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COSS
Offers New Build-it-Yourself Solution
COSSEnterprise™
AF gives carriers complete control over the Enterprise system.
It is a scalable, deployment-ready application framework that
saves significant home office R&D.
Offered
in both .NET and J2EE, COSSEnterprise™
AF allows the home office’s IT staff to create a seamless,
consistent experience for users both online and off. The home
office can deploy proprietary and off-the-shelf system components
on COSSEnterprise™ AF.
Benefits
of COSSEnterprise™ AF include:
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Saving
the IT staff years of R&D—proven, Web-based application
framework they’d otherwise have to create |
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Develop,
customize, launch, and consolidate all point-of-sales system
components into one Web portal |
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One-stop,
singular agent experience ... whether they are on the Web
or offline |
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Sync
data seamlessly between agents’ desktops and a central
server |
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Increased
producer sales, satisfaction, and retention |
COSSEnterprise™
AF includes:
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Application
framework in choice of .NET or J2EE |
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Powerful
COSSTools™ suite and necessary source
code |
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COSSEnterprise™
system components of your choice, including turnkey, COSS-built
components |
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In-depth
training and start-up support, as well as ongoing system enhancements
and support from the COSS technical team |
The
product’s introduction coincides with a new promotional
campaign titled This
changes everything.
What
has changed? COSS now offers three service models to suit the
way life carriers want to work:
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Full-service
model, with custom-built COSSEnterprise™
system components |
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Co-development
relationship using COSSTools™, a suite
that allows home office business analysts to control product
timing, innovation, and costs |
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New
COSSEnterprise™ AF, a build-it-yourself
business model that supports carriers’ in-house development
efforts |
To
learn more about COSSEnterprise™ AF, please
call our sales team at 1.800.776.7087.
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Reproposal
Survey Results
Preliminary
survey results show that insurers are using every solution available
(workstation, Web, and mainframe) to meet their policy reproposal
needs, said COSS Project Manager and Sr. Actuarial Developer Stewart
Shay, ASA, FLMI.
Shay
will present detailed conclusions at a COSSConference
business session on reproposals September 14. Survey results will
help COSS developers plan new system enhancements.
Shay
found that the most successful implementations—in terms
of both home office and agent satisfaction—include:
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Direct
accessibility by the agent |
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Overall
ease of use (user friendly screens, policy data supplied electronically
from the admin system, etc.) |
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Immediate
response |
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Quality,
in that the numbers match the admin system |
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"What-if"
capability, e.g., to illustrate changes in coverage at the
time of reproposal or on a future anniversary |
You
can request
the full survey results and Shay’s COSSConference
presentation now. You’ll receive the materials on September
19, the Monday following COSSConference.
 We
Have A Winner!
Congratulations
to Developer Rick Justesen of Beneficial Life Insurance Company,
Salt Lake City, UT. Justesen snagged a new iPod mini for participating
in last month’s COSS Reproposal Survey. His email address
was drawn at random after the survey’s close.
Thank
you to all who participated in the survey. COSS' development efforts
are industry driven. We appreciate your insights!
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Market
Connection Compliance Recapped
Our
August 9 Market Connection teleconference with Douglas
I. Friedman, J.D., CLU and Heather C. Downey, J.D., LLM highlighted
current compliance issues. They discussed the process their law
firm employs to review the COSS needs analysis and advanced marketing
software for compliance with state regulations, NASD advertising
rules, and general liability issues (such as accuracy of written
explanatory information, but not the numerical information). Chris
Kite, MBA, Vice President of Strategic Relations at COSS, recaps
the key points from this Market Connection call here.
IRS Circular 230 has been out for a long time, but became effective
on June 20. It has stirred questions about its effect on the life
insurance business. Some people are adding footnotes to communications
such as:
THE ABOVE
ADVICE WAS NOT INTENDED OR WRITTEN TO BE USED, AND IT CANNOT BE
USED, BY YOU FOR THE PURPOSES OF AVOIDING ANY PENALTY THAT MAY
BE IMPOSED BY THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.
Read
more
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Sept
7-10, 2005
NAVA - NRPC/Boomer Expo
The Westin Copley Place
Boston, MA
navanet.org
Sept
13-14, 2005
COSSConference
`05
COSS
NC Office
Huntersville, NC
Register
Here
Oct
9-11, 2005
Society
of Financial Service Professionals
Financial
Service Forum
Marriott Desert Ridge
Phoenix, AZ
societyforum.com
Oct
9-11, 2005
ACLI
Annual Conference
Omni
Shareham Hotel
Washington, DC
acli.com
Oct
23-25, 2005
NAVA
14th Annual Meeting
The
Hilton New York
New York, NY
navanet.org
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Boomer
Market Advisor
August 2005
Spending it Down
Today, divorce is far more than an emotional and psychological
blow, and can affect beneficiaries long after your clients
pass on. With nearly 50% of first marriages ending in divorce,
COSS’ Vice President of Business Development Cat Belteau,
CFP, CLU, ChFC discusses key factors and the importance
of financial planning for blended families.
Read
PDF
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Chief
Technology Officer Matthew Clark, MCSE is responsible for
the company’s R & D efforts and technology direction.
He prioritizes our development and implementation projects
to continue meeting COSS' strategic goals.
Matthew
manages the developers in our Charlotte office, where COSS’
needs analysis, advanced marketing, intelligent forms, and
.NET system components are created. He also leads our implementation
and integration efforts. A UNC Charlotte graduate, Matthew
worked in technology management for the healthcare and financial
services industries before he joined COSS in 1999.
When Matthew’s not at the office or traveling for
COSS, he stays busy with woodworking and home renovation
projects. He and his wife Andrea are also getting ready
for the family’s third child, who will arrive this
month!
It’s
not all work and no play for Matthew, though: this spring,
he, Andrea, and their young daughters Grace and Olivia had
a fun-filled vacation at Disney World.
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COSS
Boosts Two NC Scholars
Two
North Carolina students received COSS scholarships for the
upcoming year at UNC Charlotte: Shawanda Ford from Winston-Salem
and Jeremy Villalobos of Lincolnton.
Ford,
who enters her sophomore year this fall, is studying software
and information systems with a minor in Spanish. Villalobos
completes his B.S. in computer science this fall with a
concentration in computer engineering and a minor in mathematics.
He will then pursue his master’s degree in computer
science at UNC Charlotte.
Since
2001, COSS has awarded scholarships to minority students
majoring in the fields of computer science, actuarial science,
or mathematics. Scholarships are awarded at Georgia State
University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and UNC Charlotte,
state universities in the three cities where COSS has offices.
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