide fully integrated pharmacy benefit management services in July.