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COSSConference
Offers Leadership, Learning Opportunities
By
COO Joseph Herrmann, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, FLMI
Planning
is underway for COSSConference ’05, which
will be at our new Charlotte office in September.
We have incorporated a large training facility into our space
to accommodate your needs during the Conference. This year, our
theme is VIP and COSS will be extending VIP treatment to you.
In
keeping with this year’s VIP theme, I’d like to offer
a high-level view of what you may expect at this year’s
Conference.
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More
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Farmers New World Speeds Productivity, Provides Single Interface with .NET
 Farmers
New World Life Insurance Company, Mercer Island, WA, has combined
several of its distinct corporate entities with .NET technology.
Subsidiary companies, information channels, the company website,
and the end-user interface—LifeNet—have been united
on a common .NET platform. The results, according to Lynn Henderson,
FLMI, ACS, Business Analyst at Farmers, have “improved the
way we interact with other organizations to share applications
and data.” Henderson discussed the .NET system at a presentation
during COSSConference ’04 in September.
A
key advantage of .NET, said Henderson, is that it gives Farmers
“greater flexibility and ease of deployment,” especially
because “we’re no longer required to register COM
on the production servers.” This means that production servers
no longer have to be shut down and reconfigured with a new COM
package every time a .dll is changed.
Read
More
This
and other stories are featured in our new Client
Spotlight!
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Internet
Update Helps American Equity Compete
 American
Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, West Des Moines, IA,
reinvigorated their illustration system with an Internet Update
module from COSS. The module streamlines American Equity’s
rollout process, allowing more frequent, lower-cost system rollouts.
This is important in the competitive annuity marketplace that
the carrier serves.
“If
we’re talking rate changes, we’re in a volatile
market now,” said Marketing Services Representative Jeremy
Orr, AAPA, ACS, PCS, of American Equity. “Rates could
change three, four, or five times per year. If you have a brand
new product, Internet Update will add it for the agent. This
is a step in the right direction for us, technologically.”
Through
use of Internet Update, he can:
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Manage
state approvals |
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Modify
interest rates |
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Add
and remove products and concepts |
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Enhance
usability with marketing materials and videos for the agent |
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Save
money— an estimated $30,000 in annual distribution
costs |
Read
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Reproposal
Results Outdo Expectations
Automated
Reproposals Up, “Steveware” Down
Newsline
readers and Conference attendees may recall the term “Steveware,”
coined by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance’s Gerry Danielson,
FLMI, CLU, ChFC, to describe the carrier’s original life
reproposal system. “Steveware” involved staff actuary
Steve Caress manually re-illustrating the carrier’s in-force
universal life policies, via spreadsheet, upon agent request.
The
need for “Steveware” has dropped significantly since
November, when the carrier rolled out a UL new business and reproposal
illustration system from COSS. The system allows agents to run
their own reproposals. Since system rollout, Caress has only had
to do 16 reproposals. His caseload has been lightened beyond his
expectations, he told COSS Project Manager and Senior Actuarial
Developer Stewart Shay, ASA, FLMI.
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Apr
10-12, 2005
NAVA
Retirement Income Conference
Hilton
Head Marriott Beach & Golf Resort
Hilton Head, SC
navanet.org
Apr
12, 2005
Market
Connection Teleconference
2pm EST, 1pm CST
Lawyer and actuary Scott Harrison will discuss Lifetime
Guarantees and the issues that affect consumers, agents,
companies, and regulators.
For more information contact kristinek@cossdev.com
May
22-24, 2005
ACORD
& LOMA Insurance
Systems Forum
Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotels
Orlando, FL
acord.org
loma.org
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Boomer
Market Advisor
March 2005
Spending it Down
IRA distribution rules can seem confusing and conflicting.
In the March issue, COSS Vice President of Business Development
Cat Belteau, CFP, CLU, ChFC, sorts it out.
Read
PDF
Windows in Financial Services
Spring 2005
Microsoft Leaders Forum
CTO Matthew Clark, MCSE discusses how insurers can use technology
to improve the customer experience. Among Clark’s
recommendations: allow users to perform the minimum actions
needed to generate quotes; improve connectivity through
XML; and avoid running field systems on antiquated hardware.
Read
More
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NAIC
Spring 2005 Meeting – Salt Lake City
Notes
of Chris W. Kite, MBA, COSS Vice President of Strategic
Relations chrisk@cossdev.com
Beautiful
weather and an elegant setting at the Grand America Hotel
graced the NAIC conference and offset the buzz of negotiations,
deliberations, and confrontations. The session on title
insurance and alleged kickbacks related to the Spitzer probe
attracted the largest audience. Life and health insurance
topics focused on speed to market, actuarial guidelines
for lifetime guarantees, consumer advocate concerns, small
policies, and agent licensing for term insurance. The meetings
reflected the process of dialogue, cooperation, political
pressure, and turf battles.
Read
PDF
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Charlie
Buehler, ACS is customers’ first line of contact for
system support. With a reputation among co-workers and her
clients for being persistent and getting results, she manages
COSS’ toll-free support hotline and online help desk.
Charlie also oversees the customer “knowledge base”
on the COSS website, and posts updates/fixes as client questions
are resolved.
When
she’s not busy with client support, Charlie works
with other Charlotte team members on COSS’ needs analysis
and advanced marketing systems. She builds installs and
does other implementation work for these systems. Next month
will mark her fourth year with COSS.
Charlie
and her husband William will celebrate their ninth wedding
anniversary later this month. The couple has a seven-year-old
son, David, and three other “children” of the
four-legged, meowing variety. In her spare time, Charlie
enjoys collecting garden gnomes and doing a little gardening.
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