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Showing posts from March, 2009

Why Do I Need Car Insurance?

Simple: because driving without car insurance is illegal. But there is more to this. Car insurance protects you, financially, if something bad happens. While car insurance can be one of the most costly parts of owning a car - it is also one of the most important! But be aware - not all car insurance is the same. Depending on your coverage, you may or may not be protected from the different problems that may arise. Unfortunately, many people don’t fully understand what their car insurance pays for until they are stuck with thousands of dollars of uncovered expenses.

State Rejects Bids for prince hikes in carinsurance

NewYork (AP) the New York State Superintendent of Insurance announced yesterday that he has rejected 100 automobile insurance rate increase applications because a 1977 law limiting liability payments is succeeding in keeping costs down. Albert B . Lewis said that the new law has "stoped the rip off by doctors , hospitals , lawyers and claimants " against the insurance companies . He added that his rejection of the increases will stand pending two public hearings next month and that no new rate increases will take effect for the remainder of 1978 . He praised the 1977 Automobile Insurance Reform Act and said that since it was enacted payments to claimants have decreased . Lewis said his department found that during the second quarter of this year , April through June, the Empire and Allcity Insurance companies -two companies they were monitoring had the lowest loss expenditure figures in the last 2 1/2 years . "

Business Challenge

Esurance provides personal auto insurance direct to consumers online and through select online agents. It is one of the fastest growing auto insurance companies in the United States with over 110,000 policy holders to date. By combining the best of technology with industry know-how, Esurance is able to offer hassle-free auto insurance coverage with 24/7 customer service and claims handling at competitive prices. T o enhance its offerings to customers, Esurance utilizes a customer engagement model designed to facilitate all facets of the auto insurance process, including quote attainment, purchase of coverage and account management. According to a recent analyst report, two of the most common reasons online consumers contact customer service are pricing issues and technical support questions. It is safe to infer that a great percentage of consumers abandon a site with similar questions without bothering to contact customer service. Esurance had attempted to address these issues with sel

The Challenges

Launched during the height of the dot-com craze, Esurance survived the industry’s implosion and has experienced rapid growth as consumers embrace the company’s non-traditional approach to auto insurance. Like its customer base, Esurance’s employee numbers have grown steadily, adding as many as 200+ new hires each year. Aligning their business for customer satisfaction includes staffing the organization appropriately with quality hires to keep the business moving. However, a confounded manual recruiting processes inhibited recruiters’ ability to track candidatesand slowed their ability to present high-quality hires to hiring managers in the organization. “When you are growing so quickly you have to staff up to keep the business going to support customer needs,” said Sylvia Sierra, recruiting manager for Esurance. “One of our biggest challenges had been getting the people we needed to fill open positions but at the same time hiringqualified candidates.” Placing ads on job boards resulted

CRISIS MANAGEMENT & ALERTING SERVICES: UP AND RUNNING IN JUST A FEW HOURS

“When we originally looked for a crisis notifi cation and collaboration solution, we thought about building something inhouse,” said Moncada. “After seeing the capabilities that the Crisis Management and Alerting services (fka, AlertFind) offered and evaluating the cost to build our own, we decided the best solution for us was to tap Dell (fka, MessageOne.)” Since the Emergency Notifi cation service with the ICC is delivered as a software-as-a-service, the costs for deploying and operating are known up-front with little or no initial hardware or software investment required. Dell Emergency Notifi cation with the ICC can easily protect any number of contacts without adding additional maintenance work for Esurance’s IT staff. With its predictable monthly pricing, Emergency Notifi cation with the ICC provides a powerful crisis notifi cation and collaboration system for a very low cost. “One of the biggest benefi ts in going with Dell was the ease of deployment,” said Moncada. “We had Cris

