DELIVERY STRATEGIES BRIEFS

National Life Insurance Co. (Montpelier, VT) has extended its technology contract with Advanced Impact, a brand of Charlotte-based Impact Technologies Group, for the vendor's Wealth Strategies financial planning software, following the carrier's approval of a version of the product for use by its field force. According to Advanced Impact, through its use of the Monte Carlo method, Wealth Strategies provides better analysis of the effects that untimely deaths, unexpected liabilities, asset yields, instability of assets and investments, and other uncertainties will have on the volatility and cash flow of all assets in a client's financial plan, giving planners a more realistic picture of a client's current financial situation and probability of its success.

Xactware, an Orem, UT-based provider of claims software and services for the insurance repair industry, has released HomesitePro, an online homes valuation tool for underwriting. Based on the vendor's claims-oriented estimation technology, HomesitePro generates component-based virtual models that create valuations by first gathering basic information about a home, then extrapolating a virtual model using "smart" assumptions built into the program. The result is a calculation that individually outlines rooms in the home and determines what materials and labor are needed to build them. Instead of applying overall statistical factors, the program matches current pricing for construction materials and labor to the quantities needed. Users can drill down to a variety of detail levels to change qualities, adjust component assumptions and add information.

Manulife USA (Boston) has launched an executive bonus/restrictive endorsement bonus arrangements (REBA) sales tool kit for advisors interested in using life insurance as a tool for executive compensation. The MLI Solutions kit contains a variety of sales materials and technical resources in a simple format, designed to help educate advisors about the concepts of executive bonus/REBA. MLI Solutions has estate and retirement planning modules, as well as business planning modules. Each module has its own sales package, complete with marketing tools, PowerPoint presentations, and technical resources needed to close the case, according to Manulife.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio