IJ SITE LANDS 8.3M HITS IN SEPT.
InsuranceJournal.com continues to strengthen its position as the insurance industry's portal of choice, as demonstrated by the 8.3 million hits the site received in the month of September. The number of unique users rose to 44,123 (per month); page views were tracked at 336,405; and 181,323 user sessions were recorded.InsuranceJournal.com's newest success story is the Daily News Headlines E-Mail. Launched in March 2001, these headlines have become a staple for more than 11,000 insurance professionals, who receive the e-mail newsletters delivered to their desktop free of charge every day. "I don't know of any other B2B website that has more features or is more active for the insurance industry than InsuranceJournal.com," said Mitch Dunford, IJ's Associate Publisher/Web. To subscribe, visit www.InsuranceJournal.com and click on "Get News Headlines."
ZURICH ENVIRONMENTAL PROMO
Zurich North America Environmental kicked off a fourth-quarter sales promotion for its agents on Monday, Oct. 22. Through the rewards program, called "Turn up the Volume," Zurich North America agents who reach specified gross premium targets will receive valuable prizes. The promotion applies to new business policies bound on commercial storage tank, and dealer and repair liability products. The incentive program runs from Oct. 22-Dec. 31, 2001. Individuals earn one point for every dollar in new business premiums bound during the promotion period. Prizes include palm pilots, DVD players, digital cameras and surround sound audio receivers. Agents are eligible for prizes beginning at 5,000 points. Roger Brunner, vice president, Zurich North America Environmental said, "The Turn up the Volume" program is a way to say thanks to our brokers for all their hard work and collaboration in delivering insurance and risk management solutions to our customers."
PULTE HOMES TO RESIST MOLD
Michigan-based Pulte Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, introduced a new line of homes designed to reduce the potential for mold growth. The mold-resistant features were unveiled in new homes built in the Dallas suburb of McKinney, Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, a heating and air conditioning system modified to bring fresh air into the home is at the heart of the new building system. The HVAC system is also designed to improve air circulation and better control humidity. A Pulte spokesman said that in many new homes, problems with indoor pollution develop because the houses are built too airtight. He said the company plans to make the system standard in all of Pulte's subdivisions. The system was developed in partnership with Florida-based Masco Contractor Services. Called the new "Environments for Living" construction program, it is expected to add an average of $1,500 to $2,000 to the cost of each home. To combat the resistance of buyers to pay more for the extra features, Pulte is pushing the energy-saving aspects of the building system and guaranteeing buyers that utility costs will stay within a certain range.
AIA FOR TOUGHER TRUCK STANDARDS
The American Insurance Association (AIA) urged delegates from Mexico, Canada and the U.S. meeting in Ottawa under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to adopt and enforce more rigorous cross-border trucking safety and security standards in light of the threat of terrorism in North America. David Snyder, AIA assistant gen-eral counsel, testifying before NAFTA, noted that substantial improvements to cross-border safety and security must be an immediate priority for NAFTA. Items in need of urgent attention include equipment and staffing for crossings; uniform safety standards coordinated at the highest levels; complete data systems on drivers, vehicles, motor carriers and cargo; financial data available to safety enforcers and insurers; and cooperative enforcement programs among the three countries. Snyder stated that AIA would like to see the mutual recognition of insurance written in any one NAFTA country and the preservation of all existing insurance options.
KEMPER OFFERS OCEAN CARGO CERTIFICATES ONLINE
Kemper Insurance Companies announced its Ocean Cargo Certificate Insurance System is now accessible through the Internet, providing brokers, agents and customers with immediate and unlimited access for issuing ocean cargo certificates. Access to Kemper's new online ocean cargo certificate issuance system is accessible through www.kemperinsurance.com on the site's Ocean Marine page with the use of an assigned password. The system has been designed to allow the user to issue certificates in a simple and efficient manner. In addition to allowing the user to create and store certificates online, users can preview certificates before printing, print a specimen copy prior to issuing a certificate and enter specific text that may be required by vendors or banks.
