by Richard Kilner

Open GI and Optilead, lead optimisation specialists, have reached an exclusive agreement to help brokers bolster their online conversion rates.

Optilead is a real-time platform specifically created for the insurance market as a lead optimisation and management solution.

It permits brokers to follow up online quotes immediately through utilising Open GI’s eBroker and eAggregator simply by using a text message, e-mail or outbound call.

Optilead’s great strength is that mere moments after finishing an online quote brokers can be talking with online prospects.

This allows brokers to achieve better sales as they can swiftly answer queries and resolve problems.

The deal reached with Open GI will grant Optilead another channel from which to operate, in addition to the numerous major insurance brands it is already used by.

Further, it will improve Open GI’s own offering in the online sphere.

Footman James, an Open GI broker, has doubled its conversion rate since taking up Optilead, with staff able to speak with customers in less than a minute after a quote has been acquired.

Optilead’s director, Mark Cogan, explains that the key is to get the customer on the phone as swiftly as possible once the quote has been completed, adding that it is popular across a range of differently sized brokers as it operates on a pay as you go basis.

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by Richard Kilner

The Alan Boswell Group has reached an agreement with New World Hotel Operations whereby the Group will provide insurance for the firm as they expand their hotel business, operating numerous hotels under the Ramada Encore brand.

Birmingham is to be the site of a 166 room hotel, with New World converting former offices in the NEC.

The Alan Boswell Group is providing insurance coverage for the conversion which accounts for buildings, property owner’s liability and loss of revenue, with further insurance coverage to come into effect once the hotel is completed.

Alan Boswell was asked to arrange insurance for the Ramada Encore Haydock back in September last year.

The group was able to secure the deal, beating the competition, due to its highly competitive and comprehensive offering.

The Ramada Encore Haydock marked the beginning of a burgeoning business relationship which saw the group offered numerous other deals with New World, including future hospitality coverage for new hotels opening in a range of cities such as Cambridge, Crewe and Barnsley.

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by Richard Kilner

DWF has bolstered its presence in the North of England with 8 appointments.

Jennifer Barnes leaves behind Kippax Beaumont Lewis to join DWF in Manchester, where she will serve as solicitor in the corporate team.

Also joining Manchester is Linda Olanipekun who becomes a senior solicitor in the real estate department having left behind Nabarro.

DWF’s Manchester presence is also reinforced with associate Nathan Jones, who comes from Berrymans Lace Mawer, and solicitor Saima Yasmeen who was previously with Keoghs.

The firm’s Leeds office is also bolstered, with a pair of associates, Jonathan Dees and Rada Dragicevic, joining the insurance department.

Dees formerly worked in Carlisle, as a partner of Bell Park Kerridge, and Dragicevic joins from Manchester where she served with Weightmans.

The third office to be strengthened in the raft of recruitments is Liverpool, where Stephen Gilroy has been named as a new solicitor in the insurance fraud department and Wendy Greenwood becomes a solicitor in the construction team.

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by Richard Kilner

Broadspire, a third party administrator to employers and insurance companies owned by Crawford & Company, has announced a number of key appointments to improve co-ordination within the organisation, all of which are effective immediately.

Dennis Replogle leaves his post as chief executive officer to assume the role of chairman.

Kenneth F. Martino Jr., presently president, is to also take on the position of chief executive officer, and will report directly to Replogle.

He became president in 2007, and has more than two decades of industry experience.

Jeffrey Bowman, CEO of Crawford, has stated that his promotion comes as part of an acknowledgement of his contribution to the firm.

The senior vice president of client services, Neil Lentine, has been promoted and will occupy the recently created post of chief operating officer for claim and client services. Lentine will be responsible to Martino.

Danielle Lisenby is promoted from her current position of senior vice president of medical management to serve as chief operating officer of medical services, a recently created post, and will report directly to Martino.

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by Richard Kilner

Heath Lambert has announced the appointment of Nigel Godwin as business development director of the Risk Retention Practice.

He joins the Practice from the Major Accounts and Major Financial Professional Group (MFPG) of Heath Lambert, where he served as director.

The move is another step in the bolstering of core divisions following on from the firm’s internal restructuring.

In his new role, Godwin will be tasked with collaborating with his colleagues to identify and develop business opportunities for the Practice both within and outside the Group.

As it expands, the Practice is also to create a third client servicing to operate in Guernsey.

The Practice, which has recently been renamed, operates in both Guernsey and Malta and is led by Merise Wheatley.

Its name was changed from the Captives division in order to more properly reflect the advisory and support services available, which are available to clients with both on- and offshore risk.

Wheatley has expressed delight at Godwin’s appointment, praising his extensive experience and describing him as a valuable asset for the team.

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by Richard Kilner

Lockton Companies has appointed Michael McFadden to the post of executive vice president for the firm’s operations in New York.

He brings 20 years of industry experience to his new role, during which time he has held a broad range of senior positions.

Before joining Lockton he served with Marsh’s Private Equity and Mergers Practice as managing director and sales head for North America.

McFadden will be based in New York and play a role in the firm’s expansion plans for the Philadelphia region.

Timothy Ryan, chief operating officer for Lockton in New York, has welcomed McFadden’s appointment, praising his wealth of experience and the multiple business relationships he has built up during his career.

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by Richard Kilner

Specialist insurer Ecclesiastical has announced the appointment of Chris Lynwood as technical casualty manager.

Lynwood leaves behind Capita, where he held the same position, to join Ecclesiastical.

He brings over three decades of experience in the insurance industry to his new post, including 10 years spent in the liability claims sector.

In his new role Lynwood will be based at the firm’s regional underwriting centre in Manchester.

Concurrently Ecclesiastical is to bolster its casualty claims capability through the creation of a casualty centre of excellence, also to be located in Manchester.

David Bonehill, claims manager, explained that liability risks are becoming an ever more important part of the firm’s business and as such Ecclesiastical was taking the steps necessary to strengthen its capabilities in the liability department.

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by Richard Kilner

Open GI’s eBroker solution is being extended to permit firms to quote online for schemes beyond the standard Open GI search engines.

In September last year the eBroker was launched as an addition to Open GI’s eCommerce portfolio.

It creates a method to trade over the internet by utilising the firm’s search engines.

Direct data capture is ensured via core back-office integration, eliminating the need for re-keying.

It is optional, for brokers wishing to implement eBroker, to be linked either to a scheme that has already been created, or to have a custom scheme specifically designed for them.

A diverse range of products are already available and more are to be introduced in the future.

Already pet, travel, overseas property, personal accident and public liability are tradeable, and have garnered a positive reaction from the marketplace.

Open GI’s sales and marketing director, Simon Hughes, has described the interest in eBroker as very encouraging.

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by David Masters

Giles Insurance has acquired the Wales-based broker Paul Murphy Insurance Services for an undisclosed sum, marking the second Welsh acquisition for the company within a week.

The acquisition is the tenth for Giles since March this year, and is a key part of the company’s growth strategy.

Charthouse Capital Partners acquired a stake in Giles in March, and together with the Bank of Scotland has provided £500 million for the group to make acquisitions.

Through both acquisitions and organic growth Giles aims to reach £1 billion in turnover through both acquisitions and organic growth.

Paul Murphy Insurance Services offers a range of insurance, including personal and commercial cover.

Managing director Paul Murphy said that he is ‘extremely pleased’ with the merger.

Mike Jones, a manager at Giles Insurance, said that the acquisition marks the company’s determination to continue expansion across the UK, and especially in Wales.

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Danville, Pa. — Widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR) could be enhanced if large, digitally advanced healthcare providers worked with smaller physician practices and community hospitals, reports the CIO of Geisinger Health System.

Geisinger, a Danville, Pa., integrated health services organization, is comprised of two medical center campuses, three hospitals, a 720-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and the Geisinger Center for Health Research.

A recent national survey [conducted by the group] found that just 4% of physicians have a fully functional Electronic Health Record (EHR). In light of that survey, Geisinger CIO Frank Richards said it’s important for systems such as Geisinger to share resources, as well as lessons learned from implementing these systems.

“The EHR can improve healthcare quality and efficiency, remove geographic barriers between physicians and their patients and empower consumers,” Richards said. “There are economies of scale—it can get expensive the smaller the practice.”

Geisinger has spent $90 million in the last 12 years developing its information technology infrastructure and EHR, the firm reports. Having learned from its experiences, Geisinger is working with regional providers to put more digital technology to use for patients.

Geisinger helped establish a network with regional hospitals to share information about trauma victims, started telemedicine programs for services such as pediatric cardiology and has started an e-prescribing program with local pharmacies.

In April, the group registered 100,000 patients for the system’s Internet patient portal (MyGeisinger) an online tool that allows patients to contact their physicians directly, make appointments and pay medical bills 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“MyGeisinger dramatically improves the dynamic between patient and healthcare provider and ultimately improves the quality of patient care,” said Geisinger President and CEO Glenn Steele Jr., MD, PhD. “We will continue our efforts to register interested patients and move to the next major milestone.”

Geisinger also has worked with national healthcare leaders about EHR use and safety. “The bottom line is that providers can learn a lot from each other,” Richards said. “If you share these EHR resources, you can improve patient care.”

Sources: Newswise, Geisinger Health System

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