IN A CRISIS THE ONLY KNOWN IS THAT THERE WILL BE UNKNOWNS

In the event of a crisis, the safety of all Esurance associates is of the utmost importance, which is why the company prioritizes immediate and timely associate communication. Esurance also strives to maintain business operations to meet its customers’ needs. Esurance knew it needed to adopt a crisis notifi cation and collaboration solution that would enable the company to be in constant contact with its associates, regardless of what happened to the organization’s communications infrastructure. After evaluating multiple solutions and reviewing its options, Esurance chose Dell’s Crisis Management & Alerting services. Now, when an emergency happens, Esurance uses the Crisis Management & Alerting services to send email and two-way SMS messages, as well as make voice calls to locate its employees. By using a two-way crisis notifi cation and collaboration solution, Esurance can contact the impacted employees, gather status and implement a plan to help make sure that any and all cus

TEST, TEST, AND TEST AGAIN

Esurance feels that preparedness comes from continual testing. Each quarter, the company picks an emergency situation and assigns it to a randomly selected offi ce to refi ne its corporate disaster recovery process. Through the Emergency Notifi cation module, notifi cations are sent to let employees know the details for disaster drills. Once the notifi cation is received, Esurance works through the specifi c disaster recovery plan that relates to the nature of the drill. In order to increase its ability to respond to disaster drills and real-life emergencies, in December 2007, Esurance deployed the service’s newest module, the Incident Collaboration Center (ICC). By combining Emergency Notifi cation with the ICC, Esurance can securely share information over the web, track status with real-time incident logs, assign tasks and interactively track progress, and maintain clear communication. By utilizing a centralized web-based portal for crisis notifi cation and collaboration, Esurance ca

Car Insurance Rates - 5 Top Tips To Help You Save

Car insurance rates are at an all time high, and complaints are being reported nationwide. People who own cheaper cars, or cars with low payments, complain that the cost to insure their car is more than their car payments. This is understandable, as the average policy is several hundred dollars a year! There are several factors that can affect ones rate, such as driving record and age. If insurance companies base their rates on these factors, are consumers able to manipulate them and take prices into their own hands? Fortunately there are many small changes you can make that can have a large impact on your car insurance rate. Depending on your background or location, some tips may not apply to you. 1. Keep Your Driving Record Squeaky Clean. This can have a very large impact as to whether your insurance rates are sky high, or competitively low. Most insurance companies look at the last 2 years of your record. They look at accidents, speeding tickets, moving violations, DUI's, etc. K

Auto Insurance Made Easy

(NAPS)—Understanding insurance can often be like trying to learn a foreign language. Many find it confusing and intimidating. Fortunately, there’s help. Here is a quick reference designed to help you understand some of the most common kinds of coverages. The reference was put together by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies. Liability covers bodily injury and property damage (BI/PD). This covers your legal liability, up to the dollar limits you select, for damages caused to others in a covered vehicle accident. In most states today, liability insurance is mandatory. Under BI/PD, your insurance company pays for damages to an injured person and for property damage that you are legally obligated to pay as a result of an accident. If your policy covers you in the event you’re sued after an accident, your insurance company will pay for a lawyer to defend you. Liability limits generally appear as three numbers, for example, 25/50/25 or 100/300/100. The first number refers to the maxi

Loss of or damage to your car

If your car is lost, stolen or damaged, we may: 1. pay for your car to be repaired; 2. replace your car; or 3. pay you a cash amount equal to the loss or damage. When we settle claims, we may take off an amount for wear, tear and loss of value. The same cover also applies to your car’s accessories and spare parts while they are in or on your car or in your private garage. We will also pay for loss of, or damage to, your car’s audio equipment or satellite navigation system (up to £500, unless it was fitted by the manufacturer). The equipment will also be covered while it is away from your car or private garage if it: 1. has been designed to be totally or partially removed; 2. cannot work without being attached to your car; and 3. has been temporarily removed for security reasons. The most we will pay will be the market value of your car at the time of the loss. If you cannot drive your car as a result of damage insured under this policy, we will pay the reasonable costs